Emilee

If you have handed a puppy over the front counter at Pathways and watched it disappear into the back wrapped like a very small burrito, there is a good chance Emilee was on the receiving end. Puppy and kitten appointments have a way of finding her.

As a veterinary assistant she is in the middle of nearly everything — restraining gently for blood draws, prepping for surgery, monitoring patients as they wake up, and doing the unglamorous work of keeping a busy treatment room moving. It is the kind of job people only notice when it is done badly, and she does it well.

Outside the hospital her animal of choice is considerably larger: Emilee has a horse, and a fair amount of her time off is spent with him. It does mean she is one of the few people here who is unfazed by a patient standing taller than she does.