Dr. Katie Lambden
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in a small house in the city with a big collection of pets, including chickens, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, and cats. My first career goal as a child was to be a veterinarian. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a degree in biology, I became distracted by bicycling and travel and ended up spending several years bike touring and racing semi-professionally. After starting a family, I made my way to vet school (Tufts, in Massachusetts), and graduated in 2014. I commissioned into the Army and spent 4 years as an active duty Army veterinarian, followed by 4 years in the Army Reserves. While stationed at Holloman AFB, I fell in love with beautiful southern New Mexico and decided to stay. In my spare time, I enjoy camping, hiking, and trying to keep up with a growing collection of farm animals (including a thoroughbred mare and several Nigerian dwarf goats) and house pets (including 5 dogs and 4 cats).
Christine Moore
Don’t be offended if I am nicer to your pet than I am to you. I just like animals better. I have infinite patience for them (and, it’s true, sometimes a limited amount for people). I spent many years working at the animal shelter in Austin, TX, where we performed thousands of surgeries a year and worked tirelessly to get more animals adopted. My job is to care for the animals, and I’m proud to say I do it well. Each one of my patients – especially the sick ones – creeps into my heart and stays there forever. I claim one husband, two human sons, and a few cats and dogs: Bubba, Shiner, Joey, Alyvia, Wally, Baby Kitty, and Psycho.
Danielle Dowis
Growing up in Oklahoma, I was a keen participant in Future Farmers of America and raised Boer goats over several years. I also had a succession of family felines who taught me the ways of the cat. After high school, I worked at an animal hospital in Oklahoma. When my husband joined the Air Force, we moved here to Alamogordo. I’m working on a degree in political science in my spare time (with a double major in Spanish) and dream of going to law school. I have one cat, Jack(ass), who runs the household. I love the mountains of New Mexico, though it’s quite a change from the Oklahoma plains!
Garrett Pruett
I am a recent transplant from Austin, Texas to Alamogordo. I was raised by my mother, who worked at a shelter, fostering all kinds of pets, so you could say that caring for animals is in my blood. I previously worked as a dog groomer, but learning the medical side of animal care has been an exciting transition. When I’m not wrangling animals, I enjoy singing, writing songs, and recording my second album. I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to work in the veterinary field, and extremely proud to join the outstanding team here at Paw In Hand.
Vivian Romero
Originally from El Paso, Tx I decided to make the short move to NM to continue my education in Animal Science at New Mexico State University. Working in a veterinary setting has been on my check list of “Dream job steps” for years, as I hope to eventually continue my education all the way up to a DVM. I look forward to coming into work everyday and having the opportunity to take care of your babies as if they were my own. Using what I have already learned in school and combining it with the knowledge I am exposed to everyday has ignited a new spark in me of exactly what vet med is and has only made me all the more eager to continue in this field. It truly is a dream to be able to aid our veterinarians here in providing preventive health care and sometimes life saving treatment for your pets. I am currently mom to three dogs, but my Golden Retriever Comet holds a special place in my heart as he has been there through my first move from my childhood home all through college and will hopefully be there to see me achieve a degree in veterinary medicine. I am forever grateful that Paw in Hand gave me that first chance I needed to get myself through the door to this career of endless opportunities.
