Angel Hardwick

Veterinary Technician

Angel is currently a veterinary technician student in the online program, Penn Foster. However, she is also Dr. Lutz’s daughter so she has really been in “technician school” since she was 10! From early on, she was not afraid to jump in and help and was never intimidated by anything. She frequently helped care for puppies delivered by C-section and stopped bleeding and bandaged up trauma patients during after hour emergency visits.

Angel went to Lincoln Land college and Western Illinois University for several years, but realized her heart was back home with her family and with Pana Animal Hospital. Angel has, since then, accumulated a pretty large family of her own! She has a 1 eyed dog, named Scarlett, 4 cats- Trinity, Everest, Mavis, and Raya, a bearded dragon, named Falcor, and a rescue Shepherd, named Rose. It’s a little known fact that if you work in veterinary medicine, you have to have at least one pet missing an eye or a leg. Angel got her 1 eyed pet first thing!

Angel also has a younger sister and 2 little brothers that often act like animals! She likes spending her spare time with them and with her husband, Taylor. She loves reading and knows about every movie quote ever written. Don’t ever play movie trivia with her!

On the job, Angel loves surgery, and is very skilled at monitoring anesthesia. She loves meeting new puppies and kittens that come into the practice, and she is passionate about educating clients on how to better care for their pets. There is no day the same at Pana Animal Hospital, and Angel thrives on challenging herself with all of the new and exciting things we see here.

Kayla Emerson

Senior Veterinary Assistant/Community Coordinator

Kayla has always had a love for animals even from a young age. Her parents have countless pictures of her with her furry siblings as well as her human ones. Kayla has worked in almost every position at the clinic since she stated in February 2015. Mostly you will see her up at the reception desk, taking patients into the exam rooms, or working on social media content. Kayla got married in 2019 to Thad Emerson and moved to Taylorville. They started their family with a cat named Violet, then a dog named Fiona. Kayla and Thad welcomed their first human child Elizabeth in August 2021. 

Emmalee Storm

Veterinary Technologist

Emalee just graduated this year with a 4 year Veterinary Technologist Degree from Murray State. She is originally from Lakewood, so she was interested in coming back to this area to work. We were certainly glad to have her join us for her internship and now, a permanent technologist position!

Emalee has a 2 year old German Shorthaired Pointer, named Maizy, and a 3 year old mixed breed, named Poppy. Maizy has her Master Hunter Certification, and Emmalee plans to have her bred and reproduce her genetics next year

Emalee was interested in Veterinary medicine from a young age and used to “bandage” up her barn kittens because they had “broken” legs! Now, Emalee’s passion is assisting in surgery and lending her educational experience to our in house cytology service. She didn’t know how much we would put that skill to work, here!

In her spare time, Emalee likes to help out with the pig shows through the local 4H. She also really enjoys boating on the river and hanging out with her friends, family, and boyfriend, Cade.

Jaime Freemen

Senior Veterinary Assistant

My name is Jaime and I have had a love for animals for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I did a lot of volunteer work through the Humane Society In Washington State. Once I moved to Illinois I continued volunteer work through Christian County Animal Control. I started my career in the field of Veterinary Medicine in May of 2015 at Northside Veterinary Clinic, where I worked for almost 3 years. I started at PAH in August of 2020 and have loved every minute of it. I am a mother of 5 children, Trevor(14), Tabitha (12), Tessa (10), Tyler (4) and Talia (2). I also have quite the array of pets! I have 3 dogs (Opal, Sapphire and Jade), 6 cats (Jarvis, Stark, Binx, Crowley, Pip and Aria), 3 ball pythons (Lilith, Castiel and Sabbath), 2 leopard geckos (Mango and Kiwi) and 1 fancy rat (Hela). I studied veterinary medicine for 1 year at Eastern lllinois University and took a few vet med related courses through Purdue University, but I am working toward becoming a certified veterinary technician in the very near future. I am
very proud to work in the field I do and love the people I work with at PAH, and I wouldn't change it for anything!

Maggie West

Senior Veterinary Assistant

Maggie is a senior assistant here at Pana Animal Hospital, but she does a little bit of everything. She started out in the kennels and has also helped out in the reception position.

Maggie has an Associate's Degree in Bioscience from LakeLand College and a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology Science from SIU. In addition to formal education, Maggie has a lot of experience with complicated disease processes because her own pets like to continually challenge her! She had a Schnauzer with diabetes, glaucoma, heart disease, and kidney disease. Now, she has a Sheepadoodle, named Boba Felt, who is allergic to everything under the sun! Maggie also has a healthy Standard Poodle, named Obi-Wan, and 2 outside cats, named Momma Kitty and Lillion. We appreciate Maggie's experience and helpful hints on treating difficult disease processes. She is definitely a valued member of our team.

Maggie lives with her parents and her adopted nieces and nephews, Xayvior, Callie, and Harrison. She likes spending time with her family, watching movies, and reading
books.

Rebekah Marshall

Kennel Attendant/Veterinary Assistant

Bekah has been with Pana Animal Hospital since April 26, 2021. She started out as a kennel attendant, but quickly learned some of the skills needed to be a veterinary assistant as well.

Bekah has a very handsome Golden Retriever, named Ollie, a petite little calico named Roxie, a bearded dragon, named Zurg, and 2 adorable little kittens named Muffin and Kal-El. In her spare time, Bekah likes to paint, binge-watch Netflix, and hang out with family and friends.

Bekah is passionate about all the pets that are boarding or hospitalized feeling comfortable. She makes sure they all have clean and comfortable bedding, and they each get a special toy (if they aren’t the type to eat those things!). Bekah frequently kisses each animal goodnight before leaving for the evening! Her love of the animals
and her willingness to help out in any capacity she can are what makes her a very valuable asset to the Pana Animal Hospital team.

Andy Schloz

Kennel Attendant

Bio Coming Soon

Madison

Surgery Assistant

Madison started working with us in the summer of 2022. She works part time as our surgery assistant. Madison has always loved animals and job-shadowed for a vet clinic for awhile during high school.  Madison has 1 fur-baby. He is a 4 year old pitbull mix. named Kota. Although he is a dog, Kota thinks he is most definitely a human!  Madison loves spending time with her family and friends and is crazy about everything outdoors! She spends a lot of time hunting deer and waterfowl. She also does some photography work, and especially likes taking nature photos.

Kathy Taylor

Receptionist

Kathy is new to our staff, and is currently working as our receptionist. She has worked in a secretarial position for the last 20 years. She decided she would like to make a career change and work with pets and people!  That decision came after adopting her two kitties, Bogart and Duke. They are Persian brothers and have brought a lot of joy and entertainment to Kathy's household!

Kathy is married to Rick Taylor and has one daughter, Heather Lueken. They have 3 granddaughters: Taylor, Teagan, and Tessa. She loves being close to her family and spending time with them.

Kathy likes to take car rides in her spare time. Before that, though, she loved riding motorcycles and once took a trip from St. Louis to Portland, Oregon! She also likes to sew and enjoys building model buildings with her husband.

Lexie

Kennel Staff

Lexie started at Pana Animal Hospital in the fall. She is working as surgery assistant one day a week, helps out in the kennels, and is training for a junior veterinary assistant job. Lexie went to school at Ashworth for Veterinary assisting.

Lexie has always had animals in her life and considers pet ownership a family tradition!  She currently has 3 cats: Salem, Chaos, and Korra.

In her spare time, Lexie likes to spend time with her boyfriend and her cats, and likes reading and watching different fantasy series TV shows like Game of Thrones.

Lilly

Kennel Staff

Lilly is a kennel worker at Pana Animal Hospital. She doesn’t currently own any pets due to her living situation, but that makes her all the more interested and attentive to the pets we have here! Lilly is a high school senior, and her goal after graduation is to pursue a degree in Biology or Zoology and eventually attend Veterinary School.

In her spare time, Lilly is in the Good Deeds Group and helps tutor some of her fellow high school students. She likes to do make-up for people and watch Rick and Morty.

Bella

Kennel Staff

Bella is a recent hire at Pana Animal Hospital. She came on to help with recordkeeping, but she has quickly expanded into several different positions here. She is helping out with inventory and ordering, cleaning the kennels, and familiarizing herself with veterinary assisting.

Bella has quite a crew of furry friends at her house! She lives with 5 ferrets: Calcifer, Howl, Ponyo, Luna, and Blue, and 1 cat: Pandora. She has always had a passion for animals and wants to go to Veterinary School, someday.

Bella likes to draw, spend time with family and friends, and craft when she’s not working or playing with her pets!