Sarah is a graduate of Pima Community College’s Veterinary Technology Program, and has been nationally- and AZ state-certified since 2010. She spent the first eight years of her career in general practice as a Lead Technician. She has two years of experience as an Emergency ICU Technician, where she sharpened her nursing skills & cared for critical patients. Prior to PAWS, she spent several years as a Veterinary Ophthalmology Technician on a busy team, assisting with cataract and corneal procedures and gaining experience in advanced anesthetic monitoring. She joined the PAWS Family in April 2019.

Sarah is passionate about patient care and is Fear-Free certified. She has been extensively trained in Low-Stress Handling techniques. She has special interests in behavior, nutrition, dentistry, and neonatal care. She is an experienced kitten foster with a soft spot for single orphans.

When not at work, Sarah and her husband can be found seeking out great concerts and traveling to fun destinations. Sarah has a few furry kids at home, including Sadie the longhaired Dachshund, Cedric Diggory the Dachshund/Pug mix, and two calico kitties — Lollipop and Cupcake!

She has an English Mastiff/Great Dane mix named Lily, a lynx-point Siamese cat named Miso, an orange creamsicle cat named Mango, and two snakes – Layla (4 feet, ball python) and Kahlua (10 feet, red tail boa). In her spare time, you can find Chloe in her garden, reading, lifting weights, or playing video games.

Lisa worked in two local veterinary hospitals before relocating to the White Mountains, where she worked for several years at a veterinary hospital in Lakeside, Arizona. She returned to Tucson after many years and joined the PAWS team in early 2013. Lisa loves spending her time with her husband Marc, their two dogs, Ava, Sadie, and their cat Cheeto. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, camping, gardening, cooking, and reading.

Alex was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. She has grown up around animals her whole life, so it was an easy decision for her to choose this career. Alex graduated from Carrington College, from the veterinary program and will be continuing her education to become a CVT.

She has 5 fur babies, Kahlua, Canela, Pepper, Dakota, and Oscar. On her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family and attend sporting events.

Jonathan was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. He attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ pursuing a degree in veterinary science. After 8 years in corporate veterinary medicine, he decided he needed a change. He joined PAWS to get a better understanding of rehabilitative therapy and alternative veterinary medicine. His family includes 3 dogs, 5 cats, a guinea pig, and a hamster. In his free time, he loves spending time with the furry critters, pet-sitting, and playing video games.

Diana has over a decade of experience in the veterinary field. She graduated from Pima Community College’s Veterinary Technician program in 2010, and gained her Certified Veterinary Technician credentials shorty after. After learning and growing in a specialty veterinary surgical facility, Diana’s interest turned to the recovery process. Her love of companion animals drove her to seek out novel ways to help her patients enjoy a long, healthy life of joy with their owners. Seeing patients healing through rehabilitation proved to be very rewarding, and revealed a path to continue to grow her passion for patient care.

Patient recovery was only one of the motivators for Diana to change her focus to canine rehabilitation. Diana’s health journey cemented her love of helping others gain back the quality of life they were meant to have. With the help of her father, she gained a new life after losing weight and training her mind and body to push for excellence. This new life has ignited her passion to see her patients get their quality of life back too.

Diana graduated from the University of Tennessee’s Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner Program and received her CCRP accreditation in December 2019.

In her free time, Diana dances with a local group, including a variety of styles such as Mexican folklore. She also loves to travel and spend time with family and friends. She has two dogs, Luna and Shay, and four cats, Anchovie, Simon, Blue and Echo.

Annise was born in San Diego, California, and has lived in Tucson since 2008. At a young age, she spent a lot of her free time caring for and learning from her grandmother’s many pets – including over 40 dogs!

In college, she volunteered at PAWS and fell in love with the atmosphere and team-oriented work environment. After graduating from the University of Arizona’s Veterinary Science Program in 2016, she spent 4 years in general veterinary practice where she learned many vital skills and obtained more knowledge in animal health. Ultimately, she wanted to return to where she was first introduced to a veterinary setting, PAWS Veterinary Center!

She enjoys cuddling with her kitties, Hershey and Kit Kat, playing with her dogs, Rolo and Junior, and hanging out with her red-eared slider turtles, Whopper and Timmy.

Melissa joined the PAWS family in 2020 and is excited to expand her knowledge in Integrative and Rehabilitative medicine and Fear-Free patient care and handling.

Melissa recently moved to Tucson with her husband, her corgi Sir Remington “Remy” Winston, Zoe the spicy Tortie cat, and her two birds — Pina the pineapple conure and Ezzy the love bird. In her free time, she enjoys adventuring and exploring Tucson and Arizona. She loves gourmet cooking, crafting, and spending time with her family.

In her free time, she enjoys studying herbs, reading, writing, yoga, bicycling, running, volunteering at Pima Animal Care Center, and hiking the mountains with her two dogs, Gigi and Franklin.

Alex’s passion is special needs care, rehabilitative therapy, and holistic medicine. This made it an easy decision to join the PAWS family. Alex plans to continue her education to become a Certified Veterinary Technician, as well as a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner, to continue providing quality care to all pets.

In her free time, she likes to hike the mountains with her 3 dogs, Tiny, Minnie & Maliah. She enjoys playing with her cat, Baby Boo, and her newest “tri-pawed” kitty, Honey.

After several years of working in conventional veterinary hospitals, a journey with her own health led her to begin researching and receiving alternative medical treatments. She found the only way to fully recover from her medical condition was by combining Western medicine, Chinese medicine, and other complementary therapies. She developed a passion for integrative medicine, and became dedicated to helping animals have access to a variety of treatment options.

Sarah moved from California to Tucson in November 2021. When she is not at work, she loves spending time with her cat and 2 parrots, and getting outside to be in nature as much as possible. She is very excited to be a part of the PAWS team, where she gets to contribute to providing compassionate, integrative veterinary care.

Monica is a native of Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from Pima Community College’s Veterinary Technology program in 2021. She is working on getting certified both state and national, as well as getting fear-free certified. She did an internship at Valley Animal Hospital and joined the PAWS family in 2022. During her free time, she hangs out with family, makes art and crafts, plays video games, and watches her favorite shows.

Coming Soon!

Michelle was born in Michigan and raised in Tucson. She was raised with dogs her entire childhood. And In her early 20’s she took in and raised abandoned kitties. Currently, Michelle and her husband, Don, have 2 dogs, Rascal- a Bichon mix (Zuchon), and Roxy- a Terrier mix, and a cat, Shadow. Together, they have 5 kids and 2 grandkids.

After working 25+ years in the fast-food industry, Michelle was ready to try for something new and was graciously given an opportunity to work with her love for animals at PAWS. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, singing, and spending time with her family and friends.