Striegel Animal Hospital
Over 50 Years of Quality Medicine
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Something Special Award November 2009 Winner
Melissa
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| Dear Helen... |
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I asked my groomer for a puppy cut, but what I got wasn’t what I expected. Can you tell me what a puppy cut is supposed to look like? A puppy cut is how show poodles under one year of age are groomed. The face and feet are shaved close and the rest is hand-scissored. The top knot and neck are left very long, and only scissored enough to produce the correct outline. If your dog isn’t a poodle, there is no standard “puppy cut,” so everyone has a different idea about how it’s supposed to look. For some, it’s fairly short all over, like a newborn puppy. For others, it’s long and fluffy, like a four- or five-month-old puppy, or it might be anywhere in between. My advice is to just tell your groomer what you want your “puppy” to look like. Be specific about the length you want, how you’d like the ears and tail trimmed, and what shape you’d like the face – round or broad like a terrier. A picture may help, but remember that your dog’s coat texture will affect the final outcome. Your groomer can’t make a Maltese look like an Airedale, after all!
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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 playing, relaxing or even napping with her two cats, Twinkle and Smudge, and her dog Freya.
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 six 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 two American Pit Bull Terriers named Ginger and Dirk Diggler.
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. Though he is currently working at Knox College to complete a Physics degree, he stays on staff from long distance and continues to edit the site. 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!).
Originally a graduate with a B.A in History at SIU-C, Susan found her true calling as a Veterinary Technician and has used her technical experience locally and, most recently, in North Carolina.
Besides two youngsters, Clara and Owen, Susan has Ralph, a Lab mix, Flip and Kitty, 2 DSH’s, Mr. Iguana, a Green Iguana and Atticus and Thurlow, 2 hairless rats. (whew!)
When not at the Hospital or with the group, Susan is constantly fostering homeless pets until good homes can be found for them. Susan hopes to return to school some day and further her education and then travel the world. Until then, she wants to be the best mom she can be for Clara and Owen.
When not being around four legged critters, Susan loves the outdoors, playing guitar, board sports and spending quality time with the family.
We’re happy to introduce Courtney as a Receptionist for Striegel Animal Hospital. Courtney has recently completed her BA in English Literature after receiving her Associate of Science degree in 2005. Although Courtney’s original plan was to be a veterinarian, she developed allergies that made her look elsewhere for her future endeavors.
Courtney does have her share of pets with names that Lucas and Speilberg would appreciate. She has a black cat named “Princess Leia”, 2 Beta fish named “Anakin” and “Luke” and 2 Cory fish named “Indiana” and “Jones”. Courtney can usually be found playing tag with her cat or cuddling up with her to watch scary movies.
When Courtney graduates, she hopes to work for a newspaper or magazine and use her writing skills, although grad school may be an option. When not studying or working, Courtney loves golf, softball, biking, watching YouTube videos, or painting.
Having graduated in May 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Mortuary Science and Funeral Services from SIU, Sarah is our newest Receptionist at Striegel Animal Hospital. Though she hopes to become a stay-at-home mother sometime in the future, she does like to go horseback riding on occasion, and enjoys reading, hanging out with friends and traveling.
Due to lease restrictions, Sarah has no pets at the moment, but previously she has owned a number of pets, including a rat named Frodo, Cedar the cockatiel, a pair of parakeets named Alvin and Snowflake, and a rabbit named Scamper.
Grace is another Veterinary Technician for the hospital. She graduated from CCHS in 2005, and anticipates graduation from Murray State University in the Spring of 2010, which will complete her Pre-Veterinary studies. She has also been a part of the University’s Pre-Vet/AHT Club and hopes to become an LVT certified in canine rehabilitation by June 2010.
Grace has two pets – a cat named April, and a German Shepherd/Lab mix named Libby. She volunteers at the Paws-n-Claws pet resort, and spends time training and practicing rehabilitation with Libby. Her other hobbies include volleyball, running, and spending time with her friends and co-workers.
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.
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Brittany, another Animal Caretaker working at Striegel, is a 2007 graduate of Carbondale Community High School and currently attends John A. Logan, with hopes of getting a degree in the Veterinary Technician Program there. Besides this, she has several interests such as reading hiking, playing basketball, walking, riding horses, going to rodeos, trail rides and playing with her pets.
Brittany's pets are an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie/Lab mix named Bo, and Harley, a Pit Bull.