Congratulations OutPatient Technician, Ryan Leder!! February 2020 Employee of the Month!
When did you join SVH?
I joined Sayrebrook in fall of 2018. I started as a boarding technician and worked my way up to a pharmacy (outpatient) technician.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
From a young age I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and had a passion for science, so it always seemed like a no brainer to me.
What do you love about what you do?
My favorite part of my job is being able to see animals all day long! I love being able to help heal animals, learn more about them, and medicine every day.
A little bit about you, your family and own pets:
I currently don’t have any animals, but plan on adopting a dog when I go to vet school in the fall! I have a huge family that I am very close to and get to see all the time (and come over to cut their animals nails).
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I am a big gymnastics fan, but I am extremely uncoordinated and unathletic. My unathleticism is even a running joke in my family!
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Congratulations to our January 2020 Employee of the Month, Emily Szlachta!
Emily is an animal caretaker, veterinary assistant AND laboratory technician here at Sayrebrook!!!
When did you join SVH?
I joined the Sayrebrook family July 2016.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
I’ve always loved animals. When I was little, the first job I ever said I wanted was to be a veterinarian.
What do you love about what you do?
I enjoy the work I do here; it always feels meaningful to help animals of all shapes and sizes. Through working in lab, I’ve been able to discover how much I love this technical side of the job almost as much as I adore the animals.
A little bit about you, your family and own pets:
I have two cats at home. One I’ve had since I was a kid and one stray that I’ve taken into my family after building some hard-won trust.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
Overall, my ultimate dream is to be an author. It sounds like it’s a world away from my current job, but I take inspiration from daily occurrences, and animals will always have an important place in my stories and in my heart.
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Congratulations, to our animal caretaker, June Wisniewski! December 2019 Employee of the Month!
When did you join Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital?
I started working for Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital on July 5th, 2018 as an animal caretaker in the boarding department.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
I love working with animals and my co-workers also.
This hospital has a lot of great and knowledgeable doctors and technicians. I like to ask a lot of questions. I like learning new things about animals that I didn’t know.
What do you love about what you do?
I love taking care of our animals that stay here with us. I always like to make sure that they feel safe and secure with us.
Tell us a little about you, your family and your own pets:
While I was growing up we always had a dog and a cat. I’ve always had a love for all animals. That’s where you learn to have compassion, love and sympathy.
I share my life with my shih-tzu, Maggie, that I adopted from Sammy’s Hope, my cat, Elvis, and two turtles named Leonardo and Donatello.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
My favorite flower is the sunflower. I really like doing crafts and making pretty things. I love music; I am a big Elvis fan. I have been a collector since I was 22. That’s a few things I will share with you.
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Congratulations, to our in-patient veterinary technician, Bohdana (Dana) Diakiv ! November 2019 Employee of the Month!
Learn more about Dana:
When did you join Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital?
I joined SVH in July of 2019 as a veterinary technician.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
When I was a child I saw many homeless animals on the streets. In my native country Ukraine, we don’t have a lot of shelters and people who can take care of the homeless animals. Then I started to wonder how I can help with this problem. The solution which I came up with was going to college to become a veterinarian. This is one of the main reasons why I have decided to connect my life with veterinary medicine.
What do you love about what you do?
Most of all what I love in my job is the ability to help animals which need our help and medical support by providing the right treatments. It makes me happy to be able to help our patients and it is the best feeling when they get better and better. Also, it is very important to have good teamwork. I am very grateful to the people I work with. They are always very supportive and understanding with me. They have a lot of patience with my language barrier since I moved to the United States not that long ago. Besides them being great specialists, they are also very kindhearted and sincere people.
Tell us a little about you, your family and your own pets:
I was born and raised in Ukraine. It is a small country with a breathtaking nature. I enjoy different kind of activities such as: riding motorcycle, playing tennis and volleyball, going rafting and skydiving. I have a great family who are always there for me even though they are far away right now. I try to keep in touch with them as much as possible, so the distance isn’t an obstacle in our relationships. In addition, I am very lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people, friends, and my boyfriend on my life journey. I don’t have any pets at the moment, but I am planning to get a dog in the future. As it is right now, all my attention and love goes to the patients.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
Three years ago, I decided to visit the United States. I wasn’t planning on staying here but life is so unpredictable, and my plans have changed in a different direction. I left my native country, my home, my family and friends and came to America without knowing any English since at school I was learning German. To be honest, it was very difficult at the beginning, but I was able to “survive”, and I am very thankful for being at this land of opportunities such as United States. Also, it gave me the ability to help my family and improve myself as a person. I am very thankful to God for everything I have.
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Congratulations to our October 2019 Employee of the Month – CSR, Thomas Acs.
Tom is rather new to our Sayrebrook Team – he just joined us in August of this year.
He was nominated by his peers for his eagerness to learn, professionalism and attention to detail.
Here is some more info to help you get to know Tom:
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
“I wanted to challenge myself in a new field that was radically different from anywhere I have worked before.”
What do you love about what you do?
“I love seeing all the animals that come in. We get so many cats and dogs, and most are very excited to get attention from people.”
A little bit about you, your family and own pets:
“I have one cat, an Egyptian Mau named Jazzie and one dog, a German Shepherd named Odinn. They are both very active.”
What would people be surprised to know about you?
“I am an avid collector of Japanese comics. I have well over 700 individual volumes. My favorite is a series called One Piece that accounts for over 90 volumes alone.”
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Congratulations to our Employee of the Month for September, 2019 – our Customer Service Representative (CSR) Geneice Marty!
Geneice joined our team at Sayrebrook in October of 2016.
She was drawn to working in veterinary medicine due to her love for all animals, whether pets or wildlife.
What does Geneice love about working at Sayrebrook?
“I love that I can help pets get better and I get to meet so many new furbabies. Also being able to meet all of their owners, whom share the same love and respect for their pets as I do.”
A little about Geneice:
“I am a happily engaged mother to four wonderful children. We currently do not own any pets, besides fish, because my two sons are highly allergic. However, we will be getting some bearded dragons soon!!”
When Geneice is not at Sayrebrook helping people and their pets, she likes to bake.
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Congratulations August 2019 Employee of the Month, Out-Patient Technician, Kara Porto!
When did you join SVH?
I started in February of 2015 as a CSR and was moved into outpatient/pharmacy ~1 year later.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
For most of my life, I’ve been interested in medicine – both human and veterinary medicine. When I started at Sayrebrook, I’d just graduated from Rutgers six months prior; I knew I wanted to work with animals, but wasn’t sure in which capacity. Working at Sayrebrook has allowed me to combine my love of animals, medicine and science.
What do you love about what you do?
I love many aspects of my job and love getting to know people and their pets; however, I have a special place in my heart for the nervous dogs (and cats), as I have a nervous dog named Ralph (the love of my life, who was photoshopped into this photo as he was unsure of my camera’s shutter sound and was lying behind me) – he has been my greatest teacher.
The veterinary hospital can be a stressful experience for our pets – we ask a tremendous amount of them (E.G.: obtaining vitals, examining ears and eyes, drawing blood, etc.) and we are unable to properly explain why we are behaving invasively AND that this invasive behavior is to benefit their health and well-being! I know having a nervous pet can be stressful on the humans who love and care for them and hope to alleviate some stress and make the visit easier – even if only a little bit.
Tell us a little about you, your family and your own pets:
I share my life with my husband, Nate and our two dogs, Polar our senior Bully Breed mix and Ralph, our senior super mutt, adopted from the streets of rural Georgia. Nate and I travel whenever we can and hope to regularly do so as we continue building our life together. Additionally, I have 3 brothers, an adorable nephew and most recently, a niece!
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I love horror films, scary stories and anything pertaining to true crime. I also love learning languages (Germanic and Slavic languages, specifically).
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Pat Po
llman, Laboratory Technician, July 2019 Employee of the Month. Congratulations, Pat!
When did you join SVH?
I started working at Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital in May 2002. I started at SVH as a receptionist (before we became known as CSRs or Customer Service Representatives). From there, I moved to outpatient technician and then to our in house laboratory where I have been ever since. Even though I am employed full time as our in house laboratory technician, when there is downtime in the lab, you can often find me helping out in our other departments.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
After spending many years in retail I was looking for a change. I saw a classified ad in the paper for a local animal hospital and thought that would be a great, happy atmosphere to work in. Being surrounded by animals and the people who love them and being able to help them is very rewarding.
What do you love about what you do?
I love working with the animals. I also love the ability to help provide so much information through all the tests we can run in the lab. Being in our in house lab helps me give the doctors results very quickly so they have the answers they need to provide the best care for our patients; guidance for our sick patients as well as the best paths for preventive care, too.
Tell us a little about you, your family and your own pets:
I am a senior and so are my two dogs, Jasper Cornbread and Magpie. Jasper is a border collie mix and Magpie is a chow mix. They are both almost 13 years old! I love spending my time with them and do all that I can to help keep them happy and healthy.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I love to read and I read a lot! Mostly cooking and travel books and magazines, even though I do not do a lot of either. I do much of my reading on a kindle, but I still absolutely love the feeling and smell of a real book in my hands.
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Congratulations to our June, 2019, Employee of the Month: in-patient veterinary technician, Ashley Sierra!
Ashley is pictured here with our hospital cat, Simba, during a celebration of his 16th birthday! Our beloved Simba recently turned 17!!
When did you join SVH?
I started working at Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital in July 2016. I started off in our boarding facility and then worked my way around the hospital to lab technician and in-patient technician.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
When I started working at SVH, I had just finished my second year of undergrad where I was majoring in marine biology. I was playing around with the idea of becoming a marine animal veterinarian, so I submitted my application to see if this was really something I wanted to pursue. Fast forward three years, and I am starting vet school this fall!
What do you love about what you do?
I love being able to make a difference. Being a vet tech isn’t all puppies and kittens. This job is filled with a lot of emotional ups and downs. However, the ups are incredibly rewarding. Being able to help nurse and treat these animals, and seeing them reunite with their owners – healthy and happy – makes it all worth it.
Tell us a little about you, your family and your own pets:
I have a 13.5 yr old “puppy” named Darby! Whenever she’s not begging for food, we’ll take nice walks or cuddle on the couch and watch Netflix. I also enjoy reading, traveling, and going to concerts.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I absolutely love to travel! So far my favorite place has been Iceland, where I got the opportunity to hike a glacier! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the northern lights, but there’s always next time!
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Meet our veterinary technician, Kayla Norcross!
SVH Employee of the Month for May, 2019
Congratulations, Kayla!
Check out our Q&A with Kayla:
When did you join SVH?
I joined SVH about 3 years ago in June of 2016. I was working as a manager at Petco during that time and was trying to get my foot back in the door at a veterinary practice. I was super excited to hear I was offered a technician position at a hospital I grew up bringing my family pets to over the years.
What brought you to veterinary medicine?
Growing up as a child my dream was to always work with animals since nothing else ever made sense to me besides that. Over the years, I have cared for many pets of my own and enjoyed spending time with them. The simplest things would get me excited, like trips to the zoo, or even walking around a local pet store. Before I was old enough for an actual job, I spent many years volunteering for my local 4-H group, in Middlesex County, which involved farm animals. I would be responsible for showing them at the fair each year, along with making sure each one was healthy and well taken care of. In addition, over the years I have built a relationship with many pet-sitting clients of my own. I worked at numerous jobs that involved caring for animals, but in the end I wanted to move onto something bigger which brought me into veterinary medicine. I currently attend Bergen Community College as well in the Veterinary Technology Program to hopefully be graduating soon to become a Certified Veterinary Technician. I am more confident than ever that this is the career I would love to do for the rest of my life, and cannot wait to gain more knowledge and experience over the years to come.
What do you love about what you do?
There are many things I love about being a veterinary technician that makes me love going to work daily. The best part is being able to make a difference to ensure every pet is happy and healthy; whether it be just educating or supporting clients through tough decisions, or comforting a sick pet as if it were my own. Some days are definitely not easy, but at the end of the day it is a very rewarding job.
A little bit about me, my family, and own pets:
When I am not running around with my crazy schedule between work, school, and pet sitting I enjoy spending time with my boyfriend Chris, going to the beach, attending concerts, hiking, and watching scary movies. I currently share my apartment with 4 young crazy ferrets- Gus Gus, Gretel, Hansel, and Speckles. They keep me on my toes, and are always doing something mischievous like hiding my slippers or sneaking under things they should not be. In addition, I also have 2 Red Ear Slider turtles, 2 tree frogs, and 3 fish. I also have the ambition of working with exotic animals in the future.
What would people be surprised to know about me?
Although it is not a surprise once you get to know me, my all time favorite color is lime green. I drive a Jeep Wrangler, and even my car is that color. I love driving around with the top down in the summer. I also have an obsession with cotton candy flavored things. Anything that comes in this flavor – you name it, and I have tried it! From ice-cream, cookies, cereal, lemonade, and much more! I can never get enough of it.
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Congratulations to our Employee of the Month for April, 2019 – our Animal Caretaker, Crystal Nunoo.
Crystal was nominated by her team mates for many reasons. Crystal is always willing to help wherever help is needed. She is always pleasant and happy with a positive attitude. Crystal has a special way with all animals, and the animals all seem to know it. Here’s our interview with Crystal to help you learn more about her.
When Did you join SVH?
I joined SVH in April of 2008. It was my first year in college and I needed to make some kind of money to go to school. I’d been trying to get a job here in high school and I wanted to try again. I kept calling to find out when the office manager was in to follow up on my application and I finally got an interview.
What brought you to veterinary medicine? What do you love about what you do?
I always loved being around animals. Also being a spiritual person, taking care of animals always reminded me of Genesis: 1:25 & 26. It made me feel like I was continuing the task of caring for the animals on the earth – like I would be doing my part somehow. Although I don’t work directly with medicine most days, as a boarding tech, I saw that sometimes the care was medicinal treatment I could offer. Sometimes the animals in boarding get a little stressed from not being home and we’ll sit with them in their runs and cages to give them some company and attention. You’d be surprised at how a simple gesture goes a long way. It took some time but many of them break out of their shyness and accept that we just want to care for them and you could see their spirits were lifted. Just like people, we have to earn their trust and I love that about them. I think that’s the best part – When an apprehensive animal that was afraid or even aggressive, comes to you to sit in your lap or trusts you to walk them, I feel like I’ve done my job today.
Tell us a little about you, your family, and your own pets:
Well I’ve never actually “owned” a pet, often times I feel like they own us – but that’s another story. In the past I would get attached to the stray cats in our neighborhood and so I would feed them. I didn’t expect them to follow me home. Specifically this one black cat. He had little white feet, so naturally we named him Socks. And as soon as we gave him that name, he worked his way into our home. My brother wasn’t too fond of him at first, but Socks would often go in his room and sleep under his bed. Eventually he was okay with having him around. Unfortunately, Socks loved having a street life. We tried getting him kitty litter and a bed but he seemed to like having the best of both worlds so he’d meow at the door late at night until I let him out. My mom used to work nights and socks would know when she pulled in and came back with her. On some occasions, he’d meow so loud at my window he’d wake me up at 3 in the morning and I’d go an let him in. My apartment was on the second floor so I thought that was pretty impressive. I probably should have named him Romeo.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I don’t think people I work with would be that surprised to know this because I’m very passionate about it, but I don’t think most people know that I record and edit videos in my spare time. Lately I’ve been engaged in documentary videos that will help people understand and engage with animals and nature. I’ve worked on some projects with other organizations as well as some for school. But I’d like to take what I’ve learned about animals and cameras to new heights. Whether it will be walking with elephants or swimming with whales, I’d like to record and educate people on my ventures so that I can bring you all with me. Hopefully more people will come to love and care for the wild and domestic animals on the earth as the people I work with.
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Congratulations to our March 2019, Employee of the Month – our Out-Patient Veterinary Technician, Lyndsay Mulligan.
Some of the reasons that Lyndsay’s fellow team members nominated her is that she is “always on the job”, is well-organized, remains calm when it’s busy and stressful, is always helpful, answers clients questions with no difficulty and she loves what she does and does it very well.
Lyndsay joined the team at Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital in 2004. She always knew she wanted to have a career working in veterinary medicine as she has always been interested in pet health and well-being. Helping animals get the care they need while being able to be a part of the unique bond between each owner and pet is one of Lyndsay’s favorite things about her job.
When not at work, you will most likely find Lyndsay with her dogs. Lyndsay has been training and showing dogs in agility for 20 years! Her Border Collies, Tick-It and Smitten, are both AKC Master Agility Champions and they travel across the country on the weekends competing in the highest level of the sport. Both of Lyndsay’s “boys” also have Trick Dog titles and can do some awesome things such as throwing away garbage (there’s a video of Tick-It recycling on our Sayrebrook Facebook page) and even pretending to limp! While the dogs are sleeping, Lyndsay loves going to the beach, shopping and country music.
A little bit from Lyndsay:
“One fun fact about me is that I am always prepared. If I am out with my friends or family and they forgot something, 9 out of 10 times I’ll have whatever it is they need. One time we were out for breakfast and I wanted bananas in my pancakes. The waitress apologized and said they just ran out. The whole table was hysterical when I laughed and pulled a banana out of my purse that I threw in there that morning. I couldn’t do that again if I tried!”
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Congratulations to our Employee of the Month for February, 2019 – our Customer Service Representative (CSR), Justine Holzer.
Justine was nominated by her fellow team members. Just a few of the many reasons that they nominated her were that she is conscientious and hard working, always willing to help and train others. Justine always has a positive attitude and clients really like her.
Justine was drawn to our team at Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital in 2005 due to her love for animals. What Justine loves most about her role at SVH is helping clients, being able to make them happy and provide an overall nice experience for the client and their pets.
A little bit from Justine:
“A little bit about myself and my family is that I’m 34 years old. I love to enjoy life and laugh a lot. I’m a very strong believer that everything happens for a reason in life. I have three beautiful children; two daughters, Madison and Kennedy, and one son, Joseph. I have two cats; Cali who is 5 years old and is a calico. And my other cat is 2 years old named Chance who is absolutely crazy but we love him. I would say that what people would be surprised to know about me is that I have ocd about being on time – it is one of my biggest worries.”
