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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Becca

Veterinary Technician

Becca was constantly surrounded by pets while growing up, both at home and while spending time on her uncle’s farm. She’s felt a connection with animals her entire life, and being able to make a difference in their lives is a dream come true! Becca serves as a Veterinary Technician with the Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital team.

Becca is originally from Lima, Peru, where she first began studying veterinary medicine. She transferred to another school to continue her education before moving to Florida and launching her career as a Veterinary Technician. Having previously worked with Dr. Giangreco at another local practice, Becca jumped at the chance to join forces with him again—she’s been a member of the Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital family since the spring of 2015.

As a Tech, Becca has a special fondness for laboratory work; she never tires of examining samples under the microscope! She’s also passionate about surgery and loves to continue learning about new techniques and procedures. Most of all, she enjoys meeting the area’s pet owners and their furry companions on a daily basis.

Aside from her interests in the veterinary field, Becca enjoys listening to music, dancing, singing, and spending quality time with her family and pets. She has a beautiful daughter, Mauriel; a cat named Salome; and two Cocker Spaniel mixes who go by Cookie and Zucky.

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Debbie

Receptionist

Debbie recalls doing everything she could during her childhood years in England to help the sick or injured creatures she came across. She grew up around pets and also spent time on a farm, where animal care was a natural part of life. For Debbie, the choice was obvious: why not help pets professionally by working in the veterinary world?

Debbie started school in 2011 to study veterinary technology, and completed part of her externship right here at Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital. It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with the clinic—she was happy to accept a position as a Veterinary Technician! Medically, Debbie likes assisting with surgeries and examining X-rays, and her favorite part of every shift is learning how a pet owner met their furry family member.

At home, Debbie has two cats and a German Shepherd named Nash, who can often be seen acting as the official greeter here at the hospital on Mondays. When she isn’t enjoying the company of her pets at home or caring for animals here at the clinic, Debbie likes traveling, practicing her photography skills, and spending quality time with her granddaughter.

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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 rabbit, Char, who likes lounging outdoors, and a well-trained Husky mix named Sassy.

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Bethann

Veterinary Technician

Bethann was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was constantly spending time around her own family’s dogs and cats or the neighbors’ pets when they would leave on vacation. She’s always known that she wanted to work hands-on with pets to help them live healthy, fulfilling lives! Bethann’s passion simply hasn’t quit—she’s now a Veterinary Technician and gets to care for animals on a daily basis.

Bethann was only 14 years old when she started volunteering at a small zoo in Pennsylvania, and she would continue to give her time to zoos and aquariums throughout her high school and college years. Bethann loved the rehabilitation aspect of animal care, and knew that she wanted to further her medical knowledge in order to help as many pets as she possibly could. That’s why she decided to become a Veterinary Technician!

Bethann joined the Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital family in December of 2017. Medically, she’s fond of radiology work and loves getting to see how the body works internally. Her favorite part of every shift, though, is getting to meet new pet owners and their adorable companions.

In her free time, Bethann can be found reading, scuba diving, exploring Disney World, or spending time with her own pets at home. She and her boyfriend, Kyle, live in Lakeland with a cuddle-loving Dachshund, Josie, and a mischievous cat named Padme who enjoys jumping on top of Bethann’s saltwater aquarium to watch the fish.

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Wendy

Veterinary Technician

Wendy’s career inspiration came quite early—one morning while heading to school, she noticed her neighbor’s cat stuck in the bushes, unable to move thanks to an injured leg. Wendy carefully extracted the poor critter, and visited with her nearly every day after school until the cat had made a full recovery. The experience left a permanent impression: Wendy has known ever since that she would become a veterinary professional!

Wendy is a native of southern Florida and studied animal care at the Florida Institute of Animal Arts, starting her professional career as a Veterinary Technician shortly after graduating. After a hiatus from the field for a number of years, Wendy was happy to continue doing what she loved in August of 2014—that’s when she joined the Royal Oaks Veterinary Hospital family! She’s particularly fond of working to soothe nervous or aggressive patients.

Much of Wendy’s time away from the hospital also involves animal care—she maintains a miniature farm at home, complete with dogs, cats, goats, miniature pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, peacocks, rabbits, guinea, quail, pheasants, and more! Wendy also likes painting and drawing, horseback riding, and spending time with family and friends.

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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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