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WE PUT THE ‘CARE’ IN CARE TEAM!

Your pet’s emotional and physical well-being is prioritized with every visit. We put the patients first!

Melanie

Melanie

Veterinary Technician

Melanie believes that everyone is born with a special gift. Hers happens to be communicating and empathizing with animals. She’s always wanted to do everything in her power to connect with the earth’s creatures, especially those in need, and let them know that they have a friend. What better way to do that, she thought, than by becoming a veterinary professional? Melanie is proud to serve as Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital’s Head Veterinary Technician!

Melanie hails from Dripping Springs and was just 16 years old when she signed on as a Kennel Technician at a local animal hospital, and it wasn’t long before she was working as a front-desk receptionist. In 2014, she joined the team at another veterinary clinic, where her career took off—she trained to become a Veterinary Technician there, and she hasn’t looked back since. Melanie had worked with Dr. Metzger at another clinic ever since 2016, and she jumped at the chance to continue helping pets alongside him when he purchased Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital. She’s been the Head Tech since February of 2019.

Around the clinic, Melanie enjoys seeing pets go home happy and healthy every single day, and she loves working around a team of skilled and determined pet-lovers just like herself. Her favorite part of the job, though, is getting to know the area’s pet owners and forming bonds over time.

When she’s not at work, Melanie likes working out, hiking in the great outdoors, and spending quality time with her own menagerie of pets at home. She has two dogs—Rio the Yellow Lab who loves to play fetch, and a rescued dog named Witten who is constantly by Melanie’s side—as well as three cats: Momma Maples and her daughter, Chunk, as well as a foster-fail named Bravo. Melanie also has a ball python named Martian who loves to escape his enclosure and scare Melanie around the house, and a turtle, Nigel, whose favorite pastime is sunbathing on his floating log.

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Ivette

Ivette

Veterinary Technician

Yvette owns pets herself, and she knows just how much they mean to the families of the area. For her, being able to give something back as a member of the veterinary profession is a dream come true! She’s a proud member of Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital’s Veterinary Technician and front-desk teams.

Yvette grew up in Johnson City, Texas and first began her veterinary career at a local clinic in August of 2015. In the fall of the following year, she started working at another hospital, where she would remain for three years. Yvette joined the Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital team in December of 2019 and hasn’t looked back since! She’s especially fond of internal medicine and surgeries, and she also likes the challenge of critical care cases. Most of all, Yvette enjoys interacting one-on-one with the area’s pet owners and getting to meet their loveable companions.

When she’s not at the clinic or completing her coursework—she’s currently studying to become a funeral director!—Yvette likes playing softball in a local adult softball league and spending quality time with her family and pets. Along with her boyfriend and their young daughter, she shares her home with five dogs: Kol, Pup, Lil Pup, Oliver, and Ding-a-Ding.

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Janna

Janna

Veterinary Technician

Biology has always been a passion of Janna’s, and after a childhood spent outdoors, surrounded by animals large and small, she decided to go to school and study biology so she could learn more about how living systems function. What better way to apply that passion and knowledge than by working with animals as a Veterinary Technician?

After graduating high school, Janna attended college at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), where she earned her Bachelors of Science in Organismal Biology. She worked for various companies along the way while in school before ending up at a horse barn, where she assisted the vet with medical care. It was this experience that helped shape Janna’s career path and lead her toward veterinary medicine. 

Professionally, Janna loves many of the things most people would find unconventional. The sights, the smells, and all the interesting cases – nothing phases her. In fact, it’s what she enjoys most about the job. Well, that and the puppies and kittens. Who doesn’t love puppies and kittens?!?

Janna’s own fur family consists of four dogs: Diesel, Molly, Macy and Tito; and a cat named Cadbury (a.k.a. Baby). Tito, a Chihuahua, is Janna’s sidekick and knows a variety of tricks. Janna’s hobbies include training and riding horses, scuba diving, and camping.

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Kayla

Kayla

Receptionist & Veterinary Technician

Kayla has always believed that helping animals means helping the people who love them, too. While she has loved animals for as long as she can remember, she wanted to do more than simply be around them. She wanted to play a role in helping them heal, supporting their families, and making a difference during some of life’s most important moments. Seeing a patient recover and knowing she helped along the way continues to make every day rewarding.

One patient has remained especially memorable throughout Kayla’s career. A shelter puppy named Zeus arrived needing medical care but was fearful and aggressive around people. Rather than giving up, Kayla took the time to earn his trust through patience and understanding. As Zeus became more comfortable, he was able to receive the care he needed, recover, and eventually become social enough to be adopted into a loving home. Watching his transformation reminded Kayla how compassion and trust can change an animal’s future.

Kayla began her veterinary career at just 16 years old through her high school’s work program. Starting as a kennel technician, she gained experience in grooming, barn work, and hands-on patient care while learning directly from experienced veterinary professionals. Over the years, those opportunities allowed her to grow into a Veterinary Technician. She has worked alongside Dr. Metzger since 2013 and has been a valued member of the Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital team through multiple chapters of her career.

Kayla enjoys the fast-paced nature of veterinary medicine because every day brings new patients, new challenges, and new opportunities to learn. She has also had the unique opportunity to work with a variety of exotic animals, including giraffes, camels, lemurs, kangaroos, monkeys, snakes, and chameleons.

Outside the clinic, Kayla enjoys spending time with her fiancé, Chris, and their two sons, Riley and Landyn. Whether relaxing by the water, enjoying a great cup of coffee, or cooking outdoors with family, she values making memories together in the home they recently purchased in Fredericksburg.

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Alisu

Alisu

Veterinary Assistant

Bio coming soon.

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Ava

Ava

Veterinary Assistant

Ava didn’t take the straight path to veterinary medicine—she welded her way there.

After earning her welding degree and stepping into the fast-paced world of fabrication, Ava discovered something unexpected: while she admired the craftsmanship of welding, her heart wasn’t in it. She missed the energy, emotion, and purpose she’d felt years earlier during her first job at a veterinary clinic—cleaning kennels, bottle-feeding tiny patients, and quietly falling in love with the profession.

It wasn’t just about animals for Ava—it was about connection. Each pet that walks through the doors of Compassionate Care comes with a story, a personality, a family. And for Ava, there’s nothing more fulfilling than being a small but vital part of their healing journey.

She joined Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital in January 2025, bringing not only a practical skillset from her hands-on background but a heart that’s all-in. Whether she’s comforting a nervous pup, assisting in the exam room, or learning a new medical technique, Ava is always looking for ways to grow and give more to the animals in her care.

Every day brings something new, and that’s exactly how Ava likes it.

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Justin

Kennel Technician

Bio coming soon.

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