Veterinary Assistants

Crystal Feldhaus
Crystal grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska. She graduated in 2004 from Northern State University, with a Bachelors Degree in Biology. Her greatest passion is animals; she cannot see herself in a career without them. Crystal joined our staff in March of 2007. She loves seeing patients come in to Lakewood and leave happy and healthy. Crystal is married and has 2 children, 3 cats, and a guinea pig.

Heather Barnard
Heather joined our staff In August of 2007. She has enjoyed the change of pace from working primarily with horses, to now working with smaller animals. She loves LAHC’s atmosphere, staff, clients, and pets. More importantly she loves to be a part of the high quality care that is provided at Lakewood Animal Health Center. Heather is married with 1 son, 3 dogs, and a horse.

Registered Veterinary Technicians (R.V.T)

Brenda McBride
Brenda, a registered Veterinary Technician since 1981, has been with Lakewood Animal Health Center since 1997. Along with her nursing duties, Brenda is one of the instructors of the Puppy Training Class. It has been very rewarding for Brenda to see puppies grow into healthy, well behaved, and loving companions for their owners. Brenda and her husband have 4 kids and 1 dog.

Melissa Whittaker
Melissa has been a registered Veterinary Technician since 1998 and has been with Lakewood since 2003. Her favorite part of the being a technician is nursing care of sick and elderly pets. Melissa is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. She and her husband have two daughters, 1 dog, and a cat.

Sarah Hanna
Sara graduated from Maple Woods Community College in 2005, and has been in the veterinary field since 2002. She joined our staff in December, 2007. She enjoys new puppies and helping clients give their pets the wonderful care they deserve. Sara and her husband have 1 daughter and 2 dogs.

Receptionists

Donna "Donni" Van Ommeren
Donni joined the LAHC staff in 1998 with 8 years of experiance as a veterinary receptionist. She left in 2003 to babysit her first grandchild. In the October of 2008, she rejoined the LAHC staff as a receptionist/office manager. She enjoys the comradery of the staff and loves greeting the patients and conversing with clients. She and her husband Virg have been married for 39 years. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Their "kids" at home include 3 dogs - Andy, Simon and Mulli -- and Sophie, a cat. On nice days, if not at work, you will find Donni golfing.

Donna Evans
Donna has worked in the veterinary field for the past 28 years because she loves her job. Donna has a following of clients and patients that have known her for years and appreciate the special attention she gives to each of them. Donna has been married for 31 years with 3 wonderful children. She enjoys spending time with her 2 gorgeous grandsons. Her ‘babies’ at home include 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Vicki Lauffer
Vicki Lauffer has been with Lakewood Animal Health Center since 2000. She came to us with administrative background from the Kansas City Missouri police department and Marion Laboratories. Her love for animals drew her to be a kennel attendant and then to her current position as receptionist. She is known for sweet talking the patients. Vicki and her husband of 22 years have a multiple-dog family and 2 cats. She has a strong work ethic and works to “treat others as she would want to be treated”.

Peggy Pack
Peggy is a native of western Missouri and has lived in Lee’s Summit for 28 years. She has been married for 39 years, has 6 children, and 16 grandchildren. She has worked for Lakewood since 2001 and loves her job. She is detailed and conscientious. She enjoys learning something new everyday. She is involved with the local and national Newfoundland Club and actively trains and shows her own Newfoundlands.

Kennel Attendants

Tracy VanPelt
Tracy has lived in Lee's Summit since 1997 and graduated from Lee's Summit High School in 2005. She has been with Lakewood since September of 2008, but has worked as an Animal Caregiver since 2005. Tracy has decided to return to school in the Fall of 2009 to pursue a degree in Business Administration. When not working, she loves to spend time with her horse, 2 dogs, family, and friends.

Nicki Fergerson
Nicki joined LAHC in September of 2008. After graduating from Warsaw High School in 2007, she moved to Independence to live with her aunt and uncle and attend Blue River Community College. She is majoring in Business Education, and will graduate with her Associates Degree in May of 2009. She then plans to transfer to UMKC or MSU to earn her BA. Nicki has a passion for animals, and that makes her job very enjoyable. Currently she has 2 cats, but plans to get a puppy when her life has settled down a bit.

Chrystal Davis
Chrystal joined the staff in August of 2007. She has been happily married for 3 years. She is a water color artist and also loves to draw. She loves all animals, but considers cats to be her passion- she has 4 of her own. She enjoys her job a lot, and is either considering a career as a Veterinary Technician, or in art.

Clint Wallis
Clint joined LAHC in November of 2008. He is currently pursuing studies in agriculture at UCM. He likes working at Lakewood because he enjoys the company of animals and the professional atmosphere. Clint enjoys skateboarding, cooking, and the "great outdoors". He has 2 dogs and a cat.

Maggie Khan
Maggie graduated from Blue Springs South High School and is currently majoring in Journalism at Longview Community College. She joined Lakewood in October, 2008. Maggie loves animals, photography, and traveling. She has a German Shephard and 3 cats.

Groomers

Jeannette Hamilton
Jeannette has been grooming at Lakewood Animal Health Center for almost 10 years, and she loves what she does. She has gotten to know so many wonderful people and pets. She sees many of the animals on a weekly or monthly basis and therefore has a terrific rapport with them. For Jeannette, being a part of their lives is like having an extended family. Jeannette is married with 2 children.

Amy Martin
Amy started at LAHC 10 years ago as a receptionist. As a true animal lover she wanted to be more hands on with the animals. When a grooming position became available she had the opportunity to do an apprenticeship to fulfill the grooming demands of the practice. Clients and pets have made Amy one of their favorite people. Having great owners who love their pets is the best part of her job.

Laura Cunningham
Laura has over 20 years of experience grooming in Lee's Summit. She has a large following of clientele that have stayed with her over the years because of her exceptional quality and great personality. She has a great reputation and stays very busy!

Alysson Preston
Alysson has been grooming for 6 years. She moved from Tennessee with her parents, 2 sisters, one being her twin, and a younger brother. She loves her entire family which includes Jack, a cute Corgi, and Lucy, a beautiful Maltese who sports a pink manicure and shades. Alysson will always have a special place in her heart for animals and loves the art of grooming.

Elizabeth Preston
Elizabeth comes to Lakewood Animal Health Center with 6 years of grooming experience. Elizabeth and her twin sister Alysson grew up in Tennessee. She enjoys grooming because it is creative and fun to work with each animal’s personality and style. Her family operates an in-home child care business which keeps Elizabeth busy during her days off. She shares her home with her family which includes a Maltese and Corgi