Aubrey Lavizzo
Practice Founder
Although, Dr. Aubrey is now retired from seeing patients, he is actively pursuing our mission of serving the community. Dr. Aubrey is a 1970 graduate of the Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine. After a brief stint in private practice in his hometown New Orleans, Dr. Aubrey began practicing in Denver in January, 1971.
Dr. Aubrey is active in community and professional organizations and veterinary education. In addition to membership in the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Society, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association, Aubrey also serves on the Board of Directors of the Animal Assistance Foundation. Dr. Aubrey also serves as an affiliate faculty member of the Admissions and Mentoring Committees of the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biological Sciences, and is the Practitioner Diversity representative of the CSUCVMBS Admissions Committee. Dr. Aubrey's varied interests include hiking, backpacking, photography, bicycling, live music--especially jazz and blues--and theater.
Andy Nigro
Medical Director and Practice Owner
Dr. Andy is a graduate of Colorado State University where he earned his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. His undergraduate work was done at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he obtained degrees in fields completely outside of science and medicine. He is a member of both the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Society and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association.
Dr. Andy was born and raised in Kansas City, but has been enjoying all Colorado has to offer for the past 15 years. He has also been fortunate enough to have traveled throughout Asia, India, Northern Africa, Europe, and South America. He enjoys watching and playing nearly all sports, but especially skiing and golf. He is also an avid backpacker. Other interest include music (virtually every genre, as long as it's quality) and reading (especially the classics.) In 2013 Dr. Andy married his wife, Nikkie, and shortly thereafter they welcomed their two beautiful children, Sloan (2) and Sam (1). Andy and his family share their home with Zigby the Golden Retriver and Queso the cat.
Courtney Turner
Dr. Turner is a native Texan. She attended the University of Texas at Austin for her Bachelor's degree and went on to graduate from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Turner began her veterinary career in equine medicine, but soon realized that small animal medicine was her true calling. Her areas of interest include internal medicine, orthopedics, and dermatology. Dr. Turner is a member of the AVMA, CVMA, and TVMA. In her free time she enjoys running, riding her horse, and hiking with her dogs, Crash and Blue. She is the proud aunt to eight nieces and nephew, who think being an "animal doctor" is pretty neat. Dr. Turner looks forward to serving you and your pets.
Dr. Jeanne Hill DVM
Dr. Jeanne Hill is a 2005 graduate of the University of California at Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. She practiced in Northern California and Texas, before a love of the outdoors brought her to Denver in 2011. Jeanne completed acupuncture training through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in 2011. She completed her Fear Free Professional certification in 2016.Jeanne believes in providing clear, transparent communication in order to partner with pet parents to make the best decisions for their pets. She is devoted to low stress handling to reduce the stress of veterinary visits, resulting in a positive experience for pets, their owners, and the veterinary healthcare team. She has a special interest in integrative health care, dentistry, pain management, and preventative medicine.In her free time, Dr, Hill enjoys a good book,hiking, camping, live music, and spending time with her family. She has a yellow lab named Scout, and an avocado-obsessed cat named Phineas.
Kirsten Butler
Hospital Director, Practice Owner and Certified Veterinary Technician
Kirsten joined TCAW in February of 2016. Born and raised in Kansas, Kirsten received a BA in Psychology from Wichita State University and spent 10 years as a manager at Michael's Arts and Crafts. She decided to make a career change after several years of volunteering for a giant breed dog rescue.Kirsten moved from Wichita to Denver at the end of 2009 to attend Bel-Rea and become a Certified Veterinary Technician.Kirsten enjoys traveling and sampling the many wonderful microbrews that Colorado has to offer along with the beautiful scenery. She lives with her two wonderful dogs – Pumpkin, a Dogue de Bordeaux and Monty, a lab mix.
Lissa Monnier-Gibson
Lead Certified Veterinary Technician
Lissa has had the pleasure of caring for all types of animals in the veterinary field for the past 9 years and plans on many more years to come. She graduated from veterinary technician school in 2012 and is currently our most senior certified veterinary technician. She has worked with a variety of critters, but carries a soft spot for large/giant breed dogs. She is an Ohio native, but would not dream of leaving 'Colorful Colorado'. Lissa enjoys all types of outside activities including climbing, biking, hiking , skiing, and disc golf with her husband Dan.
Scott Dahlgren
Certified Veterinary Technician
Scott joined TCAW team in October 2016. Having spent most of his life in Wisconsin, he moved to Denver in 2008 and became a CVT in 2012. Scott is an avid sports fan with a particular fondness for the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers. Among other things, he also enjoys reading, biking, and tasting a nice microbrew or bourbon. Scott and his wife Jennifer share a home with their three year old daughter Olivia, their dog Murphy, and Sam the cat.
Markie Maestas
Born and raised in New Mexico, Markie has always loved working with animals and enjoys having the ability to help pet owners care for their furry family members! Markie studied at New Mexico State majoring in animal science and minoring in chemistry before moving to Denver to attend Bel-Rea to become a certified veterinary technician, graduating in 2009. Markie has a strong interest in veterinary dentistry, is Fear Free certified, and in the past has worked as a wildlife rehabilitator for birds of prey and mammals. When Markie is not at work, she enjoys snowboarding, hiking, day drinking at Colorado's finest breweries, and binge watching old movies. Markie resides in north Denver with her boyfriend Carlos and their 5 pets: Quin, the "best dog ever", Dotti (a cat who loves sunshine, catnip, and naps), Mamba (a feisty feline and the reason they can't have nice things), Katniss (the most grateful adopted feral cat ever!), and their leopard gecko.
Ruth Cajka
Ruth has been in Colorado for 10 years. She was born in Missouri, but growing up as an army brat she has lived everywhere in between. Ruth enjoys cooking, cycling, hiking, baseball (go Cardinals!), gardening, being a Mom and is partial to the Aussies as her dog of choice. Ruth lives here in Denver with her husband, son and Australian Shepherd, Zuni.
Mindy Basler
Mindy just recently move to Colorado in January2017. She is originally from Missouri where she has worked in the veterinary field for over 7 years. Mindy's previous experience includes both small animal and wildlife medicine. She lives with her German Shepherd, Ally, whom she enjoys spending time with outdoors when not working at TCAW. Mindy also likes baseball (especially the Cardinals), live music, and BBQ's. We are excited to welcome Mindy to our team!
Demika
DeMika is a native of Denver Colorado and joined TCAW in August of 2018. She graduated from PIMA medical institute with her Associates Degree in Applied Science back in 2014 and has loved working in the veterinary field since as both Veterinary Technician and Client Services! When she is not at work she enjoys spending time outdoors with her two little humans, Liliana (3) and Gionni (7), going to museums and other kid friendly activities, camping and fishing, and binge-watching on Netflix (usually true crime documentaries :)) DeMika looks forward to serving you and your fur babies!
Cody was born and raised in a small town in eastern Kansas, where he lovedvisiting his grandfather's farm and feeding the cattle. After earning aBachelor of Arts in French and Public Policy from DePaul University in2010, Cody moved to Denver to work in the nonprofit sector serving adultsexperiencing homelessness before eventually running a nonprofit promotingyouth leadership, food justice, and urban agriculture. Cody switched gearsto begin his journey in veterinary medicine in 2018, and has since becomeFear Free certified while gaining experience as a veterinary assistant andclient service specialist. Cody is working on pre-vet coursework and hopesto apply to vet school in the next 5 years. Cody lives in Denver with hisrescue dog, Lily, and loves camping, reading, and cooking.
Kim Terlau
Kim in a Colorado native with over nine years of experience in shelter medicine. She is excited to contribute her extesnive knowledge of animal behavior to The Center for Animal Wellness. She enjoys recreational dancing (and can often be seen using it as a mode of transportation), karaoke, sewing, cooking and most importantly, eating! She lives with her cats, The Chin (yes, he's a super hero), Timmy the Tooth, and her wonderful mum.
Kaylee Chapman
Kaylee is one of our Client Service Representatives who moved to Colorado a few years ago from Georgia. She has traded her long days on the lake swimming and fishing for long days on the mountain snowboarding and going to microbreweries (mainly to pet all of the dogs). She is currently working on her Bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Colorado, Denver, as well as her Certified Veterinary Technician Associate's degree at Penn Foster. Upon graduation, she will go on to work towards receiving her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. She tries to go mountain biking and dirt biking as much as possible, but road bikes often as it is easier to fit in living in the city. She enjoys playing Playstation, crafty projects, playing with her 2 nephews, hockey games, and anything to do with astronomy, which includes visits to the Chamberlin Observatory. She is able to juggle her busy schedule due to her 16 years of experience as a ballerina which has taught her the importance of discipline and confidence. Really, it would all be impossible if it weren't for her boyfriend, Brian, and best friend/bodyguard, Emmett, who not only prays before every meal and will give you the best high-five ever, but is therapy certified through Therapy Pets Unlimited, and is always by her side through her hours of studying, that is, when her friends aren't borrowing him for chemo or surgery recoveries.
Client Services Representaive
Molly is a Colorado native. She spent the last 6 years in California where she got her degree from Humboldt State University in recreation administration with an emphasis in equine assisted therapy along with minors in business and fisheries. She enjoys surfing, scuba diving, hiking, training horses, and Colorado's breweries! She has had a wide variety of experience with animals from doing ride alongs working with large animals and assisting with training pachyderms at the Colorado Springs Zoo.