Joan - Practice Manager
Joan is the daughter of Dr. Higgins, former owner of the Higgins Animal Clinic and sister clinic to The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort.
Joan also runs the Pierre LeBark Pet Boutique where she is greatly enjoying finding both necessary and unique items to sell!
Joan is a Registered Nurse who also has degrees in Psychology and Spanish Education. In her nursing career, she has held positions as a bilingual psychiatric nurse and Director of Nursing for Home Health.
Joan is married to Dr. Roberts and is the mother of two adult children, Lindsay and Alyssa.
In her free time, Joan enjoys creating beaded jewelry and is the coordinator of a community- based English-as-a-second language program.
Joan may be contacted at 847-495-4266 or at joanroberts@wheelinganimalclinic.com
Rich - Office Manager/Bookkeeper
Rich has a gift for organization which makes him indispensable at The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort.
He has a knack for problem-solving honed from 34 years of working in various customer service capacities.
Rich is married with one son. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf and working with crafts.
Mary - Client Care Specialist
Mary is an 19-year veteran employee of the Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort, having started in 1991.
She is married with 3 sons and has two cats named Libby and Linus.
In her free time, Mary enjoys volunteer work, crafts, reading and spending time with her grandchildren.
Mary is known as the Wheeling Animal Hospital's
"Cat Lady" but is probably best known for her ability to make clients feel comfortable and at ease.
Jacylyn - Client Care Specialist
Our Client Care Specialist, Jacy, is a true animal lover. Her list of personal pets includes a Boxer named Roxy, two cats Hurley and Nala and a Leopard Gecko, Ari and some fish.
Jacy spent one year at Michigan State University, is now at College of Lake County studying Science and plans on pursuing a career in veterinary medicine.
Jacy likes the outdoors and spends her free time at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Interacting with pets rates high on the list of things that Jacy enjoys about her job here at The Wheeling Animal Hospital.
Margie - Client Care Specialist
Shauna - Client Care Specialist
Toni - Client Care Specialist
Jerry - Surgical Team Leader
Gerardo (Jerry) grew up on a farm in Mexico. He is a Veterinarian in his home country. He attended C.E.T.A. Centro de Estudios Agropecuarios en Santa Maria del Oro Durango and C.E.U. Centro de Estudios Universitarios de Monterrey, Nuevo Leon where he received his degree in Medico Veterinario Zootechnista.
Jerry, who is well-known to many of our long-time clients, keeps our surgerical suite organized and functioning smoothly and has been sharing his knowledge with us at The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort since 1991.
He lives with his wife, Claudia, two daughters, Natalie and Kaitlin, and a Yorkshire Terrier named Rocko.
Jaclyn - Technician Assistant Team Leader
Jaclyn joined the staff of The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort in July 2008, bringing with her five years of previous veterinary clinic experience.
She attended Southern Illinois University, where she earned a B.S. degree in Animal Science. Future plans include studying for a career in Veterinary Medicine.
Jaclyn has had many pets over the years. Her current pet is a Columbian Red-Tail Boa named Sam. Two family pets are Pugs named Snuffles and Lola.
In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, making beaded jewelry, crafting glass beads and baking.
Jenny P. - Certified Veterinary Technician
Jenny P. was born and raised in Illinois but moved to Denver, Colorado to earn her A.A.S. in Animal Technology. Jenny lists passing her state boards to become certified as a veterinary technician as a great accomplishment.
Moving back home to Illinois to be with family and friends, Jenny joined the staff of the Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort in October 2008.
She owns a miniature Dachshund, a black Labrador Retriever and two cats.
Future plans include a desire to pursue additional certification as an Animal Rehabilitation Therapist.
Antonio - Veterinary Assistant
Antonio came to the U.S. from Mexico about 10 years ago and has been working at The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort for most of that time.
He works six days a week between the hours of 8am and 3pm and is generally available to help clients into the hospital with their pets if they phone ahead or call from the parking lot.
Antonio has a parrot named Pepito and enjoys volleyball and jogging in his free time.
Jenny - Veterinary Assistant
Jenny joined the staff of The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort as a Veterinary Assistant in February 2007, having been a lifelong lover of animals.
She is the proud owner of four cats, Whiskers, Ginger, Shady and Jinx and hopes to one day own a labrador retriever.
In her spare time, Jenny enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and playing billiards.
Future plans include furthering her education as a Veterinary Technician.
Stephanie - Veterinary Assistant
Stephanie started out as a Wheeling Animal Hospital volunteer but due to her hard work and enthusiasm, she was soon upgraded to employee status.
Stephanie attends Parkland College and plans to enter the Certified Veterinary Technician program in the fall.
She is the proud owner of a tabby cat named Mikey. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys drawing and snowboarding.
Kristen - Veterinary Assistant
Kristin is a senior in high school and works part time as a Veterinary Assistant. As she is a big lover of animals, Kristin really enjoys working at The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort, and states that she is always learning something new.
Kristin has a 10-year-old Golden Retriever named Cole and two lizards.
in her free time, Kristin plays volleyball and soccer and likes to draw.
Cheryl - Veterinary Assistant
Cheryl joined the staff of The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet resort in July 2008. She graduated from Schaumburg High School.
Cheryl feels a "great passion" to care for animals and very much enjoys meeting a variety of pets and their owners on a daily basis.
She owns two "adorable" cats, Arthur, a six-month old orange tabby and Kitty, a five-year-old siamese/tabby cross.
She spends her free time going to movies, watching Animal Planet, playing games on the WII and going out with friends.
Nicole - Veterinary Assistant
Vanya - Veterinary Assistant
Vanya comes to us from her native Bulgaria, where she is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. She loves working with animals and is very interested in the role pets play in our lives, here in the United States.
Vanya lives with her husband, who is also a veterinarian in Bulgaria. They have no pets here in the United States as they have only been here for five months. In Bulgaria, Vanya has four cats and three dogs. The cats are named Julie, Shonee, Mickey and Meeshe and the dogs are named Carrie and Sara.
In her free time, Vanya likes to read and talk to her family in Bulgaria by live web chat.
Casey - Veterinary Assistant
Matt - Administrative Assistant
Matt's official title at our clinic is Administrative Assistant, however, he may be seen on any given day in numerous areas of the clinic. Matt often helps out in Daycamp and Kennel, and posed as "Santa" for our "Pet Photos with Santa".
A Business major at Harper College, Matt enjoys working at our clinic because he says that he "likes the facility and being a part of a team who really cares about pets".
Matt lives with his parents, brother, great-grandmother, two aunts, three rescued dogs; a Chow/Husky named Sadie, two Rhodesian Ridgeback mixes, Billy and Honey, a cat named Rum and a cockatiel named Merlyn.
In his spare time, Matt likes to read and "build things".
Alyssa - Sales Manager/ Adoption Coordinator
Alyssa is the Sales Manager of the Pierre LeBark's Pet Boutique, which was named after her Papillon, Pierre. She also handles our W.A.G.S adoption program.
Alyssa is the daughter of owner,practitioner, Dr. Roberts and was virtually raised at The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort since it opened its doors in 1990. It is no surprise that she has a genuine passion for animals.
In addition to Pierre, Alyssa has a Chihuahua named Senor Pedro and a rescued Pomeranian/Chihuahua named Papi. She also has two goldfish named Black and Hawk.
When she is not taking care of her pets, Alyssa enjoys basketball and tennis.
Sue - Lead Pet Resort Reservations Specialist
Sue joined the staff of The Wheeling Animal Hospital and Pet Resort several months ago as a Pet Reservations Specialist.
Sue worked in Human Resources for 20 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Now that daughter Megan is 14 years old, Sue decided to indulge her passion for animals by working with them on a daily basis.
Hers is one of the friendly voices you will hear when calling The Wheeling Pet Resort.
Sue lives with her husband, daughter and two dogs; Buddy, a Beagle and Weiser, a white Labrador Retriever.
Kelly - Pet Resort Reservation Specialist/Animal Care Assistant
Our newest Pet Resort Reservations Specialist, Kelly, comes to us with a background in wildlife preservation and a degree in Biology from Illinois State University.
Kelly loves animals (she has two cats named Cairo and J.C.) and says that being around pets all day and watching them play and have fun in our pet resort makes this a very enjoyable job!
In her spare time, Kelly is an artist. She paints for an organization called "Fellow Mortals Wildlife Hospital." Her art is auctioned off at a yearly fundraiser and screen-printed on to T-shirts, which are sold in the gift shop. In addition, Kelly has painted a wall mural in a wildlife center in South Africa.
Kelly's future plans include possibly becoming a veterinary technician or a zookeeper.
Leo - Kennel/Daycamp Manager
Leo, our Pet Resort Kennel Manager, has a solid background in animal care, having worked at the Save-a-Pet shelter for 2 years. Even before that, Leo says that he was always the one family and friends called on to babysit their pets.
Leo lives with his family, 2 dogs, a yellow lab named Max and a Shih-Tzu named Betsy as well as 2 cats, named Monkey and Hercules.
Leo is dedicated to the care of animals. He appreciates the fact that pet parents entrust the care of their pets to us and enjoys spending time with and taking care of all types of pets.
In his spare time, Leo likes reading, working out, playing football and basketball, installing car stereos and attending car racing events.
Leo has attended the University of Illinois for two years and his future plans include study in Mechanical Engineering.
Kyle - Animal Care Assistant/Doggy Day Camp Counselor
Kyle brings to the Wheeling Animal Hospital a solid background in doggy day care, having managed a doggy day care center for three years before joining our team. Kyle also runs our Saturday afternoon dog romps from noon to 1pm, where pets and pet parents come to play in our day camp area.
In his free time, Kyle volunteers at Adopt-a-Husky rescue organization and studies emergency rescue training with the Lake County Fire Department in the Federal Emergency Manangement Association (FEMA) program.
Kyle has three dogs of his own, two Huskies named Teak and Leia and a yellow Lab named Pepper. Pepper is in training to be a search and rescue dog.
When he isn't working or volunteering, Kyle enjoys doing yard work and hiking or going to the dog park with his dogs.
Here at the Wheeling Animal Hospital, Kyle says he likes the diversity of the pets he meets here, and that he enjoys learning about the different kinds of animals.
Kyle's first love is doggy day care and his future career goal is to own or manage a doggy day care center.
