Hospital Manager/Certified Veterinary Technician
Julie Williams
Julie has been working in various veterinary hospitals since high school. Having grown up in Indiana she moved to Florida to pursue her degree in Veterinary Technology at St Petersburg College. After graduation in 1992, she joined the staff of Pinellas Animal Hospital in April 1993. Julie and her husband Stan are the proud parents of a daughter named Lyndie. They also share their home with a dog named Madison.
Continuing Education Specialist/Certified Veterinary Technician
Sara Popp
Sara moved to Pinellas County from Idaho in 1993 and joined the staff of Pinellas Animal Hospital while studying for her degree in Veterinary Technology at St. Petersburg College. Sara and her husband Greg currently share their home with Gia a boxer, Nadia a dachshund, Honeybee a maltipoo, five cats Tess, Josie, Bogie, Monello, and Speedbump, and an African spur-thighed tortoise called Tino. Sara and Greg recently became proud parents of twin boys, Kaden Michael and Joshua Dean, born April 26th 2008.
Kennel Manager
Nikki Maness
Nikki started working at Pinellas Animal Hospital as a Kennel Assistant in 1998, before taking over as Kennel Manager in 2002. Nikki is very thorough in her work, and handles all our patients with both care and understanding. She resides in Pinellas Park with her partner Laci of seven years and their abundance of pets which include 3 dogs Astrea, Ruff-Ruff, and Sin, 4 cats, 1 bird and a lizard.
Hospital Manager/Certified Veterinary Technician
Jennifer Ballinger
Jennifer immigrated to Florida from Wales, Great Britain in October of 1991. While studying for her certification in Veterinary Technology she joined the staff of Pinellas Animal Hospital in October 2000 and graduated in 2002. Jennifer lives in Largo with her husband Mike and completes the family with three dogs: a boxer mix named Lola, a three legged chihuahua mix named Brie, and Lab mix named Merlot. They also share their home with five cats, Zoe, Lunar, Imus, Tinky, and Hogan.
Housekeeper/Kennel Technician
Debra Wright
Debra joined Pinellas Animal Hospital in 2005 as housekeeper and nighttime animal caregiver. She is very passionate about all the animals that stay in the hospital and enjoys putting them to sleep at night. She resides in Pinellas Park with her husband David, daughter Pam, son-in-law Jared, and grandson Wyatt.
Veterinary Assistant/Receptionist
Amber Coon
Amber moved to Orlando, Florida from the small town of West Salem, Wisconsin to work at the Walt Disney World Resort. After meeting her husband Derrik, they moved to Pinellas County in July of 2005. Amber and Derrik currently share their home with a Shih-tzu named Wormie, and Scampers, an injured cat with a severely broken jaw that she nursed back to health. Amber and Derrik are proud parents of a baby girl, Kaitlyn Barbara born February 11, 2009.
Veterinary Assistant
Jessica Doering
Jessica moved to Florida in 1992 with her family from Manchester, Connecticut and first started at Pinellas Animal Hospital in August 2000 as a high school volunteer, she formally joined P.A.H. as an employee in March of 2006. Jessica has always had a passion for working with animals and is working on her veterinary technician certification. At present she resides in Pinellas Park, along with two dogs, Dime a pit bull, Leo a Boston Terrier, Poncho the bird, and a lot of fish.
Veterinary Assistant
Kim Chaffin
Kim was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended the University of Florida to study Anthropology. As a former zookeeper, most of Kims' experience comes from working with exotic animals including marine mammals, reptiles and bats. Kim had been employed as a veterinary technician at the University of Florida veterinary hospital and came to Pinellas Animal Hospital in May 2006. She lives in St. Petersburg with her Great Dane, Friday. Her hobbies include playing on and supporting her local Roller Derby team, The Tampa Bay Derby Darlins, skating, outdoor sports, reading and the beach.
Certified Veterinary Technician
Heidi Bucchioni
Heidi was born in Parma, OH and has lived in both the city life and the country scene. She recently moved to Tampa, FL with her husband David who is in the military. Heidi graduated in May 2008 with a Veterinary Technology degree and plans to pursue her Bachelor's in Biology. She joined the staff at Pinellas Animal Hospital as a veterinary technician in April 2008. She and her husband share their home with two dogs: a Doberman/Rottweiler mix named Jasmine, a Lab/Pit mix named Roslyn, an orange/white tabby named Mozart, and a black DSH named Colonel Whiskers.
Veterinary Assistant
Walt Godfrey
Walt is Dr. Godfrey's middle son and was born and raised in the St Petersburg area. He graduated from Seminole High School and began working at Pinellas Animal Hospital in October 2006. Walt enjoys spending time at the beach in his spare time. He also loves to spend time with his favorite housecat Studley.
Certified Veterinary Technician
Jana Kukacka
Jana joined us in May 2007 as a student from SPC and became a permanent member of staff two months later. Jana was born in Liberec, Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the United States in 1990. Jana and her fiance currently live in St. Petersburg where she has resided since arriving in the United States with her family. They share their home with two cats that had been abandoned, named Trouble and Mischief.
Client Care Coordinator
Liz Rhoades
Liz joined Pinellas Animal Hospital in October of 2007. Among being a receptionist extraordinaire she enjoys being a mommy and spending time with her two children Kalin and Hanna. She has a German Shepard Angel, a Beagle puppy Avispa, a cat Rascal, and a snake Izzy.
Kennel Technician
Wendy Folsom
Wendy was born and raised in Florida. She joined our staff as a kennel technician in July 2007. Currently she lives in Pinellas Park with her boyfriend Gene and three children: Jeremiah, Ariel, and Brandon. Wendy loves the relationship that she has with the animals here as well as at her home. She shares her home with four dogs: Abby, Frodo, Yoshi, and Charlie; as well as three cats: Mister Moo, Lynx, and Doorstop (this kitty was abandoned here on the hospital door step).
Veterinary Assistant
Sarah Hayes
Sarah was born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL. In her spare time she volunteers at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium rehabbing sea turtles, dolphins, and otters! She shares her home with her American Bulldog Dante and two tabby cats Cali and Ewe. She has a degree in music and environmental science but her passion is working with animals.
Kennel Technician
Aaron Anderson
Aaron is the newest member of our team, he was born and raised in Largo. He has two Lhasa Apsos (which he calls his rats!) named Precious and Diya. He enjoys playing outside with the dogs. In his spare time he likes to take his dogs for walks and chase them around the house.
Photos courtesy of LME Images, thank you Laurie!
