Veterinarian and Owner
I didn't always want to be a vet. I loved dogs and really wanted a cat. I would put out some milk if I saw a cat in the neighborhood and my mom would say "don't feed them or they'll keep coming back." Obviously she didn't understand that was my plan!
When I was in high school, I planned on being a neurosurgeon or a writer. When I got to college, I found I didn't like the people in my pre-med classes, so I decided to go into genetics research. I worked in a lab at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln as an undergrad, then went to Oregon State University to work on a PhD in Genetics. But I found that "bench research" wasn't for me, either. It was too solitary and didn't seem applicable to real life. Plus writing grants wasn't my kind of writing!
So there I was in Corvallis, Oregon, struggling with what I was going to do with my life. I thought about teaching; my dad had been an educator, but I wasn't sure I wanted to be around kids all day. Then my fiance, Cameron, got me a 6 month old kitten. I was in love and thought "I could work with cats all day!" I finished my research project for a Master's Degree, got married, and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Cameron started graduate school (he likes bench research!). After establishing residency in Michigan, I applied to Michigan State University School of Veterinary Medicine and here I am today--loving being a veterinarian, talking to lots of people, and petting dogs and cats all day! Life is good.
I started Four Lakes Vet Clinic in April, 2013. I had been working in McFarland, but wanted a place where I could better practice medicine my way. The vets at Harmony Vet suggested starting in the empty space next to them and the rest is history.
I have 3 sons: Caleb, graduating in Nuclear Engineering from University of California - Berkeley and commissioning into the Navy (on submarines), Asher, majoring in Civil Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison and will commission into the Air Force upon graduation, and Micah, still in high school. I'm holding out hope that maybe Micah will become a veterinarian (and not a different kind of vet!)...
I have 4 cats (5 on the weekends when I bring Charlie home): Catalina, Eddie, Spice, and Moby and 1 naughty Collie dog (the notorious "counter surfer and stealer of cat food"), Scout. When I'm not scooping cat litter or walking Scout, I'm often playing Fishdom on my iPad or watching the Great British Baking Show while walking on a treadmill.
