Professional Portraits by Country Gallery,Kimball, MN and Champa Studios, St. Cloud, MN

Holly Murphy, Office Manager officemanager@companionsweb.com  Hello! My name is Holly and I am the Office Manager at Companions Animal Hospital. I grew up on a dairy farm near Colby, Wisconsin and moved to St. Cloud to attend college at St. Cloud State University. After graduating college in 1994 and working for Circuit City for 10 years, I was looking for a change from retail electronics. I have always loved animals and have been a client here since 1999 and so when I saw the office manager position was available I decided to apply and have been here ever since. My two-legged family consists of my husband, Jim and our son, Aidan. We currently have just one four legged family member, Gizmo. My hobbies include playing with Aidan and Gizmo,  listening to music and some craft projects. I really enjoy working here and getting to meet all of the wonderful clients and patients.

Kay Kortlever, Certified Veterinary Technician Technicians@companionsweb.com Hi! My name is Kay Kortlever. I am one of the certified technicians at CAH. I grew up on a small hobby farm in a small town south of Duluth and attended college at North Dakota State University. My husband Randy and I moved to St. Cloud in 1987 after living a short time in Taylor’s Falls. We now have a house in the country, out towards Luxemburg, although we are now technically within City limits. I started working as a technician for Dr. Kallestad (the previous owner) in 1988, and minus an extended maternity leave, have been here ever since. On the home front, I have two daughters that keep me running. We also have a dog and two cats. We have also raised rabbits, pheasants, and chickens in the past. Hobbies I enjoy include bird feeding, arts and crafts and photography, when time permits.

Mendi Rogers, Certified Veterinary Technician Team@companionsweb.com Hi! My name is Mendi Rogers. I was born in a small town in Nebraska called Liberty. I spent my childhood in an even smaller town called Wheatland, Wyoming. When I was a teenager my family moved to Minnesota and I’ve been here ever since. I went to Sauk Rapids High School and attended both the St. Cloud Technical College and SCSU. I became a Certified Veterinary Technician in 2006 after attending Argosy University in Eagan, MN. My family consists of my husband, our son, a chocolate lab named Reggie, and a cat named Fig. I have been with the team at Companions Animal Hospital since the very beginning, back in 1998. My future plans are to continue to be a team member and look into specializing.

Linda Studanski, Groomer Team@companionsweb.com  I am a certified Professional Pet Groomer since 1997 with a CPR certification. I started working at Companions in December 2000 and really enjoy the atmosphere here - you are treated like family. I was born and raised in the St. Cloud area. I have always had a compassionate heart towards animals. Growing up I lived in an apartment that only allowed caged animals, so we had birds and hamsters. I spent a lot of my time at our local Tri-County Humane Society walking and visiting all the great animals that came to the shelter. Grooming has been more like a hobby for me. I really enjoy pampering my grooms and sending them home smelling and looking great. I still live in the St. Cloud area and have a beautiful Siberian Husky named Keyia and a wonderful bay paint horse named Tiki. I joined the Benton County Mounted Patrol Posse in January 2007 so I've been busy training my horse for the local parades and security jobs as needed. I'm also a Reserve Officer for the St. Cloud Police Department. I have an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Criminal Justice. Someday I hope to combine my love for animals with my loyalties to protect and serve the community as a full time career. I will always have a place in my heart for grooming and plan on staying a team member at Companions for many years to come. I look forward to meeting all the great pets and their owners. I'm a firm believer that a clean, attractive, healthy pet is a happy pet! Hope to see you soon.

Mike Botz, Facilities Manager Team@companionsweb.com I am the part time facility manager at Companions since 1998. I was born in St. Cloud, MN. I'm the second oldest of six children, born to Paul and Kathy Botz. I went to elementary school at Jefferson. My junior high school years I went to North Junior High and graduated from Apollo High School. After graduation I joined the army for 3 years and then the reserves for another 10 years. My fulltime job is for Royal Tire as a technician; I have been there for 22 years. I got married in 1982 to Linda Karnik. We live in Sauk Rapids. My hobbies include fishing at our cabin, riding snowmobiles in the winter and working with wood. We have a Yorkshire terrier mix named Ziggy.

Rhonda Grant, Veterinary Assistant Team@companionsweb.com  My name is Rhonda Grant, I have been a veterinary assistant at Companions Animal Hospital since 2000. When I am not working I enjoy playing tennis, spending time with friends and family and taking care of my own pets and livestock on the family farm. Living on a farm gave me the opportunity to learn proper care and treatment for animals. I have always had an interest in knowing more about animals. After high school I decided to look for an occupation where I would get the chance to work closely with people who share the same compassion for animals as I do.

 Faith Thomas, Client Care Representative

Clientcare@companionsweb.com

Hi! My name is Faith and I am one of the Client Care Representatives at Companions.  I was born and raised in St. Cloud.  I am the youngest of five siblings.  I started at Companions in April 2009 as the Overnight Animal Caretaker and started as a Client Care Representative when a position became available.

I love spending time with Katie,my Beagle.  I also like scrapbooking and photography, although I wish I was a little better at them.  You may also see me regularly at the library.  I really enjoy a good mystery!

I enjoy seeing the pets when they come in, whether they are four-legged or have wings!  My job is very rewarding and I am so glad I got the opportunity to work with animals again.

Cindy Kohs, Veterinary Assistant

Team@companionsweb.com

Hi, I'm Cindy and I am the evening assistant at Companions Animal Hospital.  I was born and raised in St. Cloud and attended St. Cloud State University.  I graduated in 1983 with a degree in Social Work & Psychology. After working 10 years as a social worker, I decided it was time to pursue my second love for a career.  After receiving a degree from the Professional Career Development Institute, I joined the team here in 2000 as a veterinary assistant. I made the decision to change jobs in 2009.  That only lasted a short time, as after one year, I was back at Companions.  The change was fine, but it was just not where I wanted to be.  My heart was definitely with pets and having the opportunity to work with them again was not to be passed up.  My job is always challenging and I look forward to going to work.  When I am not at work, I have a family of four-legged pets who keep me busy.  I have two dogs, 3 cats, a rabbit and a hedgehog.  I am not sure where my future will take me, but now, I am right where I want to be!

Beth Burns, Client Care Representative

Clientcare@companionsweb.com

Hello, I'm Beth and I am the afternoon and evening Client Care Representative at Companions Animal Hospital.  I grew up on the "range" in a small town called Pengilly.  I have two daughters, Cassie who is 25 and is finishing up her Psychology degree at the University of Minnesota Morris campus and Lydia who is 12 and is very active in sports and school activities including volleyball, basketball, swimming, Girl Scouts, band, choir and church activities.

I live in the country and enjoy gardening, planting flowers, reading, sewing, crafts, watching movies, deer hunting, winter and summer fishing, 4-wheeling and spending time with family and friends.  

Currently my pets include 6 pigs!  I am hoping to get a cat sometime in the near future as I miss having one around, although I don't have any pets now because my daughter is allergic to dog and cat dander but we  are hoping she outgrows it soon. I love meeting all of the pets that come here though!

Bob Hatfield, Overnight Animal Caretaker

Team@companionsweb.com

Hello!  My name is Bob and I am one of the animal caretakers.  I am usually here overnights so clients may not see me. I have been here since March of 2010.  Before working here I was in the roofing business for 20 years.

My job is cleaning and walking all of the boarders.  I get to see all of the different breeds that come in.  I really feel for the hospital patients and care for them as if they were my own.  This is the greatest job I have ever had.

Growing up I have always had dogs.  Today, I have an 8 year old Shepherd/Lab mix that we got from the humane society as a puppy.  I also have 4 cats to complete my family of four legged critters.

Jesse Skillingstad, Animal Caretaker Team@companionsweb.com Hello! My name is Jesse, and I am one of the Animal Caretakers at Companions Animal Hospital. I graduated from Sauk-Rapids-Rice High School and now am enrolled at Rasmussen College where I am getting my AAS Degree in Massage Therapy.  I have also studied pet massage so our four legged friends can feel better.  In my free time I like to spend time with family and friends. I also enjoy watching movies, Nascar races and dirt biking.  When I don't want to be active I will sit and write stories.  Being at Companions I started my own family of furry friends.  I have four rambunctious cats, Tookie, Maresha, Athena, and Cosmo

Carol Kohs, Animal Caretaker team@companionsweb.com Hi! I'm Carol and I work every other weekend as an Animal Caretaker at Companions. I am responsible for feeding, walking and taking care of the pets that board here. If your pet is going home on Sunday, I would be the person to bathe and get everything ready for them to re-join you. I started at Companions in the summer of 2004 as a volunteer. When the opportunity came up to work part-time as the weekend caretaker, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to work with such great people and it fit in with my full-time job schedule during the week. Outside of work, I enjoy crocheting, reading, and walking my own dogs. My sister and I take our own pets (dogs, cat and rabbit) to Companions and have always admired the care and concern of the staff for our pets' well-being!

Sandra Klobuchar, Veterinary Assistant team@companionsweb.com Hi! I'm Sandy a veterinary assistant at Companions. My animal obsession started early in life, as a child I drove my parents crazy by bringing stray animals home. My early love of animals never wavered and when I was ready to work it seemed only natural that I pursued a career with my four legged friends. One of my first jobs was at a discount store with a fish and small animal department. I have always tried to find occupations where I felt I was making a difference in an animals’ life. My past jobs range from managing the city's pound to running a pet store. Once I strayed from animals and tried working as a paraprofessional helping special needs children, I found it rewarding but missed my animal interactions. I came to Companions because the clinic has a wonderful reputation for really, truly caring for their patients and owners. It had been a dream of mine to work in a Veterinary Hospital and Companions gave me the opportunity to fulfill that dream. When I am not working you may find me singing. I have been singing professionally for nearly 20 years.  My other hobbies are mostly animal related seeing that I have my own mini-zoo complete with dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and fish. I have two adult children who are also huge animal lovers.