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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nShirley Alexander started with Grady Veterinary Hospital in 2024 in the role of Veterinary Assistant. She helps Dr. Brian Ward with pre-surgery patient exams, along with assisting during surgeries. Part of her day-to-day enjoyment is getting to meet different animal breeds and unique people. As a child, she knew her love for animals would lead her to a career helping them. She shares her home with two dogs and two cats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Audrey Brockman joined the Grady Veterinary team in 2021 as a valued Veterinary Assistant. She helps keeps animals safe during exams, and keeps our hospital clean\u2014which is an important part of veterinary care. She says, \u201cI like making sure the clients feel comfortable and have a stress-free visit. I always make sure their concerns are addressed because that\u2019s what I\u2019d want as a client.\u201d She loves getting to know our patients, and she\u2019s passionate that animals deserve the best quality of life, just like people do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zoriah is one of our wonderful Veterinary Assistants and started at Grady Veterinary Hospital in 2022. It\u2019s her job to keep our hospital clean and our patients well-cared for. As she spends time with patients, Zoriah forms bonds with them during their stay and appreciates the positive impact she has on their lives. She loves her role at our hospital because, \u201cI really just love animals. I would rather spend my time helping animals and couldn\u2019t imagine doing anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certified Veterinary Assistant Brittney Lee has been a valued member of the Grady Veterinary Hospital team since 2023. She says about her role, \u201cI am your pet\u2019s holder (AKA safe spot) during exams and treatments. I also help the techs with treatments and run rooms with doctors. Behind the scenes, I work on cleaning and hospital upkeep.\u201d Brittney is enrolled at University of Cincinnati, where she studies Veterinary Technology. She chose a career path helping animals because she seeks to be their advocate in health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brett Grundhoefer has worked with animals his entire life, since he started his career at Grady Veterinary Hospital in 2000. He\u2019s passionate about being a Veterinary Assistant and Dental Technician and says, \u201cThis was my first job. I love animals and getting to help them every day. It\u2019s nice coming into work and being greeted by a dog licking you in the face. The most gratifying part of my job is helping sick animals by cleaning their environment and making them more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darryl (DJ) Haussler started at Grady Veterinary Hospital in 2023. Being a Veterinary Assistant is a role he is enjoying during retirement from a previous career. He likes helping everyone on the team and interacting with our clients. And his favorite part? \u201cI especially like getting to love and nurture the animals as if they were my own.\u201d Darryl has always loved animals and appreciates this opportunity to help patients during difficult times in their health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2016, Stephanie joined the Grady Veterinary Hospital team. She started as a Veterinary Assistant and has also moved into the important role of Lab Assistant. Her responsibilities include running labs, caring for patients, and holding patients during treatment. You may meet her as she prepares exam rooms and takes patient histories from clients. Stephanie adds, \u201cI have a love for animals. To see them leave the hospital and walk out of here happy and healthy is the best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kristen Oldham started off her career in nursing, but soon realized her real passion is working with animals. She\u2019s been a Veterinary Assistant with Grady Veterinary Hospital since 2010, and works the emergency shift in the evenings. \u201cI decided I liked animals better than people, I guess! Growing up, I was around so many animals. I had a horse, goat, cats and dogs. I\u2019ve always been an animal lover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caitlin Thielen started her career with Grady Veterinary Hospital in 2017. As a Veterinary Assistant, she primarily works in our Internal Medicine department, assisting with ultrasounds, endoscopies, colonoscopies, CAT scans, X-rays and blood draws. Caitlin came to veterinary medicine after experience in human medicine at a GI specialist practice. She says, \u201cIt\u2019s neat being on the animal side of medicine. I absolutely love animals! I\u2019m fascinated with them all! I worked at the Newport Aquarium for a long time. I enjoyed the aquatic life but love caring for mammals now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 9 Grady Vet Team Members Share Their Love of Animals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,45,1],"tags":[67,125,66,68],"class_list":["post-1502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers-in-veterinary-medicine","category-grady-vet-team","category-grady-veterinary-hospital-updates","tag-grady-vet-team","tag-meet-the-staff","tag-veterinary-assistants","tag-veterinary-careers"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gradyvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/blog-audrey-brockman.png\")
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