The Staff

Tara

In May of 2002, my husband Erik and I relocated to Montrose Colorado from Southwest Florida. I am originally a Jersey girl, but have quickly adapted to the active outdoor lifestyle of western Colorado. My hobbies include hiking, biking, snow shoeing, rafting, beading, garage sale shopping and spending quality time with my husband and dogs.  In 2005, we received two new additions to our loving home. Gypsy, our black lab-hound mix, stays active by going on hikes and chasing birds and butterflies. Oslo, our yellow lab enjoys Frisbee, swimming, getting belly-rubs and giving  kisses .  Most of our clients have met Lily during her 1 year rescue recovery; now that we live in the country she has become a member of our muttley crew! She is an amazing little dog with a big heart. She reminds us daily how to appreciate each day! Our dogs give us much pleasure and we look forward to the many adventures spent with Gypsy and Oslo & Lily!

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, and really enjoy working as Dr. Hooley’s technician. My primary duties include assisting with surgeries and appointments, performing dental hygiene and lab work, taking/developing radiographs, filling prescriptions, client education and overall patient care. I am continually striving to learn new procedures and technical skills.

What I really enjoy most about my job is helping our client’s loved ones and listening to their favorite pet stories. I understand how special pets are, and how much we can learn from them. I also enjoy educating clients on nutrition & dental care.  These are the foundations of good health for your pet.  I work with a nice and dedicated staff, all of whom are committed to providing a more natural, holistic approach to caring for our animal friends. 

Cris

I have lived in Montrose for the better part of my life, and love it here.  I left for about a year to live and work in Hawaii, but was delighted to get back to my Colorado Mountains.  My husband and I have our own business, Western Slope Plumbing & Welding, and I do all the bookkeeping for it.  I am also a full time MOM of two great grade-schoolers.  With my part-time work at Morningstar, that makes me busy about 150% of the time!

I received my Associates in Applied Science, Veterinary Technology in 1988 from Colorado Mountain College and became a Certified Veterinary Technician.  I began working for Dr. Hooley in 1988, and have worked at Morningstar off and on ever since.  In 1999 my husband and I decided to start a family; our daughter Reilly arrived, 3 1/2 months early, weighing 1.1lbs. Needless to say, I was unable to return to work for a while.  Two years after Reilly was born, our son Grady arrived, thankfully with no complications.  They have been my priority for the last few years.  I am now at a point I can resume the career I love on a part time/fulltime basis.  I am anxious to reconnect with all the clients and their pets that I have missed seeing during those at-home years.

As a CVT I am well versed in all areas of the practice.   I enjoy using my technical skills as well as engaging in client/ patient relations.  I love being able to help clients understand what is going on with their pet in terms they can understand.  My favorite part is being able to communicate with both the animal and the person, so they can understand we are all doing the very best we can for all of them.

My outside interests are:  Riding horses (I Love them!)  trap shooting, skiing, snowmobiling and camping.

I look forward to seeing everyone again and working with Dr. Hooley and the great support staff!! 

PS. I do have animals of course.  Shark and Hunter (the dogs), Rotten (who just turned 20) and Splash (the cats), my girls the Chickees (20 of them) , and one pony Roseberry.

Dan

I have lived on the western slope of Colorado off and on for the past 13 years.  I recently moved to Delta, CO where I’ve enjoyed “putting down some roots” after many years of travel both in the States and abroad.

One of the major benefits of settling down is the opportunity of have animals again.  I enjoy spending my time with my four dogs, all of which are rescues, and the fruitless chore of teaching my bird to talk.  Between the clinic, home improvement projects, and my animals, I haven’t much time for anything else.  Whenever I do have a free moment, I love to take an adventure into the mountains or spend time with my family.