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WE PUT THE ‘CARE’ IN CARETEAM!

We put the patients first!

Yaya

Office Manager, Veterinary Technician

Yaya can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t passionate about pets. Ever since she was a little girl, she’s wanted to put her time and efforts toward improving the lives of the earth’s creatures. As the Office Manager and a Veterinary Technician here at Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital, Yaya gets to spend every day doing just that!

Yaya was born and raised in Puerto Rico with her parents, brother, and sister. She attended a university there, studying pre-veterinary medicine, before moving to Florida and starting her career in the world of animal care. Yaya completed an internship at Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital in 2006, and signed on as an employee a year later. She’s been caring for the area’s pets here ever since!

Outside of work, Yaya enjoys dancing, listening to music, and spending time with her family and pets at home. She and her husband, Juan, share their lives with three dogs: a pit bull, Isis; Buddy the Bluetick Coonhound; and a trouble-making dachshund who goes by Sugar.

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Trista

Veterinary Technician

Trista has known that she wanted to help animals in whatever way she possibly could ever since she was three years old. Growing up, she volunteered her time to help the earth’s creatures before she was old enough to hold down a job—Trista volunteered with local vets’ offices, a farm, and even with a Greyhound rescue. Her passion for pets simply never quit! Now, she’s able to help pets daily as a Veterinary Technician.

Trista was born in Santa Maria, California, but was raised right here in Clermont. She first joined the team here at Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital when she was in high school, starting as a volunteer before being hired on as a Kennel Technician. Trista moved away for college before returning to this area, and it was then that Dr. Dwyer contacted her about a full-time Technician position. Trista didn’t hesitate—she’s thrilled to rejoin the hospital family and help the area’s pets and animal owners once again!

Trista’s interests outside of animal care include sports—she’s played softball ever since she can remember, and even helped lead her high-school team to a tournament win thanks to her pitching skills!—and spending quality time with family and friends. At home, she has a well-trained Husky mix named Sassy and a and a Black Mouth Cur named Khali.

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Sherry

Veterinary Technician

Animals have played an important role in Sherry’s life ever since she can remember. What better way to pay it forward while doing something she loved, Sherry mused, than by working in the veterinary field? Now, she’s been a Veterinary Technician for more than 30 years!

Sherry grew up in New Jersey and lived in Wyoming during her college years before moving to St. Louis, where she signed on as a staff member at the St. Louis Zoo. It wasn’t long before she began her career as a Veterinary Technician at a nearby emergency clinic—Sherry hasn’t looked back since.

After working as a Tech in both the zoo-medicine and private-practice worlds, Sherry joined the team here at Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital in 2014, where she has a special fondness for critical care work and the fast-paced nature of her job. She’s also passionate about keeping up with the latest advances in veterinary medicine in order to best serve the area’s pets and animal owners.

Sherry and her husband—who works in the zoo field himself—have two adult daughters and one wonderful granddaughter. They share their home with a pair of bloodhounds, a Bouvier des Flandres, and a Labrador mix, as well as one cat and two miniature horses. Sherry even uses her animal-care skillset to foster and train K9 deputy bloodhounds for the police department!

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Ariel

Veterinarian Technician Assistant

When Ariel was around 6 years old, she was introduced to a Red Knee Tarantula at Animal Kingdom. Witnessing the passion the keepers had for their animals inspired her to follow a similar path. As a Vet Tech Assistant here at Royal Oaks, Ariel appreciates the opportunity to be an advocate for those that have no voice.

Ariel’s journey began as a volunteer at various shelters and farms. During that time, she was privileged to be able to work with several endangered species of snakes, including some that were venomous, before moving on to riding and training horses. Since joining the Royal Oaks team, Ariel has become the ‘go-to-gal’ for her coworkers.

Professionally, Ariel’s favorite part of the job involves looking through the microscope. She relishes any opportunity she has to learn new things and is fascinated by the tiny world of microorganisms she is able to see on the slides.

At home, Ariel has a couple of pets of her own, including a small Doxiepoo named Ramboo, who can be shy at first, but loves a game of chase once he warms up. She also has a Bearded Dragon named Dundee, who enjoys sleeping in Ariel’s lap and keeping a watchful eye on her from his cage.

Some of Ariel’s many personal interests include playing piano, archery, camping, hiking, fishing, and hopefully one day scuba diving. She also enjoys boxing, which she says is a positive outlet that has helped her physically, mentally and emotionally.

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Rachael

Veterinary Assistant

Rachael was inspired at a young age to do all that she could to help animals. That passion just never wavered. She’s always known that working in the world of veterinary medicine was her true calling! Rachael gets to help pets every day as a Veterinary Assistant with the Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital team.

Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Rachael was a client here at the hospital before she was an employee. Witnessing the quality care and kindness demonstrated to her and her pets by the clinic staff left Rachael with no doubt: she wanted to join the hospital team herself! She became a part of the Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital family in March of 2018.

Outside of work, Rachael likes visiting the beach, going swimming, taking her kids to the movies, and doting on her own pets at home. She has four high-strung animal companions named Loki, Tank, Ginger, and Sammy.

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Jayde

Veterinary Assistant

When Jayde was younger, she decided that she wanted to work with animals when she got older. Today she is a veterinary technician assistant at Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital, living out her dream of being around the furry creatures on a daily basis. Sometimes she sits back in disbelief that she’s actually living out her dream!

As a kid, Jayde was that one friend you have who is always trying to save every stray animal they come across. That enthusiasm stayed with her into adulthood, as today she has 6 dogs, 5 cats and a rabbit. She feels like her purpose is to help every animal in any way that’s needed and she’s able to accomplish that both at work and at home.

Jayde enjoys several aspects about her job, getting work with such a loving and supporting staff, to all of the knowledge she is able to soak up. She has learned about a variety of topics, including vaccines, diseases and even surgeries. Her favorite thing to do is to draw blood from animals – it brings her excitement every time she’s successful!

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Chelsey

Veterinary Assistant

When Chelsey was working at a local animal shelter, she encountered a stray cat who arrived with a spinal injury and soon developed a severe, life-threatening infection. Chelsey named the cat Bonnie and committed her every free moment to helping that sweet kitty overcome the odds. Her dedication and love paid off, and Bonnie made a full recovery. It is animals like her, and countless others in need, that inspired Chelsey to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.

As mentioned, Chelsey’s journey began at her local county animal shelter, where she was able to gain a significant amount of knowledge and experience in both animal behavior as well as life-saving medical practices. The shelter often took in animals who were in extremely poor condition, and being a part of their healing process was incredibly rewarding.

In her role as veterinary assistant here at Royal Oaks, Chelsey takes great pride in making the clinic a more comfortable and less stressful environment for pets. Her favorite patients are the ones who arrive nervous, often hiding behind their parents. She loves the challenge of coaxing them out of their shells and watching them transform from shy and frightened into happy, wiggly fur babies.

At home, Chelsey is ‘mom’ to a German shepherd named Misha. The two have been inseparable since the day they met. Misha is incredibly sweet and views everyone she meets – dogs, cats and humans alike – as her new best friend.

When she’s not busy working or spending time with Misha, Chelsey enjoys watching TV and playing video games. An avid art lover, she’s been creating since she was old enough to hold a crayon, and considers music to be an integral part of her personality.

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Ashley

Veterinary Assistant / Receptionist

As a military child, Ashley likes to say she grew up everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Moving so often, it was difficult for her to make close friends, so her animals filled that void for her. As she got older, she knew that she wanted to do more to be a voice for these precious souls who give so much of themselves to their human companions. Working in the veterinary field seemed like the obvious choice!

While she initially aspired to become a vet, Ashley’s career interests shifted over the years. She spent some time working as an intern at a wildlife rehabilitation center and started fostering and volunteering for a local shelter when she was 18. She landed her first paying animal-related job at age 21 at a doggie daycare and was then hired as a zookeeper at the Sacramento Zoo at age 23.

In 2021, Ashley and her husband relocated to Florida, where she worked as an animal care technician at a local shelter. She joined the Royal Oaks team in July of 2022 in a dual role of receptionist and veterinary assistant. Professionally, she loves being the go-to person for our clients, doing her best to help them in their time of need and being someone they can talk to. We all need a support system!

Outside of work, Ashley resides with her husband, Bradley, their three dogs – Little Foot, Gidget, and Sawyer – and their two cats – Phoebe and Wednesday. In their spare time, Ashley and her husband enjoy traveling, although their ideal night is usually spent relaxing and watching true crime documentaries.

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Adriana

Receptionist

Unlike many of her colleagues, Adriana didn’t set out to work in the veterinary industry. In fact, because of her deep love of animals, the thought of seeing one in pain was the last thing she wanted to do. Over time, however, she realized that there is so much more to veterinary medicine. Thanks to this change in perspective, Adriana is now in a job she loves, getting to see pets get better and live amazing lives.

When her family relocated to Florida from New Jersey, Adriana found herself in need of a vet for her dog. When she arrived at Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital and experienced how friendly the doctors and support staff were, she decided to take a chance and apply for a job. The rest, as they say, is history. As one of our veterinary receptionists, Adriana enjoys meeting all the new patients and witnessing their heartwarming journeys to recovery.

At home, Adriana lives with her family of five, which includes a golden retriever named Milo who is the center of attention and the favorite child, hands down. Prior to Milo, the family owned two Rottweilers and two squirrels that had been rescued.

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WE PUT THE ‘CARE’ IN CARETEAM!