Thanking all of our 2013 Team Member Awards Recipents!

Veterinarian of the Year:  Dr. Jennifer Flood

 

Dr. Flood is a fantastic doctor and is always a pleasure to work with. She absolutely Love’s her job. She says she couldn’t imagine herself doing anything else!  She also enjoys being  a part of her patient’s lives, especially caring for them from being puppy/kitten until they are seniors. Dr. Flood says, "It is fun to see them grow and mature". Dr. Flood has been part of the 1^st Pet Veterinary Centers family for over 10 years.

Technician of the Year: Tatijuana McMahon 

Tat is an outstanding tech.  She is knowledgeable and compassionate. She loves working critical cases especially surgery and is great at everything she does. She grew up surrounded by animals on a farm. she has loved and cared for animals her whole life. She was employee of the quarter at her location and 2^nd runner up for Team Member of the Year.   Tat has worked at 1^st Pet for over 15 years.

Client Service Representative of the Year: Yulonde Jakobsen

Yulonde is a wonderful CRS. She is extremely friendly and helpful in person and on the phone. She is one of our CRS Supervisors, and is a real asset in training and leading others. Her favorite part of her job is interacting with the clients and patients. She has wanted to work with animals since she was 7. She has 2 great kids, a Chihuahua named Pancho, a cat named Opie, a African Spurred Tortoise and goldfish.  Yulonde has worked for 1^st Pet for 2 years.

Supervisor of the Year:  Merja Reynolds

 

MJ is an amazing supervisor, she has a willingness to help others. She is a great mentor leading by example. There is anything she can’t do. She figures out how to do any task she is working on. MJ was born and raised in Finland adopts old sick cats that no-one else wants. Her last cat adopted was a hyperthyroid kitty about 15 years old  and is still doing well almost 3 years later. She has been with 1^st Pet for 11 years.

1^st Pet Veterinary Centers  Certificate Award winners:

Excellence in Patient Care

1.    Darcy Braaten

2.    Cara Bromley

3.    Angela Cordell

4.    Jessica Crabtree

5.    Pauline Dress

6.    Dr. Daniel Guastella

7.    Karen Hergert

8.    Darci Hoefer

9.    Kimberley Jones

10. Erin Lawrence

11. Trinity Taylor

Excellence in Client Service

1. Lynze Bates
2. Megan Fells
3. Elana Gulla
4. Mary Howerton
5. Allyson Klug
6. Arielle Menick
7. Patricia Morgan
8. Trina Sipple
9. Johnathon Sullinger
10. Heidi Vandeberg
11. Melleny Werkheiser

Excellence in Teamwork

1. Rebecca Goldstein
2. Kristina Hobbs
3. Janine Kemp
4. Lynda Novak
5. Michael Pugliese
6. Jennifer Ripley
7. Tina Rose
8. Matthew Smith
9. Angel Torres
10. Holly Walter
11. Viviane Williams

2013 Team Member of the Year Award recipient-Dr. Megan Begay!

Dr. Megan Begay has been with 1^st Pet as a Veterinarian since July 2009. She graduated from CSU School of Veterinary Medicine in 2008 then did a rotating internship for a year at a small animal specialty practice in Tampa, FL.  Prior to Veterinary school, she worked as a vet technician while she completed her undergraduate studies at U of A in Tucson, AZ, and for 1 ½ years at First Regional (now 1^st Pet).

Dr. Begay loves the challenge of treating emergency/critical cases.  These can be the most challenging and stressful cases but also can be the most rewarding. She loves her clients and remembers helping a client euthanize her pet when she was out of town.  The client was very appreciative of the time Dr. Begay spent with her on the phone as well as caring for her beloved pet.  She brought Dr Begay flowers after she arrived back in town. Dr Begay felt very touched that her client made such a thoughtful gesture during her time of grief.  Euthanizing patients is not a fun part of the job but it can be a blessing/gift to a suffering animal.  

Dr. Begay is married to her high school sweetheart and has 2 beautiful children (3 year old daughter and a 3 month old son). Their family also includes 2 cats and Beans, who is a Chihuahua mix. They love spending time outdoors (hiking, camping), watching sporting events, working out and traveling. Dr. Begay took voice lessons in high school and performed at her county fair in hopes of becoming a pop singer someday. However, 1^st Pet has greatly benefited from her change in career plans!

We are so proud of her and happy for all her accomplishments. She truly is deserving of being Team Member of the Year and is a great person to work with!

A valuable member of the 1st Pet team-Trinity

If you have ever had a pet in our Emergency department or ICU you may have met Trinity. This February marks 10 years that Trinity has been with 1^st Pet.

Trinity's love of animals had her working in the veterinary field since she was 16 years old. She started out in general practice and then found herself loving Emergency/ICU.  She loves taking care of patients, especially  those in critical care.

Trinity also enjoys the nursing aspect of working in the ICU. The patients become her “pets” while she is taking care of them and she is constantly trying to think of ways to improve their well being. Her favorite part of her job is being able to reunite families with their pets once they have recovered. 

Trinity and her husband have been together for 22 years and have 2 daughters (15 & 5) and a house full of pets. They have 4 dogs; Ripley - Boston Terrier/Min Pin mix age 13,  Tank - Greater Swiss Mountain Dog age 10, Doc Holliday - Cavalier King Charles Spaniel age 9, and Pickles - Wirehair Dachshund age 6. They also share their home with Chowder – a Domestic Shorthair age 3, Sonora – a Desert Tortoise  age 16 years, Nacho – a Quaker Parrot age 9 months, Clover – a Lionhead Bunny age 3 months, and Assorted Freshwater Fish.

Her family enjoys spending time together going on day hikes with the dogs, going to Dog Shows and reading.  Trinity is obsessed with owls.  Her house is covered in all things owls and even has a Northern Saw Whet Owl tattooed on her arm.

Trinity says she is known as the "breed snob" at work but actually the term everyone uses is “breed encyclopedia”.  She has always been interested in the different breeds of dogs and cats and has owned several different breeds through the years.  However she has NOTHING against mutts! One of her most favorite dogs is a scruffy little terrier mix with an under-bite!

Trinity is an amazing part of our team!