Veterinarians
Dr. Janet Hill
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Dr. Hill grew up in northwest Missouri with her parents and three older sisters. They lived on
a farm, where she cared for all kinds of animals at a very early age. She has wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as she can remember! She graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a biology degree, and married Jeff whom she met while in college. They moved to Columbia, Missouri where she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of MO in 1992. Their first son, Taylor, was born that fall. The following summer, they moved to Springfield, Illinois, where Dr. Hill got a job at what would eventually be West Lake Animal Hospital, which she purchased in 1998. Their second son, Drew, was born in 1995. Dr. Hill and her family have two cats and plan to get a dog soon. They live in Rochester and enjoy going to local community events and attending Rochester Christian Church. Her hobbies include scrapbooking, reading, traveling, and visiting her now adult sons in Kansas City and Chicago. She feels very blessed to be a veterinarian! |
Dr. Lyndsey Houmes
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Dr. Houmes grew up in Springfield, IL and went to Pleasant Plains High School. She attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign earning her B.S. in Biology and then received her B.S. in Veterinary Science in 2003 and her DVM degree with Honors and from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005. During her time at U of I, she volunteered as a tutor and mentor for children, and worked at a veterinary clinic in Urbana, the university dairy farm, and a research laboratory.
Shortly after graduation, Dr. Houmes joined the West Lake Animal Hospital family and has been there ever since. She really enjoys her co-workers and loves working with clients and their pets. She has a special interest in internal medicine and client education. General practice is very rewarding because of the opportunity to treat a variety of species and their medical conditions, and Dr. Houmes particularly enjoys connecting with her patients and their families. In her free time, Dr. Houmes spends time with family and friends and enjoys sports, traveling, and being outside. She met her husband, Barry, while attending undergrad at U of I, and they were married in June of 2005. Dr. Houmes and her husband play softball and have season tickets for Illini football and basketball. They have two wild boys, Nathan and Ryan, and also have a Golden Retriever Mix, Chewy, and 2 guinea pigs. |
Dr. Katelyn Montgomery-Kangas
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Dr. Montgomery is a Springfield area native. She grew up on a family farm with her parents and two sisters. This is where her love of animals started. She loved learning about and caring for the different animals on the farm. She then went to SHG for high school before obtaining her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Illinois followed by her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. While at school Dr. Montgomery enjoyed playing club volleyball, weightlifting, and trying new restaurants. She is interested in behavior medicine, preventative care, and building up client relationships.
Dr. Montgomery met her husband in her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois and they were married while she was in veterinary school. In her free time Dr. Montgomery enjoys visiting her family and hiking with her husband and two dogs, Ruckus and Chief. She also has two cats, Merlin and Mew. |
Staff
Patrick - Senior Veterinary Technician
Patrick was born and raised in Decatur Illinois and developed a passion for animals while first working with them in the U.S Army. Patrick has worked as a veterinary technician for the past 8 years while living in Chicago and Tampa, Florida. He joined us here at West Lake Animal Hospital in August of 2018 and loves the staff and our wonderful clients. Patrick is thoroughly impressed and motivated by the level of care and compassion that the entire staff exhibits on a daily basis and appreciates the love shown by our clients to their furry loved ones.
Patrick has an amazing wife and son in Jen and James. In his free time Patrick enjoys golfing, hiking, playing tennis and anything involving his family.
Patrick has an amazing wife and son in Jen and James. In his free time Patrick enjoys golfing, hiking, playing tennis and anything involving his family.
Lauren - Veterinary Technician
Lauren grew up in Williamsville, Illinois and graduated from Williamsville High School in 2016. She has always been an animal lover and had all kinds of pets growing up ranging from hermit crabs, fish, lizards, frogs, and of course cats and dogs! She doesn’t currently have any pets of her own, but enjoys spending time with her parent’s dogs, Roxie and Bella.
In her free time, she likes to play piano, camp, hike, and watch old movies. She has been a part of the West Lake team since April 2018 and is a Fear Free Certified Professional!
In her free time, she likes to play piano, camp, hike, and watch old movies. She has been a part of the West Lake team since April 2018 and is a Fear Free Certified Professional!
Madeline - Veterinary Assistant
Madeline was born in Evansville, Indiana, where she lived before moving to Springfield in 2012. She is a graduate of Calvary Academy High School. She received her Veterinary Assistant certificate through Lincoln Land Community College in February, 2021, and is currently working toward her Veterinary Technician degree through Purdue University. She joined the West Lake team in September of 2021, and loves providing compassionate care to our furry clients, while also assisting the awesome doctors, technicians, and receptionists who are a part of the West Lake team.
Madeline has a Havanese Shih Tzu, Gracie. She enjoys baking, walking, reading about all kinds of animals, and eating ice cream.
Madeline has a Havanese Shih Tzu, Gracie. She enjoys baking, walking, reading about all kinds of animals, and eating ice cream.
Betsy - Office Manager
Betsy grew up on a farm as a child. She always had several dogs and cats growing up on the farm. She always has had a love for dogs and cats. She is married and has a family of two grown children, including three grandchildren and one great grandchild. She has lived in Springfield for 30 some years. She is a member of Southernview Chapel Church in Springfield. She started working at West Lake Animal Hospital because she wanted to help people with the care of their pets. Betsy at present has 3 cats. She has acquired many cats while working here that have since passed on. She feels it is very rewarding to help people understand the importance of taking the best care of their pets. She also feels her co-workers and doctors are her second family. We all try to take care of each other here. She couldn’t have found a better place to work and try to make a difference in people’s lives and the lives of their pets.
Sue - Receptionist
Sue grew up on the south side of Chicago, graduating from St. Francis de Sales High School. She began her career in education in 1976, in Virginia, Illinois. In 1982 she secured a position in the Ball-Chatham school district where she spent the remainder of her career. Sue's Golden Retriever Augie was a retirement gift from the faculty and staff at Glenwood Middle School. Sue loves working with the wonderful veterinarians and support staff at West Lake Animal Hospital.
Zoey - Receptionist
Zoey is currently a junior enrolled at Rochester High School. She loves to play volleyball and hang out with friends. She has 4 older siblings, 3 brothers and 1 sister. She also has 3 nieces and 2 nephews who she really enjoys hanging out with.
Zoey has an orange tabby cat named Milo who she rescued from Yoga4cats. She started working at West Lake Animal Hospital because she likes being around animals.
Zoey has an orange tabby cat named Milo who she rescued from Yoga4cats. She started working at West Lake Animal Hospital because she likes being around animals.
Elena - Receptionist
Elena grew up in the Village of Farmersville and graduated from Lincolnwood High School in 2019. Elena will be graduating from Lincoln Land Community College in May 2022 with her Associate’s in Business-Management.
She had two dogs growing up and even a guinea pig. Now, she resides in Springfield with her boyfriend and four crazy cats: Abella, Zoey, Lewie and Remy. Elena loves working at West Lake because she has always wanted to work with animals since before, she can remember. Elena has previously volunteered at Macoupin County Animal Control where she had many amazing experiences with dogs and cats. She also works at the Henson Robinson Zoo and was a Jr. Zookeeper in 2017! In her free time, she likes to do puzzles, paint, and sleep!
She had two dogs growing up and even a guinea pig. Now, she resides in Springfield with her boyfriend and four crazy cats: Abella, Zoey, Lewie and Remy. Elena loves working at West Lake because she has always wanted to work with animals since before, she can remember. Elena has previously volunteered at Macoupin County Animal Control where she had many amazing experiences with dogs and cats. She also works at the Henson Robinson Zoo and was a Jr. Zookeeper in 2017! In her free time, she likes to do puzzles, paint, and sleep!
Kassaundra - Receptionist
Kassaundra graduated from Riverton High School, hoping to further her education in veterinary medicine. She then got hired as a receptionist at Animal Protective League in 2020. This would lead into more of a love for the shelter animals; so much love to even adopt one of her very own! She lives with 7 cats, 3 dogs, and a rabbit. The compassion for pets started when she was younger; while in her younger years she was attacked by a family dog, but that didn't scare or stop her from continuing to nurture and care for pets to this day. This fall she will be attending veterinary assistant training at Lincoln Land and continue to indulge herself further pursuing her career. Kassaundra sought out West Lake Animal Hospital as a place to grow, we all start somewhere!