Meet Our Team
Operations Management
Petri
Practice Owner
Petri enjoys being the boss and runs a tight ship. He always makes sure that his minions are in line and ready to give him lots of treats. If he isn’t willingly given treats, he has no issue with stealing what he needs. Petri has a total of six extra toes and is proud to be a fancy polydactyl cat.
Legolas
CEO
Legolas is Petri’s right-hand man and does not mind reprimanding any employees that they deem to be out of line. He agrees with Petri’s philosophy on theft of food, and he is always hungry. Legolas only has three legs, so he and Petri balance each other out well.
Veterinarians
Dr. Casey Wittwer
DVM
Dr. Wittwer was born and raised in St. George, Utah. After high school, he spent two years in Mexico on an LDS mission. He attended Dixie State College, then moved to colder weather at Utah State University, and completed veterinary school at Washington State University. After graduating in 2007, Dr. Wittwer started his career in Las Vegas, but family ties and a desire to return to Southern Utah brought him to Hurricane. He met his wife, Andrea, at a dog flyball competition and they have four kids that love to visit their dad at work. The Wittwers have their own zoo with two dogs, three cats, goats, turkeys, a goose, chickens, a tea cup pig, and mini horses.
Dr. Wittwer loves being a veterinarian. His main focuses are with internal medicine and soft tissue surgery. Dr. Wittwer also does acupuncture and ultrasound. He enjoys the challenge of understanding why pets get ill and helping them get better.
Dr. Jaime Goolsby
DVM
Dr. Goolsby is from Little Rock, Arkansas and has wanted to be a veterinarian her entire life. She has worked in various veterinary clinics since 2011 and was introduced to exotic medicine at the Little Rock Zoo. She received two bachelors degrees in Animal Science and Zoology at Oklahoma State University, and then proceeded into the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her main interests are in small animal internal medicine and exotic pet medicine.
Dr. Goolsby and her husband fell in love with Utah on a road trip and are excited to call Hurricane home. They have a fur family that includes two cats, Simba and Muffin, and two dogs, Maya and Cheddar. In her free time Dr. Goolsby enjoys hiking, kayaking, and camping.
Dr. Kate Carey
DVM
Dr. Carey grew up in New England surrounded by guinea pigs, dogs, goats and horses. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science at the University of Connecticut and wrote her thesis on the physiology of stranded seal pups. Then she earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. While there, a research project on immunocontraception in free-roaming horses brought her to the Western U.S. where she immediately fell in love with the land. After practicing small animal medicine in CT and MA for several years, she moved to Southern Utah in 2022 to continue her practice.
Dr. Carey most enjoys internal medicine, ophthalmology and neurology cases. In her spare time she is usually hiking, doing CrossFit or playing with her mare, Pekan. Hiking partners include Gypsy, a congenitally deaf cattle dog cross, and Chico, a rambunctious Chihuahua cross.
Management
Nicole
Practice Manager
Nicole has been working in the veterinary field since 2007, and has been at Zion Vet since 2016. Her favorite parts of the job are performing dental cleanings, helping with surgeries, and snuggling the fur kids.
Nicole loves heavy metal music. She has a variety of animals at home including dogs, cats, lizards, rabbits, and even axolotls!
Allison
Lead Technician
Allison grew up with dogs has wanted to work with animals since she was a kid. She has an Associates in Veterinary Science and is a Certified Vet Tech, and has worked as a vet tech since 2017. She has a mini poodle mix, a cat, 7 chickens, 10 little fish, and a chubby human child.
Tracy
Lead Receptionist
Tracy was born and raised in Sanpete County, Utah. She met her husband while attending Snow College. They were married shortly after and have raised 4 amazing children. They recently relocated to Southern Utah to start a new adventure. Tracy loves being outside and going on side by side rides with her husband. Her favorite things to do are being with her husband, children and 6 beautiful grandchildren.
Technicians
Jeri
Jeri has lived in St. George for most of her life. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Dixie State University in Integrated Studies with emphases in Biology and Psychology in 2011. She has been at Zion Vet since 2012. Jeri’s favorite parts of the job are performing dental cleanings, placing intravenous catheters, and “working” (or playing) with the furry clients. She has two dogs, two cats, one snake and two human kids.
Megan
Megan lived in Northern Utah until she decided to escape the snow and move to Southern Utah in 2020. She has always had dogs and loved them her whole life. She went to Animal Behavior College and worked as a dog trainer for 8 years before venturing into the veterinary field.
Shawna
Shawna moved to Southern Utah a few years ago from San Diego and has loved being here ever since. She graduated from PIMA Medical Institute in 2015 with her associates degree in animal sciences and is a Certified Veterinary Technician. Shawna’s goal is to eventually become specialized in emergency and critical care. Her babies include one dog and one cat.
Kiersten
Kiersten was born and raised in Southern Utah. After earning her B.S in Biology at Southern Utah University, she and her partner moved to Denver Colorado for a few years. There, she attended Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology and earned her Associates in Veterinary Science. She has been working in the veterinary field since 2019, and has now been a Licensed Veterinary Technician since 2022. She has experience with large animals, small animals, and exotics and is enjoying living out her childhood dream. She and her partner moved back to Southern Utah last year and have their own little farm with 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 sparrows, and a Red-Eared slider.
Assistants
Morgan
Morgan has been a vet tech since 2018. She is enrolled in a veterinary technician program and plans on being a vet tech for a long time. She has a deaf dog named Capella who has the funniest personality and has taught her that some challenges are well worth conquering.
Mikayla
Mikayla was born in North Carolina and moved out West in 2006. She has wanted to work with animals her whole life and loves getting to meet all the animals. She is a dog mom of four, including two local rescues.
Nichole
Nichole was born in California and lived in North Dakota as well before moving to Southern Utah. Nichole is currently in school working towards her bachelor’s degree in biology, and hopes to go to vet school soon. She has two cats, two dogs, cows, horses, chickens, and a tortoise.
Avery
Avery was born in Lake Elsinore, California and lived there until she moved to St. George to attend DSU. She finishes her bachelor’s in biology in May 2022, and plans to eventually attend vet school. She has always loved dogs and hopes to care for animals her whole life.
Caroline
Caroline (aka C$) has been working in the veterinary field since 2010 and has experience in emergencies and critical care, oncology, internal medicine, and surgery. She has a Bachelor’s of Sciences, with a minor in veterinary medicine. He passions include her 5 siamese cats (Duchess, Dakini, Demi, Dani and Dahlia) and spending time with her husband. Together, they live a peaceful life either listening to music he creates or the cats screaming about something very non-urgent (such as a cat meeting in the bathroom cabinets). Sometimes, they remember they also have a corn snake (Esmeralda) and a crested gecko (Edna).
Tru
Tru was born in Boston, and moved to Utah in 2020 from San Francisco. She got a degree in the arts, but her biggest love has always been animals. For Tru, getting to work at an animal clinic proves that you are never too old to make your childhood wishes come true. Tru’s coworkers love her fun personality.
Reception
Brenda
Brenda is a rockstar receptionist. Her favorite parts of the job are her coworkers and meeting the pets that come in. She enjoys crafting, Harley rides with her husband, and anything outdoors.
