Debbie McMichael, L.V.T.

Debbie joined the practice in 1984. She graduated from the State University College of Technology at Delhi in 1984 with her Associate in Science degree and became a Licensed Veterinary Technician (L.V.T.). To strengthen and promote the technical profession, she maintains membership in national and state organizations.

Debbie is a member of the North American Veterinary Technician Association (NAVTA), the New York State Association of Veterinary Technicians (NYSAVT), and has been certified by the American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians. As our longest duration employee, Debbie has taken on the role of Medical Staff supervisor and senior surgery and nursing technician. In order to provide the best possible care to our patients, she attends continuing education regularly, upgrading her skills, knowledge, and expertise in surgery, anesthesia, medicine, laboratory practices, nursing, dental care, radiology, etc. She also has a special interest in oncology and chemotherapy following the loss of 2 beloved pets to cancer. Debbie lives in Vestal with her husband, Al, 3 children, Nicholas, Marissa and Eric, 3 dogs,  'Hattie', 'Foxxy' and 'Jake', 2 cats, 'Dora' and 'Panzi' and 2 fish tanks. In her spare time from work she enjoys line dancing, traveling, relaxing on their boat and spending time with family and friends.

Nicolina Phelps, L.V.T.

Nicolina joined the practice January 2008. She was born and raised in Vestal, NY. She always knew that she wanted to work with animals starting at the age of five. She graduated from SUNY at Delhi with a degree in Veterinary Technology in 2006. Living in Syracuse, NY from 2006-2008 (working at  Fairmount Animal Hospital) before moving back to the Greater

Binghamton area, she finds that working as a technician provides great satisfaction and she loves every minute of it. She currently lives in Binghamton with her chocolate lab, Montana and her boyfriend Bret. In her spare time she enjoys scrap booking, camping, working as a Mary Kay consultant, and spending time with her friends.

Janice Shumway - Client Service Representative

Janice joined the practice in October 1998 as a full-time CSR. As of March 2007, she started working part-time. She likes all aspects of her job. Once her daughter begins kindergarten, she hopes to become a full-time staff member again. Janice lives with her husband, Mike, daughter

Megan, two beagles, Heidi and Katie, and one cat, Alvin.  During her spare time, Janice enjoys crafting, doing parties for her Mary Kay business, and enjoying her family.

Janae Haley - Client Service Supervisor & Bookeeping

Janae joined us in October of 2000. She moved to the Southern Tier from Boulder, Co, where she worked at an 18-doctor emergency practice. Since finishing her undergraduate education, her goal has been to attend veterinary school. Her areas of interest are emergency and critical care as well as wildlife.

She now lives in Endicott with her husband, Pat, their daughters, Emma, Elizabeth, and Caroline, 2 cats, "Ashleigh" and "Cleo", and their dog "Holly". In their free time, they like to play at the park, take long walks and read books. Emma seems to be very intrigued by animals just like her mother, so maybe it runs in the family.

Carla Rockwell - Client Service Representative

Carla joined us in February 2007. She loves all animals. She lives with her daughter, Barbara Jean, her boyfriend, Lance, and her mom, Bonnie. They share their home with three kitties, Sid, Sissy, and Old Man Bear. They also have a black Lab, Harley. In her spare time, Carla enjoys playing with her family and furry friends.

Lisa Keyes - Client Service Representative

She is the newest member of our team joining the practice in November 2008. She was born and raised in Binghamton, NY and had never lived without a pet. She lives with her daughter, Caitlin Rain, Hamster "Peanut", and cat "Sam Sam". When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her daughter roller blading and reading books to eachother.

John Penird - Veterinary Assistant

John joined the staff in 2007. With previous training in desk/reception tasks and animal handling, the practice has made use of his skills both as CSR and veterinary assistant. He was born in Dover, DE, and then moved to the Binghamton area with family in 1978. He lives in Johnson City with his roommate and his daughter, Carl and Fallon, and their 12 dogs and 13 cats. The dogs include Apollo, Casey, Ode, Milo, Medusa, Shelby, Thor, Silver, Natasha, and Kasha. John has an Associate’s Degree from Ethan Allen School of Interior Design, specializing in trouble rooms. He is also a singer and actor locally with SRO Productions. John has worked with animals almost all of his adult life. After losing his first dog, Samuel, a year ago to cancer, he knew he wanted to work with animals. He attended a grief counseling class at Cornell University and learned more about how to talk to owners going through loss and grief with their pets like his with his own dog. In his spare time, he plans parties for people: he is also a certified Wedding Planner. This man is plenty busy in his spare time, but loves spending time with all his animals.

Pat Thompson - Kennel Manager & Veterinary Assistant

Pat joined the staff in 1986 as a kennel attendant. Throughout the years, she has taken on many different roles, and now works as our kennel manager and technician assistant. Her favorite part of the job is playing with all the puppies that come to see us. Pat lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband, John, and their dogs "Akira", "Rocco", and "Amythest".

She volunteers her time with K9 Search & Rescue, where she trains with "Rocco" 2-3 times per week. 

Emily Goodrich - Veterinary Assistant 

Emily joined the staff in 2005 as a Veterinary Assistant and Kennel Assistant. She rejoined the staff in her present capacity as Veterinary Office Assistant in 2007. Emily graduated from Owego Free Academy in 2002. After graduation she took an interest in working with animals and headed out west to Big Timber, Montana, where she worked on a horse and cattle ranch. Emily is married to Eric, a former Marine, and lives in Apalachin with their dogs, Jax, Miles Yogi, Rupert, and Oscar, ferret Izzy, and ball python Meph. She fosters small dogs in need of socialization before finding a new home. Emily is pleased to back at STVA where she intends to stay.

Carol Pipher - Veterinary Assistant

Carol rejoined the staff as a veterinary assistant in 2007 after a two-year sabbatical, in which she took care of her granddaughter. She is married with two grown children and one granddaughter. Also residing with her are four felines, Sylvester, Marble, Mya and Shaggy and a large Lab mix, Bingo. Carol feels honored to work with people as outstanding as the staff of STVA and hopes to continue contributing to their high standards of quality and compassion in pet care. Carol’s motto in life is "Where your heart is, there will your treasure be." She says, "Caring for animals by loving them is truly my treasure."

Julie Stewart - Housekeeping

Julie joined our staff in April 2005. In 2004, she graduated from BOCES Pals Program. In between keeping our hospital in clean conditon, she loves to cuddle with the puppies and kittens that come to our office. Julie lives in Vestal with her parents, sister, Joy, and brother, Jason. Julie lives in Vestal with her parents, sister, Joy, and brother, Jason.

In Julie's spare time she loves to listen to Christian music, sing, babysit, and play on the computer.

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Morris, Dudley & TJ:

These three terrific pets are the mascots for Southern Tier Veterinary Associates.

	"Morris" is our resident love bug.  He loves to be held like a baby and have his back scratched.  He spends a lot of his time lounging, he can be found in any part of the hospital doing this throughout the day.  Mo is a weight loss success story as he came to us obese at 22 pounds, and is now down to a much healthier 15 pounds.  He has saved the lives of some of our patients by donating blood, so be sure to give him a squish of appreciation if you see him.
	"TJ" and "Dudley"came to our practice in 2007.  They were "brothers" who no longer had a home and we took them in.  TJ is our skinny old man at 19 years old and Dudley is about 14.  TJ keeps a close eye on everyone as he tours through the hospital howling at everyone to make sure we're still working hard.  He spends the rest of the day napping or supervising at the front desk.  Dudley is more focused on his naps.  He spends most of the day napping in his favorite chair.