Our Team

Nancy Bureau, DVM, CVA, FFCP, CCRT

Veterinarian/Owner

Nancy was always one of those kids that wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. Her parents were very tolerant of the endless array of sick and injured and orphaned pets and wildlife that she brought home, and the whole family was involved in their care.

Though the cost of veterinary school terrified her, she eventually decided to pursue her dream, and went Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine. Though she loves every aspect of veterinary medicine, she is particularly drawn to internal medicine, behavioral management, pain management, acupuncture, herbal medicine, physical rehabilitation, and sports medicine. Integrating these with client and staff education lets her incorporate whole being care into every animal that she sees. She is certified in acupuncture and physical therapy. She has taught other veterinarians acupuncture at Colorado State University and Curacore classes for over 19 years. In her free time, Nancy runs 5K and half marathon distance races and competes in triathlons. Nancy and her dogs have competed in Rally and Obedience and Nosework competitions. Her current Bearded Collies are in training, and will be also trained to run races as a Canicross trained dogs. At home, Nancy loves to garden and train her cats (seriously!) one of whom was a kidney donor to another cat.

Katie Thomas, DVM, CVA, FFCP

Veterinarian/Owner

Katie grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania and was always playing with the dogs, barn cats, draft horses, and turtles around her family home. She had an interest in science and medicine growing up, but started her education in engineering at the University of Iowa. Finally, though, she decided that veterinary medicine was the perfect blend of her passions: medicine, animals, people, teaching and problem-solving. She finished her bachelors at UC Boulder and attended Colorado State University for vet school. She obtained her veterinary acupuncture certification at the same time.

Her veterinary interests include anesthesia, surgery, dentistry, ophthalmology, pain management/osteoarthritis, neurology, and chronic problems/client education. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, doing volunteer spay/neuter surgery, scuba diving, snowboarding, listening to music, and reading. She enjoys playing with her sassy cat, Brogan, and ball with her rescue dog, Koba!

Kayla Carlisle, DVM, FFCP

Associate Veterinarian

Kayla grew up in Monument, Colorado. She always knew she wanted to be a veterinarian, and grew up surrounded by dogs, cats, parakeets, and guinea pigs. She attended Colorado State University for both her undergraduate degree and veterinary school.

Kayla loves everything about veterinary medicine, and is particularly interested in preventative medicine, surgery, and internal medicine. In her free time, Kayla enjoys reading, hiking and running with her dogs, and playing handbells with Bells of the Rockies. She lives in Firestone with her husband, Clint, and their dogs (Bentley and Tessa) and cats (Darwin and Sawyer).

Crystal Connor, DVM, FFCP

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Crystal Connor was born in Kremmling, Colorado, and later spent time in Northern Arizona. She eventually moved back to Colorado to pursue veterinary medicine and is a proud 2007 CSU vet school graduate.

After vet school, Crystal moved to Boston, where she completed a small animal internship at VCA South Shore Animal Hospital. After which she worked as an Emergency doctor at a referral hospital in Portsmouth, NH. She then decided to move back to Colorado in 2010, where she continued her work as an emergency doctor in specialty hospitals in both Loveland and Longmont.

After 8 years as an emergency clinician, Crystal realized it was time to make a change so started her career as a small animal general practitioner in 2016 with the amazing LHAH health care team. As a general practitioner she has been able to continue her passion of emergency medicine by teaching pet CPR courses for the general public and local first responders. She received her RECOVER Certification in Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support in the fall of 2021. She also enjoys dermatology, behavior (also recognizing she still has so much to learn) and internal medicine.

Crystal and her husband Billy have a two-legged child, Margot, born Oct 2017 and a four-legged child, Raisin, a true mutt adopted from Boulder Valley Humane Society as a puppy in December of 2020. As a family, they enjoy getting out and enjoying all the activities our beautiful Colorado mountains have to offer.

Jess Johnson, DVM, CVA, FFCP

Associate Veterinarian

Jess was born and raised in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. She completed both her undergraduate and veterinary degrees at the University of California, Davis. After completing veterinary school, Jess moved to Colorado to complete an internship at Colorado State University. She now resides here in Niwot with her husband, Scott, daughter, Rosie, Golden Retriever, Barley, and cat, Meowi. You will find her biking to and from work!

Jess’s special interests include pain management and improving quality of life in geriatric dogs and cats. Jess is certified in veterinary acupuncture and loves to see how much it can improve mobility and decrease pain in older patients. Her other interest is international and domestic veterinary volunteer work (she has done trips in Mexico, Nicaragua, Liberia, Denmark and several Native American reservations in North and South Dakota). Jess loves getting to know and spend time with LHAH’s fabulous clients and their furry family members.

In her spare time, Jess enjoys spending time in the beautiful Colorado outdoors with her family- especially hiking, horse riding and doing yoga. She loves being a Mom to Rosie, Barley and Meowi; and is constantly learning from them all. Rosie the toddler loves to teach her about patience and flexibility. Barley the Golden loves to teach her about allergic skin disease (the most common of itchiness in dogs in Colorado!). Meowi the cat has taught her lots about managing heart disease and asthma in feline patients. She can also be found treating farm animals in Boulder County and enjoys being involved in the local 4H community. Her farm animal practice is called Mountain Rose Veterinary Services.

Jessi Straub, DVM, FFCP

Associate Veterinarian

Jessi was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She developed a love for animals early on by spending time with household pets as well as horses and farm animals on her family’s ranch nearby.

After high school, she attended the University of Arkansas to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, with minors in Equine Science and Wildlife Habitat. Subsequently she attended Kansas State University to obtain her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

She enjoys spending time with her significant other Josh, her orange kitty Pumpkin, her horses Prince and Tupelo, and her family in Texas. Her veterinary interests include complimentary medicine such as acupuncture, spinal manipulation therapy, and medical massage. She hopes to explore other therapies that can further support a thorough, thoughtful approach to patient care.

Sheri

Practice Manager

As a native of Colorado, Sheri grew up in the small town of Erie. Erie is also where she encountered her first patient and the start of her passion for veterinary medicine, when her family’s chihuahua was almost breakfast for the neighbors dog. Acting on instinct alone, Sheri cleaned up Batty Koda’s wounds and applied bandages. The veterinarian to address Batty was surprised by the care provided by Sheri. This love of animals was not only fostered by the family pets but also her time growing up on her grandparents farm, where she helped with the livestock and participated in 4H.

After completing her Associate of Science at Bel-Rea and passing her Veterinary Technician National Exam she began practicing as a CVT in general practice where she found a passion for surgery. This passion led her into specialty, emergency and critical care for 15 years. This helped Sheri grow as a CVT with a particular interest in difficult anesthesia as well as leadership. She has since spent the last 4 years returning to general practice where she has enjoyed building relationships with pet parents, leading and mentoring teams as well as learning how to support the hospital from a more administrative role.

When not at LHAH Sheri can often be found camping and fishing with her husband and two dogs, Ziva & Tracker. Or snuggled up with a book or knitting and their two cats Rainier and Titan, bottle babies she hand reared from three days old, now spoiled old ladies at 14. Sheri is very excited to be joining this incredible team!

Emma

Office Manager/ Lead Client Service Specialist

Emma is a transplant from New Zealand. She came to Colorado in 2003 and fell in love with Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. She grew up on a farm in New Zealand with cats, dogs, horses, sheep, cows, chickens and the occasional frog! Emma has spent fifteen years in the veterinary field serving people and their pets with a smile on her face! In her spare time she loves world travelling (ask her what her next trip is!), gardening, hiking, yoga, cooking and seeing live music! Emma currently has two adorable cats, Zinny and Whiskers.

Heidi

Client Care Specialist

Prior to serving Left Hand Animal Hospital, Heidi worked with local shelters and rescues. Heidi eats, sleeps and breaths animals and animal related causes. Heidi has a strong interest in adoption and has helped many animals find their furever home. As a Colorado native, you can find her enjoying the great outdoors and spending time with her horses. Heidi is very excited to have recently joined the Left Hand Animal Hospital team and looks forward to meeting you all and your furry friends.

Ingrid

Client Care Specialist

Ingrid is originally from Pennsylvania but has called Colorado home since 1999. In 2006, she wanted a career change and thought what better is there to do than work close to some of the furry creatures she loves. With a few years off to add a human member to her family, she is back at work. In her spare time, Ingrid loves to be with her family and friends. She enjoys hiking, skiing, running with her dog, Willy, and enjoying nature.

Melissa

Client Care Specialist

Melissa grew up in the Green Mountain State in the sweet little town of Middlebury, Vermont. In 1996 she headed west and has called Colorado home ever since. With her forever love of animals and working with people she joined the veterinary field and has been part of the community for over 10 years. Recently she has taken a break to raise a family, but now she’s happy to be back! Her interests include gardening, cooking, and volunteering to support the arts and schools.

Olivia

Client Care Specialist

Olivia is a Colorado native, born and raised. She has been involved in animal caretaking ever since she found a bunch of barn cats hiding away when she was 6. Her animal history ranges from specialty pet care and extended pet sitting to dog boarding, daycare, and veterinary reception. Off the clock, she is mom to a tiny, rescued marauder cat named Bruce, a beautiful black-and-white slip of a snake named Moo, and Mina, her tiny jumping spider. She can’t wait to help your animal get the care and attention they deserve.

Sam

Client Care Specialist

Sam moved here from Detroit, Michigan about 7 years ago with her husband and her furry family members.

Growing up, her parents indulged her love for animals and let her get all kinds of critters, as long as she took care of them. She was more than happy to be cleaning bird cages, rabbit hutches or snake/reptile terrariums while her friends were out playing.

After working in human pharmacies for years she decided to change professions and work with her true passion, animals! Sam has been working in animal hospitals for the last 6 years and loves helping and educating people about their furry family members.
In her spare time, you can find her hiking with her dog, Gordie, writing, (She even had a book published) and cooking vegan meals. Sam is very excited to be here at LHAH and to work with a wonderful team that puts patient care and comfort first.

Adrienne, RVT

Registered Veterinary Technician

Originally from Huntington Beach, California, Adrienne moved to Colorado as a teen. Later she attended Colorado State University, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Physics. She moved to New Jersey for an engineering job but her love of animals never left her. She eventually decided to leave the corporate world and begin her studies in Veterinary Technology. She recently moved back to Colorado and will continue her studies hoping to complete her certification in a few years. She has been riding horses since she was 7 and loves to spend time riding her Friesian sport horse as well as hang out with her husband and two cats. She is very excited to be joining the team at Left Hand Animal Hospital!

Christina, RVT

Registered Veterinary Technician

Christina was born and raised in Colorado! In 2017 she graduated from Bel-Rea Institute with an associates degree in Animal Technology. Christina’s veterinary interests include nutrition, senior care, and animal behavior. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and plant care, exploring the mountains, and spending time with her animals. Christina currently shares her home with Bella the chihuahua, Apollo the cattle dog, two cats named Phoebe and Phineas, and Sammy the box turtle.

Devra, RVT

Registered Veterinary Technician

Born in sunny Southern California (Hollywood, no less!), Devra has always had a place in her heart for animals, big and small. Even straight out of high school, Devra knew she wanted devote her career to the care and well-being of our furry friends: Devra earned her degree in equestrian studies in West Virginia before returning to California where she began her career in the field. Devra has been a volunteer, then employee and finally manager at multiple animal shelters in both California and Colorado. Since then, she has been a veterinary assistant and technician working in the Niwot, Longmont, and Gunbarrel area. When Devra’s not making new friendships with our patients, she enjoys camping, boating, and spending time with her daughter Ariana and her two kitties Twyla and Jaxx.

Jen, RVT

Registered Veterinary Technician

Jen has been working as a veterinary technician in general practice for 17 plus years. She started out in Florida at The Clinic for Animals where she was trained on the job in animal restraint, medicating animals, grooming, etc. She worked with cats, dogs and exotics in Florida.

When the opportunity to move to Colorado came up, she jumped on it.
When Jen got to Colorado, sixteen years ago, she continued to follow her passion working with small animals in general practice. Within that time, Jen has developed and revealed many skills and interests, some of which include: cat handling (she is considered the Cat Whisperer), animal behavior, massage, rehab, at home hospice care, educating clients, and of course many others including monitoring anesthesia, performing dental cleanings, radiographs, and so much more. Overall every aspect of being a veterinary technician Jen finds exciting and fun, which makes her role much easier! She loves to share and show compassion to all animals and clients.

Jen now lives in Longmont, where she owns a house with her husband – Joe, dog – Zero, and cat – Suzy. They all love spending time together, and enjoying all that beautiful Colorado has to offer. She feels blessed to be here in Niwot where she can continue to spread the love.

Krista, RVT

Registered Veterinary Technician

Krista is a Longmont native, her family has lived in the area for 3
generations. She started her animal career as a groomer and transitioned
into nursing 8 years ago. In her downtime she loves snuggling with her cat
Sadie, cooking and sustaining a healthy lifestyle with essential oils.

Marcy, RVT

Registered Veterinary Technician

Marcy, originally from upstate New York, moved to Colorado in 2007 to pursue her dream of working with animals. She attended the Bel-Rae Institute of Animal Technology and received her associates degree as a certified veterinary technician. She also works for a local Boulder non-profit, Project V.E.T.S., that help distribute veterinary supplies and equipment to organizations worldwide working in animal conservation.

Marcy lives in Boulder. In her free time, Marcy enjoys hiking and camping with her dog, Hazel, camping and seeing live music as much as possible.

Angela

Veterinary Assistant

Angela is a recent Colorado transplant, arriving during the summer of 2016 with her husband, 3 cats and 3 dogs. She is originally from Maryland, where she spent the past 8 years as a veterinary assistant & veterinary receptionist. Angela is familiar with both Western and Eastern medicine. She is very interested in “whole life care” for animal companions and holds certifications in Canine Sports Therapy and Reiki. Angela is excited to be part of the LHAH family!

Ashley

Veterinary Assistant

Originally from Northern Michigan, Ashley has spent the last couple of years as a folk-dance musician in Oklahoma. Animals have always been a huge part of their life. They have enjoyed working at numerous animal facilities with horses, cats, dogs, bunnies, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs! After moving to Colorado in January 2022, Ashley began attending the veterinary technician program at Front Range Community College. In their free time, Ashley loves hiking with their two dogs Nova and Dru and doing yoga at home with their cats.

Jenna

Veterinary Assistant

Kaitlin

Veterinary Assistant

Angie

Lead Animal Care Attendant
Angie is a graduate of Niwot High School. She’s had many pets over the years as her love of animals began at an early age. When Angie is not spoiling her dog Pepe, she enjoys spending her time with her family and friends. Angie is also a very talented artist.

Kaylee

Animal Care Attendant