MEET THE STAFF

Lana - Lana is our Hospital Manager/Webmaster/IT Person. She graduated from University of Michigan with a BBA in 2006. Lana has always been an animal lover and was raised with ducks, hamsters, mice, rats, snakes, ferrets, birds, an iguana, and of course, cats and dogs. Currently she just has two cats, Micha and Squeak. Lana feels quite at home here at Jewell Animal Hospital!

Melissa - Melissa started as a volunteer here at Jewell Animal Hospital. She volunteered with us for 2 months, and did such a great job that we hired her in. She has a Veterinary Assistant career diploma from Penn Foster and is bilingual. She enjoys her life with her three children, two little girls and one boy, her dog Shadow, and her wonderful husband.

Phil - Phil is a certified veterinary technician who graduated from Fox College in 2009. He previously received a bachelor’s degree in English and, after realizing he disliked cubicles, decided that animal medicine rules. He has 2 cats with ridiculous names...Chairperson Meow and Explodo! His goofball personality can add levity to any situation. In his free time, he plays guitar in a band called Big Dammit and watches too much Netflix.

Craig - Craig has been a veterinary techinician for over 10 years with a degree in zoology from Joliet Junior College. Away from work, he enjoys his time helping to foster and rescue cats and dogs, as well as take care of his own 6 cats. Craig is a great part of the team here at Jewell Animal Hospital!

Jackie - Jackie received her B.A. in Technical Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations from Colorado State University, and her M.A. in Sports Administration from Northwestern University. Jackie joined Jewell Animal Hospital in 2008 but has always loved animals. She began horseback riding at the age of 4 and currently rides once a week (photo taken with Michael, her favorite horse). Besides horses, cats and dogs, she also loves Cubs, Bears, Bulls and Hawks!

Cathy - Cathy escaped over 25 years in retail to pursue her love of animals. With 10 years experience in the veterinary industry, she brings her superb expertise in client care to the Jewell Animal Hospital Team. She has proven to be the resident "crazy cat lady", taking care of her own 6 felines, as well as working as a private pet sitter in her spare time.

Chrissy - Chrissy is currently attending Northeastern Illinois University to obtain her BAS in Economics and History. She joined us here at Jewell Animal Hospital in 2011 as a client care representative. She was just recently promoted to assistant manager, and she is thrilled to be able to play with puppies and kittens all day, amongst other things. Originally from the Detroit suburbs, she has been in Chicago for 6 years now, and she loves it. She has always been an animal person, and stray cats in need of homes have followed her home since she was a kid. In her free time she is a full-time student, so she does not have a ton of free time. If she does, though, she enjoys cooking, spending time with her friends and family, and reading.

Amy - Amy received her B.A. in French from Loyola University Chicago. She channeled her love of dogs into volunteering and eventually working with a local dog rescue. She now volunteers with Lincoln Park Zoo's Farm-in-the-Zoo and enjoys hanging with the goats (really just big, lazy dogs!). Amy gets the best of both worlds at Jewell as both veterinary technician assistant and client care representative.

Hobbes - Hobbes started out here as an assistant for Saxby, but has since shown such incredible capabilities he has been promoted to research consultant. Hobbes roams the animal hospital visiting with pets here for appointments, he especially loves puppies! While some of his day is taken up basting in the sun, when he's free to explore he loves playing with his assortment of toys, playing hide and seek by himself, and taking over Dr. Mitchell's chair for naps. His current research project is to determine which cat food is the best. Outside of work, Hobbes enjoys bird watching, ballet and gardening.

Ellie - Ellie came to Jewell Animal Hospital as a kitten in late 2011. Within days we had all fallen in love with her, she and Hobbes had become best buddies, and she had found her brand new home. Recently Ellie has started her first semester of circus cat training and she has successfully learned both low five and high five. Soon she hopes to be jumping through hoops on command. Ellie spends most of her days sleeping on our counter and scowling at the dogs that come in. One of her favorite things to do is to eat the dog treats and knock everything off of our counters!