Striegel Animal Hospital
Over 50 Years of Quality Medicine
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Something Special Award June 2010 Winner
Maya
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| Dear Helen... |
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Is it really important to have my dog's toenails trimmed? And how often should it be done? Yes, regular nail trims are important, and overgrown nails can lead to several problems. The most common problem occurs when your dog or gat gets a nail caught in something like carpeting or your clothing. Most of the time they can free themselves, but sometimes they will break the nail, which causes bleeding and pain. If your pet struggles too hard, s/he can get a muscle strain or sprain. Nail that grow too long can also cause the toes to spread into an uncomfortable position. Over time, they can cause deformities of the toes and foot, which can lead to arthritis. As your pet tries to compensate for the pain in his feet, he can put stress on other joints, which will also become painful. Many pets have nails that curl as they grow. If not trimmed regularly, those nails can curl under and pierce the bottoms of the toes. It's even possible for the nail to grow all the way through the toe until it comes out the top of the foot, and they usually become swollen and infected. Nails that have grown into the pad should be cut and pulled out by your veterinarian, who will flush the wounds and prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection. How often nails need to be trimmed depends on a couple of factors, such as how much exercise your pet is getting and how fast the nails are growing. Thus, surfaces like pavement, gravel and sand will help war the nails down naturally, and your pet may not need a nail trim at all. But if the most exercise your pet is getting is a short walk from the couch to his food bowl, a once-a-month nail trim will keep him from developing painfully overgrown nails.
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Although she started college as an art major, Dr. Sandy Kayne knew that she wanted to be a veterinarian while still in the fourth grade. After growing up in the Quad Cities, she graduated from Southern Illinois University in three years, earning her BA in Physiology in 1978. while attending SIU, she worked as an Animal Caretaker both at Striegel Animal Hospital and for another local animal hospital; she also worked for the Chemistry Department at SIU.
She then attended the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois, graduating with her DVM in 1982. While attending U of I, she worked at the Champaign County Humane Society as an Animal Caretaker and a Veterinary Technician for 3 1/2 years and at the Veterinary Medicine Branch of the U of I Library in a research position for one year.
After vet school, she worked at a small animal hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois for two years prior to moving to Carbondale in 1984 to return to Striegel Animal Hospital, this time as a veterinarian. She bought the hospital in 1991 from her former employer, mentor and friend, Dr. Leon Striegel.
Dr. Kayne loves challenging medical and surgical cases, and especially enjoys getting to know her patients and their human families. In addition to her daily medical and surgical cases, Dr. Kayne has been the Attending Veterinarian for the SIU Vivarium for 29 months since 1999. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association and the Southern Illinois Veterinary Medical Association, and was the Treasurer of the SIVMA for 8 years.
Dr. Kayne has been happily married to her husband, Bill, for 30 years. They have three children in their teens and twenties. Their four-legged family includes two cats, Twinkle and Smudge, and a gentle and happy Doberman named Freya. Dr. Kayne enjoys snow skiing, reading, genealogy research and (very amateur) photography.
Dr. Phares is a recent graduate of Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, located in North Grafton, Massachusetts. Her areas of special interest are in small animal internal medicine, nutrition, behavior, genetics, client education and preventative medicine. She believes that her primary mission is to help owners get off to the right start with their pets and to keep those four-legged family members healthy.
Dr. Phares' personal interests include competitive sheep dog trials and volunteering with the New England Border Collie Rescue. She is also a member of The Canine Diversity Project.
After spending three years as a nurse in the US Army, Bill attended Southern Illinois University, graduating in 1978. While his wife, Sandy, attended veterinary school, Bill worked as a nurse in a long-term care facility in Champaign, Illinois for four years. By the time they left Champaign, he was a licensed Nursing Home Administrator. Bill spent the next 9 years in the administration of nursing home facilities in Rock Falls, Murphysboro and Carbondale, Illinois. Since the couple's purchase of Striegel Animal Hospital in 1991, Bill has utilized his administrator's capabilities as Practice Manager for the animal hospital. Bill's interests include skiing, golfing, reading, writing, keeping tabs on their three kids, and playing with Freya, the family Doberman.
Debbie has been working in the veterinary field for approximately 18 years, and has been a Receptionist at Striegel Animal Hospital for eleven. A graduate of Pinckneyville Community High School, she likes walking with her dog, Memphis, and taking care of her two sugar-and-spice cats, Coca and Theo--they're her kids! She loves helping our clients and their pets.
Having worked at Striegel Animal Hospital since 1998, Maya is now an Office and Technician's Assistant. She attended John A. Logan Community College and received her Associate's Degree in Art, and continued her education by receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Studio Art from Southern Illinois University. She has since returned to John A. Logan to work on an American Sign Language Interpreter Certificate.
Maya has been observing surgeries in veterinary medicine since she was in kindergarten, so in a sense, she was raised around veterinary medicine. She enjoys reading, snow skiing, swimming, and hanging out with her friends and two pets (her dog Freya, and her cat Smudge).
The next person on the Striegel Animal Hospital team is Melissa, a Veterinary Technician who has began working in the kennels when she was 16 and soon began learning technical skills. She has worked with several doctors and technicians, which have helped her become the technician she is today. An active woman, she recently spent a lot of time working with therapy animals in Chicago and hopes to continue this downstate. She also shows American Pit Bull Terriers (a favorite breed of hers) in the ABDA and AADR, and is active in fighting against breed-specific legislation. In addition to this, she and her boyfriend run a local DJ/Karaoke business, and can often be found rocking out with great music and karaoke.
Melissa has seven pets -- a deaf Boston Terrier therapy dog named Divina, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi rescue dog named Cori, another Boston Terrier named Nelly Beans, Lucifer, a Domestic Shorthair, and three American Pit Bull Terriers named Ginger, Dirk Digler and Roller Girl.
A member of Striegel Animal Hospital since 2002, Alex switched positions from Animal Caretaking to Web Design and is now the office's de facto tech supporter. Having completed his Physics degree at Knox College, he will be staying on staff from long distance to edit this site, as he works on a Master's in Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He'll also come in occasionally (during winter and summer breaks) to care for the pets there. He loves to read, surf the net and work on homework with his new (computer) mouse, Mortimer.
Helen has been in the grooming business for 12 years, originally starting as a Veterinary Assistant/Groomer at a multi vet hospital; the past six years exclusively as a Groomer. Helen has 2 Dachshunds; Oli, a Standard Longhair and Whiz, a Miniature Longhair; she also has some assorted fish. Her interests include obedience and conformation dog showing. Helen would like to compete at grooming trade shows in the mixed breed and Terrier grooming.
When she is not involved with her Dachshunds, Helen enjoys gardening, reading, needlepoint and sewing, and cooking (especially pastries!).
Courtney completed her BA in English Literature after receiving her Associate of Science degree in 2005. Although Courtney's original plan was to become a veterinarian, she developed allergies that made her look elsewhere for her future endeavors.
Courtney's pride and joy is a black cat named "Princess Leia," and her Basenji/Beagle mix named Sawyer. Courtney enjoys reading, music, biking, and glfing. She also likes to travel around the country to watch her favorite rock bands perform and to visit friends and family.
While not working or traveling, Courtney can usually be found cuddling up with her cat and dog, watching King of the Hill and LOST on television.
Having graduated in May 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Mortuary Science and Funeral Services from SIU, Sarah is now a Receptionist at Striegel Animal Hospital. Sarah got married this summer, and enjoys spending time with her husband and traveling, hanging out with friends, reading, cooking, baking, and helping other people. Sarah has two goldfish currently, and will be getting a kitten named Kato in the near future.
Grace is a recent graduate of Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. She started at Striegel Animal Hospital in May of 2009 during her internship and stayed on full time since then. Once she graduated, Grace passed her boards and became a certified Veterinary Technologist.
Grace enjoys spending time with her two animals, April (feline) and Libby (canine) as well as running, hiking and generally being outdoors.
Michelle, an Animal Caretaker here at Striegel Animal Hospital, received her Bachelor’s of Animal Science from Southern Illinois University. Owning a housecat named Shadow and having a strong interest in horseback riding as well as medieval reenactments through Dagorhir, she wishes to work with and learn more about the animals in her life.
We welcome Betsy as our new Veterinary Technician. Betsy graduated from International Business College with an Associate Degree in Veterinary Technology in 2009. Since her graduation, Betsy has been active in her profession and when not working, she spends time with her two pets, Willis her Beagle, and Mz Kitty. Willis goes everywhere with Betsy; canoeing, hiking, camping or anything outdoors. Betsy’s plan is to someday work at a zoo with many different animals and travel around the world!
Michelle is a 2001 graduate of Murray Sate University and has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in the area of Animal Health. Upon completing her degree she received her Certification as a Veterinary Technician in 2002. Since 1999, Michelle has worked in general veterinary practice and spent one year working in an emergency and specialty veterinary practice. Since 2009 Michelle has been attending John A. Logan College and is working toward her Associate Degree in Nursing.
At home Michelle cares for 2 dogs and 2 cats: Ada Marie, an 11-year-old Golden Retriever; Belle, a 10-year-old mixed breed; Mattie, a 9-year-old cat; and Moose, an approximately 10-year-old cat that was rescued.
When not at the hospital or going to class Michelle enjoy spending time with family and friends or just enjoying a good book.