Kyle T. Crowley, DVM
Dr. Crowley fulfilled his life-long dream to be a veterinarian when he graduated from A&M in 1993. He practiced at Lincoln Heights Animal Hospital until joining our staff in September 1999. Born in Mesquite, TX, he has 2 brothers and 1 sister. He decided he was going to be a vet at age 4 and brought home every stray that crossed his path (and his mother still loves him!). He found someone in vet school who shared his love for animals and they were married in 1991. His wife Lori, also a veterinarian, stays busy with their two children Jarred age 8 and Mikaela age 5. Other members of their family include 3 cats Chocolate, Muffin, & Miitens and 4 dogs - Sarge (pictured here), Sully, Louis, & Penny. He loves to be outdoors in his spare time, especially if golfing or fishing is involved. He is an incredible cook and even though he doesn’t eat many ‘sweets’(we're working on him), he makes a phenomenal coconut meringue pie.
Lori H. Crowley, DVM
Dr. Crowley was born in Baltimore, Maryland. As an "army brat" she has lived all over the US until settling in North Carolina. She discovered at an early age that she wanted to be a vet; she used to put band-aids on all her stuffed animals. She is a third generation Texas Aggie and graduated from Veterinary College in 1993. After she and Kyle moved to San Antonio, she worked at Bandera Veterinary Clinic for 3 years. She then moved to Dodd Animal Hospital before taking a break to raise children. She became a full-time mom in 2001 with the birth of their frist son Jarred. Two and a half years later, they were blessed with the birth of their daughter Mikaela. We are lucky to have her back partime on Thursdays. In what little sparetime she has, she enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and fishing with her family.
Sarah E. Abernathey, DVM
Dr. Abernathey received her bahelor's degree from the University of North Texas and then went on to complete her veterinary degree at Texas A&M in 1999. She worked in Universal city after graduation and joined Acres North in June 2001. She injoys seeing dogs and cats as well as some non-traditional species. She was born in Denver, Colorado and grew up in Denton, Texas. She discovered her attraction to teh Tecas Hill Country (minus the 100 egree summers) when her paretns moved to Fredericksburg in 1990. She knew she wanted to practice in that part of Texas. Dr. Abernathey enjoys traveling, being outdoors, eercising, reading, and eating homemade chocolate chip cookies. Her favorite hobby ishanging out with her husband of 13 years, Pat, and her 5 year old daughter, Skylar. Her family also includes 3 dogs, 2 cats, & an 18 year old iguana.
Shannon R. Espy, DVM
Dr. Espy received her veterinary medicine degree from A&M University in 1999. She had a masters in counseling before realizing that animals were her true calling. She spends most of her time rescuing, spaying, neutering, and finding home for strays. It is a full-time job!! She is a volunteer at the Animal Resource Center and has started her own group, SNIPSA - Spay, Neuter, Inject Program of San Antonio. She is married to equine veterinarian Ben Espy. They met at a garage sale and were married in 1993. They spent 3 years in Kentucky while Ben completed his residency for equine reproduction. They returned to San Antonio to raise their family closer to relatives. They have four children; Madeline age 9, Claudia Grace age 7, Ben Jr. age 4, and Elijah born on the 24th of August, 2009! Dr. Espy works on Mondays and lucky for us, she is a great cook and always brings us brownies or cookies. She is an avid photographer, loves to exercise and be outdoors, especially around water.
Alicia A. Fitzgerald, DVM
Dr. Fitzgerald was born and raised in Mississippi. She graduated from Mississippi State University in April 2009 and became the newest member of our veterinary staff on June 1, 2009. She has spent time at multiple zoos and animal hospitals and will see exotics. She has two dogs, Ace and Emma, and one cat named Chuck. Dr. Fitzgerald and her boyfriend of two years, Clay, were engaged on October 6, 2009. Together they enjoy camping, hiking, swimming, water sports, and golf.
Christine Ikerd, Manager
Christine has been with Acres North since July of 1995. Recently remarried to Donald, she moved out to Stockdale and has a farm full of animals. She is pictured here with one of her 2 Belgian horses, 19 year old Albert. Her other Belgian is Eddie, also 19 years old. Add to that 13 pygmy goats, 6 barbedeau sheep, 2 great pyrenees, and five cats, you can imagine she has quite a feed bill! She is the proud mother of 2 very handsome and precocious boys, Logan and Remy, ages 13 and 12 and a cowgirl-in-the-making, Reagan, age 8. In her position as Manager, Christine handles reminders, product orders, employee training, accounts receivable, the maintenance of this website, and everything else we can give her. She is also the one you ask for if you have any problems or comments. In her rare spare time, she loves to read, take hot baths, and play her guitar.
Linda Garcia, Receptionist
Linda started working here in April of 1998 as a receptionist. Her duties include answering phones (hers is the soft-spoken sweet sounding voice), greeting and checking out customers, and assisting in any way possible around the clinic. After a background in child care, animal care came easy to her! Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley before moving to San Antonio in 1994, she enjoys going back as often as possible to visit her mother. Linda is one of 14 children in her family, she and her husband Jim have been happily married for 21 years. They were blessed with birth of their first child, Sophia, in November 2007. She is pictured here with her cat Samson and also has a cat named Oreo. Linda is a fabulous cook & we are very fortunate that she likes to make large quantities that have to be brought to work so they don't get thrown away! She is also an avid reader, a HUGE Veggie Tales fan, and enjoys taking family trips to the park or beach.
Brittany Sowell, Receptionist
Brittany joined us in December 2006. Born in Washington D.C., she lived in Maryland, Germany, & California before settling in Texas. She lives with her boyfriend of six years, Patrick. She is no stranger to customer service having worked at Landry's for over three years. She is pictured here with Travis, and has two other cats at home, Daisy & Jack and a puppy, Penelope. She is currently going to school to become a web designer.
Sandra Wilson, Veterinary Assistant
Sandra was born and raised in the country, where she developed a great love for animals. She has worked in veterinary clinics since 1993 but we were fortunate enough to hire her in October 1997. She works in the laboratory area and examination rooms. She really stays active trying to keep track of all the exam rooms and making sure the doctors go where they are supposed to go, when they are supposed to go. Here she is pictured with her new puppy, a stray she named Kofee. She also has 6 other dogs: Cisco, Cleo, Foxy, Pepper, Midas, & Scooby and 5 cats named Kenya, Jamaica, Simba, Felix, Cheerio. She would eventually like to pursue her dream of establishing an animal shelter for homeless strays, although it sounds like she already has!
Dan Rosales, Veterinary Assistant
Dan grew up in Odessa and moved to San Antonio in 1989. With over nine years of veterinary experience, he joined our staff in October 2002. He is responsible for assisting in surgeries, client education, drawing blood, placing catheters, and is quite a handyman around the building as well. Dan is pictured here with BoJangles, a stray dog that was hit by car on Hwy 281. He also two other dogs: Rossi & Mallie and three cats: Magnus, Kloden, & Magnolia. All of Dan's pets were rescued or adopted. He has been married to Rickie for 13 years and they have three children: Danilo age 6, Andrea age 14, and Melissa age 17. He graduated nursing school in 2008 & works at Santa Rosa full-time. He still works here a few times a month since he would miss us too much if he didn't. The clients would miss him too so it works out well! He's an avid biker , woodworker, and gardener. He also works closely with Dr. Espy rescuing and fostering strays.
Paula Garcia, RVT
Paula was born in Mexico and raised in San Antonio. She has loved animals all of her life and became a registered veterinary technician in 2003. Paula helps in surgery, performs teeth cleanings, emergency & critical care, and other animal nursing procedures. She married Armando, whom she met in church, in 2001. They have a beautiful girl named Zoee, age 3. Zoee has Down Syndrome and her family actively participates in the Down Syndrome Association. They have a guinea pig named Senor Pig and Paula is pictured here with their chihuahua, Liv Tyler. She also loves to read, watch her Dallas Stars, & ice skate in her spare time.
Nik Gamez, Veterinary Assistant
Nik was born and raised in San Antonio. He joined our staff in November 2003 as the "gopher" and quickly advanced to a veterinary assistant position. He helps doctors in exam rooms, places catheters, cleans teeth, draws blood, and takes great x-rays! He has a one year old dachsund named Chyna & a pit mix Asya. On his days off Nik enjoys being with his family and is an AVID sports fan, especially football & basketball!
Carolyn Clark, Kennel Technician
Carolyn was born in Hurlwood, Tx and moved to San Antonio in 2001 to attend UTSA where she was a biology major for 4 years. She joined our staff in October 2007 and has done a wonderful job taking care of everyone's pets and our facility as a kennel technician. She grew up on a ranch and raised cattle, goats, rabbits, and pigs. She spent one and one half years at a zoo, one year as a groomer, and three years managing a large boarding facility. It is no surprise she is so great with animals! Carolyn and her partner Lyndsey have been together for 7 1/2 years. They have 6 animals: 4 dogs named Ateryu, Lola, Reggie, and Anubis and 2 cats named Freeway and Secret. Caolyn enjoys exotic foods, painting, poetry, and writing.
Lauren Philpot, Registered Veterinary Technician
Lauren was born in San Antonio and lived in Bulverde for 21 years. She has nine years experience working in animal hospitals! She started working here in August 2008. Currently enrolled at Texas State University & majoring in Agriculture, she plans to work in veterinary pharmaceutical sales when she graduates. Lauren was recently engaged to Colby and spends most of her time with him and his two children. They have four pets: a cat named Millie, a beta fish named Sponge, and two dogs, Radar & Buddy. Lauren also enjoys jewelry making, biking, planting, and working out.
Teresa Ross, Certified Groomer
Teresa hails from Maine and moved to San Antonio in 1968. She started here in January 2007 and is celebrating her 20th year as a certified groomer! She really enjoys dog shows and dog training and has 9 pets of her own, five dogs and four cats. She also has two sons, age 21 and 19, and will be a first time grandma soon!!
Jo Sprigg, Kennel Technician
Jo was born here in San Antonio in 1982. She has been all around the world and recently settled back in Texas. She started working here in January 2009 after serving our country as a parmedic in the Air Force. She is a big fan of music and astrology and loves to watch crime shows. She and her boyfriend Matt have been together for two years and have two dogs, a jack-russell named Doozie and a malamute mix named Karma. Jo has a three year old daughter named Erica Lanae. She and Matt welcomed their first son, Hayden Duncan in August 2009.
Sharon Smith, Technician
Sharon was born in Miami, Florida and lived there until she moved to San Antonio in 2007. She joined our staff in February 2009 with two years of animal hospital and shelter experience. She is currently enrolled in UTSA & studying biology so she can go to vet school at Texas A&M University. Sharon and her husband Young have been married for two and one half years and have three dogs: Renegade, Osceola, and Seminole. Sharon enjoys traveling, riding motorcycles, and playing sports.
Nicole Joiner, Receptionist
Nicole was born in California in 1986 and lived in Washington. She moved here in May 2009 from Georgia and immediately started working here. She is currently taking classes with the University of Phoenix and plans to become a sign language interpreter. She and her husband Michael were married in March 2009 and are expecting their first baby in May 2010. They have three cats: Grease, Nemo, and Mojo. Nicole really enjoys music and movies.
Christopher Banks, Kennel Technician
Christopher joined our team in August 2009. Originally from Houston, he has lived in several places throughout Texas. Christopher currently does not have any pets but loves animals and his job. He is in a band where he does vocals and plays guitar.
Melanie Cameron, Receptionist
Melanie was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. She moved to San Antonio after marrying her boyfriend of seven years and joined our staff in August 2009. She and her husband Robert have one english bulldog named Dora and a cat named Sandy. Melanie enjoys spending time with family & friends, and likes music, movies, and sports.
Kathy Galindo, Technician
Kathy was born in Houston and moved to San Antonio in January 2009. Started working here in October 2009. Kathy and her husband Conrad have been married for two years and welcomed their first child in August 2009. They have two dogs, Smokie & Deuce.