Bethany C.
Manager
Bethany originally came to Paws & Claws while in high school as a volunteer and then became a veterinary technician a year after she graduated in 2015. She enjoys assisting in surgery, emergency medicine/ critical care, and working with all exotics and wildlife. Bethany became a manager two years ago and enjoys helping out with all aspects of the hospital. She has five amazing pets of her own! Four cats- Pyper, Prince Keke, Bones, and Baby Cat, as well as one dog- Koda, who you will most likely see in reception every day. Bethany enjoys spending her time outdoors with Koda, reading, kayaking, and fostering kittens for our local rescues.
Brianna R.
Manager
Brianna started with us as a kennel technician in 2016, but was an office assistant and veterinary technician before becoming a manager. She loves working with exotic pets and the wildlife rescues that we regularly collaborate with. She has spent time volunteering with St. Francis Wildlife Sanctuary, and even worked in Belize with crocodiles several years ago! Brianna used to have pet rats, but adopted an elderly chihuahua from Leon County Humane Society named The Don Tony Meatballs (Donnie), who is often spotted around the hospital in his basket. Two years after adopting him, she adopted a second elderly chihuahua mix named Kuma. When Brianna isn’t working, she loves vintage fashion, reading, and spending time with her family.
Lindsey N.
Manager
Lindsey is currently a student at Tallahassee Community College, with plans to continue her education at Florida State University, majoring in Biology. She enjoys taking her dogs on adventures, and riding horses in her spare time.
Laura S.
Reception Manager
Laura started working at Paws & Claws in 2021 and always had a special place in her heart for animals. She grew up in Tampa, Florida but moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University to pursue a master’s degree in education. Laura has three cats of her own – Callie, Jade, and her foster failure, Gabriel. She also has a new rescue dog named Toby. She wants to become a social studies teacher for middle school students.
Alyssa V.
Veterinary Technician
Alyssa V was born in Maryland and moved to Tallahassee about 5 years ago. She joined the Paws and Claws team a little over a year ago. She is currently enrolled in school to be a certified veterinary technician. She really loves all reptiles and amphibians. When she was younger she would always go out and find all the sorts of reptiles – whether that be toads, snakes or turtles. Working here has given her so much experience with exotics and wants to learn more about all the exotics that come through the doors. Alyssa has a larger family than the average household – three cats, two dogs, two turtles, and one leopard gecko. Alyssa spends her free time by thrift shopping and reading poetry
Josie B.
Receptionist / Veterinary Technician
Josie started working at Paws & Claws in 2023 as a kennel technician and receptionist, and has since moved out of kennel to be a veterinary technician. Josie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in animal science at Florida A&M University. She has previous experience with large animals and has enjoyed working with small animals at Paws and Claws. She grew up riding horses and in her free-time, she loves training barrel horses and spending time with her pitbull Diesel.
Maddie W.
Receptionist
Maddie is a student at Florida State University studying exercise physiology. She is from Washington DC where her two Chihuahua mixes, Peyton and Willa live! She enjoys hiking and doing yoga in her free time.
Rachel P.
Receptionist
Rachel started at Paws and Claws about 4 years ago as a kennel technician and has moved positions to a receptionist full time .She loves interacting with the clients and patients that come through our doors. She has two pets of her own – Obi and Loki. These boys are inseparable and break the stereotype that dogs and cats can’t be best friends. She was born and raised in Tallahassee and in her free time she enjoys offshore fishing , riding in the woods and reading.
Sidney M.
Receptionist / Veterinary Technician
Sidney joined the Paws & Claws team in 2022 as a receptionist because of her interest in a career in veterinary medicine. Since working here, she has decided to become a certified veterinary technician, and is pursuing her degree. She worked for a time in our kennel, but has now moved to veterinary technician. She loves working along with all the wildlife and exotics. She is originally from Long Island, New York, but has lived in Florida for several years. Sidney enjoys spending her time horseback riding and exploring the outdoors. She has one animal named Stella, a 9 year-old chocolate labrador retriever, but also fosters on occasion.
Sophia H.
Receptionist
Sophia has been working at Paws and Claws since 2022 as a receptionist. In her spare time, she likes to spend time at the barn with her horse. Sophia enjoys taking Willow, her cat, out for car rides and small adventures. She also has 2 other cats, Amber and Luna.
Tiffany W.
Receptionist/Vet Tech
Tiffany came from northern Indiana to get away from the cold. Growing up she always had a passion for working with animals and started volunteering at the local humane society and the two zoos that were closest to her. She loves all kinds of animals: wildlife, exotics, and domesticated. She is interested in wildlife biology and conservation, binge watching hit tv shows, hiking, walking the dogs, and exploring the city of Tallahassee.
Alissa R.
Veterinary Technician
Alissa joined Paws & Claws in August of 2022 as a veterinary technician. She likes working with all species that we see at our clinic and likes working to make sure all vet visits are a positive experience for our patients. Alissa enjoys hanging out with her dog, Koe, a Siberian husky mix. She also enjoys hiking and going to the gym in her free time.
Amy G.
Veterinary Technician
Amy has been working at Paws & Claws since January 2023, but has been in the veterinary field since 2018. Helping animals has been her passion since she started volunteering with the Animal Shelter in 2001. Her favorite breeds are Bassett Hounds, bully mixes, and fluffy cats. She is a proud Slytherin and Tallahassee native. She looks forward to having the opportunity to continue to serve her community by helping take care of all pets in all their wonderful shapes, sizes, and species.
Aniya H.
Veterinary Technician
After a time in the fast-food business, Aniya started her career in the veterinary field as a vet tech four to five years ago and has been at Paws & Claws since 2021. About being asked what she loved about this job she said that she loves to “help solve issues for people.” She loves being able to provide that relief for owners in knowing what’s going on with their pet and being able to treat the problem. She is very passionate about the exotics but reptiles are her all time favorite to handle. She has two pets at home: a German Shepherd mix puppy named Chop and Iroh, a Leopard Gecko. Aniya loves to hanging out with her friends, enjoy attending concerts and taking Chop on new adventures!
Ashen D.
Veterinary Technician
Ashen joined the vet tech team at Paws & Claws in 2022. Ashen previously worked at a clinic in her hometown, where she volunteered before becoming a vet tech. She moved from Tampa to Tallahassee to study Biological Sciences at Florida State University on a pre-veterinary path. When she was young, Ashen had a hamster that inspired her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine! Since working at our hospital, Ashen enjoys working with the exotics since her previous clinic did not see them. Ashen has one cat, an orange tabby named Milo. In her off time, Ashen enjoys reading manga novels and watching anime.
Ashley C.
Surgery Technician
She was born and raised in Southern Georgia. She graduated from Southern Regional Technical College in Thomasville, Georgia with an Associates Degree in Animal Science in 2016. Ashley joined the Paws & Claws family almost a year ago and has been in the veterinary field for almost seven years now. While being employed at Paws & Claws, she has really enjoyed learning many new things and exciting things with any kind of species. When not working Ashley is spending quality time with her parents and animals. Currently she has five dogs, three cats and a tortoise named Mr.Tortellini. Ashley loves listening to every genre of music, reading, writing and a multitude of outdoor activities.
Brianna L.
Vererinary Technician
Brianna L. has been with us since 2018, when she started as a kennel technician. She started training as a vet tech right at the beginning of 2020. She has three kitties: Artemis, Princess, and Mackerel. She also has two pet rats and has had many rats in her lifetime. Currently Brianna is at Southern Regional Technical College to become a certified veterinary technician. Brianna loves learning new things and loves working with the exotic patients that come to see us. Brianna is a fifth-degree senior black belt in taekwondo and is a teacher in taekwondo when she isn’t working at Paws & Claws. Brianna loves sewing and has even made her own scrubs!
Carina M.
Kennel Technician
Carina was an extern for her senior year of high school for about six months at Paws & Claws and then during the summer of 2023 started as a kennel tech. She currently is a student at Florida State University majoring in biological science on the pre-vet route. She has two beautiful dogs Pickles and Mika and two wonderful cats , Custard and Hermes. Carina enjoys spending her free time traveling , cooking and any outdoor activity.
Elizabeth E.
Veterinary Technician
Elizabeth joined Paws & Claws in September 2018. She earned a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Florida State University in 2017. Elizabeth works most often in our lab area, running diagnostic tests. When she does work with patients, she especially loves working with cats! In her spare time, she enjoys riding horses and photography. She has two rescue cats of her own, Newman and Dude.
Kaitlyn W.
Veterinary Technician / Kennel Technician
Kaitlyn started working at Paws and Claws in 2023 as a kennel technician, but is now working as a veterinary technician as well. She has worked with animals for years and wants to work in the veterinary field. Kaitlyn has a cat named Lui and a guinea pig named Bear.
Marissa L.
Veterinary Technician / Kennel Technician
Marissa came to Paws and Claws when she was a senior at Lawton Chiles High School. She is now a student at Florida State University majoring in Biological Science. She plans on attending veterinary school and having a farm in the future. In her spare time she reads books, spends time with her family, and participates in the sport of fencing. Marissa has many pets: geese, chickens, turkeys, cats, a bunny, a duck, and a dog.
Mars C.
Veterinary Technician
Mars has been in the veterinary field as a technician for nearly 4 years now, and began her journey with the Paws & Claws family in early 2023. Since she was a child, she has always dreamed of working with animals and finally made that dream come true! She is incredibly passionate about cats and is the first to volunteer her time to any foster kitten that is in need, usually filling her home with multiple fosters at once. She also has around 10 years experience rearing neonatal kittens and has been very successful doing so! Outside of her fosters, she currently has three rescue cats of her own (Sammy, Solstice and Wylde) and a senior Pekingese mix (Harley). When she’s not caring for her zoo at home, Mars also enjoys spending her free time hiking with Harley, fishing, kayaking, reading and writing.
Mattye C.
Surgery Technician
Mattye joined the team in 2018 as a kennel tech, but quickly moved to the hospital side. Mattye’s favorite part of working at a vet clinic is being able to create relationships with our clients and patients. She loves seeing our young dogs and cats grow up, and being able to see progress on dogs that come in sick or have chronic issues that slowly improve with our help. Mattye lives with five animals (two dogs and three cats). Some of them are hers, and some are family pets! You may see her at the clinic with her Great Dane rescue, Biggie. Mattye is currently Tallahassee Community College pursuing her career in the nursing program In her off time, Mattye loves hanging out at the beach and going to k-pop concerts with her friends.
Natalie P.
Veterinary Technician
Natalie joined the Paws and Claws in October of 2021. She is currently obtaining her bachelors in biological sciences at Florida State University and hopes to attend veterinary school after graduation in 2025. She has two cats of her own, Lucky and Jasper, who are brothers. Natalie enjoys spending her free time reading, playing piano, and volunteering through her officer position with the Pre-Veterinary Club at Florida State University.
Rebecca M.
Surgery Technician
Rebecca came to Paws & Claws after years of volunteer work with local animal shelters and the Leon County Humane Society. She is a student at Florida State University majoring in Environmental Science and Policy, minoring in Biology. After graduating in May 2018, she plans to further her education in veterinary medicine.
Rebecca is originally from Jupiter, FL, where she and her family have spent years as adoptive parents to rescue animals. Caring for those animals is her favorite hobby.
Te’Naija S.
Kennel Technician
Te’Naija started as a kennel technician in 2023. She has plans to go to veterinary school and wanted to have some experience working at a vet hospital while she is in college. Te’Naija has two turtles, Raphiki and Lil T. In her spare time, she loves to bake- her favorite things to make are cookies, but she also enjoys elaborate decorations on cakes!
Tessa F.
Surgery Technician
Tessa joined the Paws & Claws family in 2018 as a kennel tech and halfway through 2019 moved to a vet tech position. She has a 11-year-old labrador retriever , two cats named Gary and Wiley, as well as an aquarium at home. As a hobby, Tessa loves to paint and draw! She’s spent time painting may of her favorite characters and occasionally even portraying them in costumes for Halloween.
