Meet Our Careteam

Sarah

Practice Manager

Growing up in her Cumberland, Maryland childhood home, Sarah brought home any kind of creature she could find, much to her mother’s chagrin. She hasn’t stopped saving animals since. Sarah has now been involved in the world of pet rescue for more than 25 years! It was through her rescue work that she first met Dr. Portugal and became a fixture here at Critter Care Veterinary Hospital—Sarah is proud to now serve as the Practice Manager.

Sarah first started working part-time here at the clinic after meeting Dr. Portugal, an important figure herself in the community’s animal rescue field. When Dr. Portugal left on medical leave, Sarah was invited on full-time to keep things moving along in her absence—she’s been serving as the clinic’s Practice Manager ever since! Now, she gets the best of both worlds and is able to continue doing the rescue work she’s so passionate about while also helping pets hands-on here at the hospital.  Sarah is also an Elite Fear Free Certified Professional and a member of The Society of Veterinary Medical Ethics and the American Association of Feline Professionals.

In her free time between her clinic duties, pet fostering, and her rescue efforts, Sarah enjoys visiting the beach, and spending quality time with her family, friends, and pets. She has a grown daughter (who loves animals just as much as her mother) and lives with her husband, Bob, and a menagerie of animal companions. 

The canine portion of the family includes a little pack of french bulldogs named Nugget, Dobby, Jess, Winston and Nova. Sarah also has a three-legged cat, Tres; Dragone the red bearded dragon; and a talkative Double Yellow Headed Amazon parrot named Gertrude who is more than 45 years old.

Megan

Lead Veterinary Technician

 
Meg worked in a variety of fields in the past, including retail, food service, and even child care. But she always felt that there was something missing. She had adored animals while growing up and even considered becoming a marine biologist for a time—why not follow that passion, Meg thought, by becoming a veterinary professional? That set her on a course that hasn’t wavered to this day. She’s the clinic’s Lead Veterinary Technician!

Meg is originally from Bricktown, New Jersey and attended a community college there before moving to Pennsylvania with her family. After earning her Associate’s degree in general studies at a local college, she re-enrolled to study veterinary technology in the school’s Veterinary Assistant program. Shortly afterwards, Meg found an opening here at Critter Care Veterinary Hospital, and the rest is history!
Around the clinic, Meg particularly enjoys cleaning pets’ mouths and seeing the final product after her dental work is done. She’s also fond of the continuing education opportunities that she’s received through the hospital—constantly learning more in her field is something that Meg doesn’t take for granted!

Meg is an avid photographer when she’s not at work, and loves to snap pictures whenever the opportunity presents itself. When not at home with her four pets: a rescued dog named Quinn; a dog named Chase who Meg adopted after he was surrendered to Critter Care Veterinary Hospital; a pair of litter-mate cats named Baxter and Rosco; Megan likes to spend time with her boyfriend, Devin and his children

Lydeah

Veterinary Technician

When Lydeah’s horse fell ill, she watched as her local veterinarian and a Veterinary Technician worked tirelessly to make sure her beloved companion returned to full health. She never forgot the care, skill, and compassion that they demonstrated—Lydeah knew that she wanted to do the exact same thing for other people’s treasured family members. That’s when she decided to become a veterinary professional herself!

Lydeah grew up in Coatesville and attended a local technical school’s veterinary program during her high school years. That experience launched a journey that hasn’t stopped to this day. When a friend of hers who was working here at Critter Care Veterinary Hospital told Lydeah about an opening, she jumped at the chance to join a team of animal-lovers just like herself. She was hired in July of 2017, and has been helping the area’s pets and animal owners as a Veterinary Assistant ever since. Lydeah completed her schooling and become a Licensed Veterinary Technician in 2021!

Here at the clinic, Lydeah finds that her one of her favorite parts of the job is learning new things in the ever-changing field of veterinary medicine. She also loves to pass along that knowledge to pet owners. Above all, Lydeah enjoys seeing the looks on pet owners’ faces when they’re reunited with their healthy, happy pets! 

Lydeah’s interests away from the office include horseback riding, boating, and spending quality time with her family, and pets. She’s been riding horses since she was only six years old, and currently owns two horses named Chachi and Pheonah. Lydeah also shares her life with two dogs—a rescue named Theo and a cuddle-loving Pit Bull named Lylah—and a pair of frisky cats who go by Gary and super senior Appa. 

Hannah

Veterinary Assistant

BIO Coming Soon

Aarin

Kennel Technician/Veterinary Assistant

Aarin became a member of the Critter Care Veterinary Hospital team in December of 2020 as a Kennel Technician.  Aarin is originally from Delaware County where they grew up with cats and dogs always around the house. 

As a child Aarin knew they wanted to work with animals. They came to Critter Care Veterinary Hospital with experience serving customers with their animal needs while working at a local pet supply store. Through their experience working at the pet store they decided they wanted to learn more about animal health and be more hands-on with animal care in order to make a direct impact.  Joining Critter Care Veterinary Hospital felt like destiny to them.  As a kennel technician Aarin handles kennel maintenance and animal care. They find it rewarding helping an animal recover by performing surgery aftercare. Aarin loves caring for our Critter Care  animal friends! 

Outside of Critter Care Veterinary Hospital, Aarin lives with their parents and their cat Patches (an expert in  lounging, sleeping and hiding). Aarin also enjoys art, literature and gaming.

Jess

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Jess joined the CCVH team in the Summer of 2021 as a Veterinary Assistant. She is originally from West Chester.

Growing up Jess had a wide variety of pets including dogs, rats and mice. When she was a child, her family dog Trevor became ill and that experience made her want to go into the Animal healthcare field. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences. She is currently in the University of Florida's Shelter Medicine Graduate program. Her educational goal is to someday be a Veterinarian. She has prior experience as a Kennel Technician which naturally transitioned into her role as a Veterinary Assistant. At CCVH Jess loves seeing all of the different types of animals and making their experience feel safe and comfortable. 
 
Outside of Critter Care, Jess lives with her boyfriend, her kitten Shilo and her new beagle puppy Joelene. In her free time between work, school and her family (human and animal) she also loves to draw.

Isabella

Veterinary Technician

Christina

Lead Customer Care Representative

Christina has more than two decades’ worth of experience helping customers. She’s worked as a travel agent, a receptionist at a hair salon, and just about everything in between! When the time came for Christina to seek out a new opportunity that would allow her to put her background to good use, she came across an opening here at Critter Care Veterinary Hospital. The rest is history, and she’s now the team’s Lead Customer Care Representative!

Christina has lived in Chester County her whole life and joined the Critter Care Veterinary Hospital family in late 2017. She’s been enjoying every moment since! Christina particularly likes meeting pet owners at the front desk and imparting what she’s learned since starting in the veterinary field. She also loves getting to work alongside a team of passionate animal-lovers just like herself every day.

When she’s not at work, Christina can be found antiquing, camping and hiking, and trap-shooting with her husband. She has two children, Hailey and Nicholas, as well as two stepdaughters named Lauren and Sara. Christina and her husband share their home with a dog, Honey, and four wonderful cats: Sadie, Sasha, Suri, and Darwin.

Robert

Customer Service Representative

Robert joined the CCVH team in the Summer of 2020 as a Customer Care Representative. He is originally from Coatesville and has a background in finance.

Roberts' love of animals made him want to become part of the CCVH family. At CCVH he is the friendly voice that answers the phone and the smile that greets you at the counter. He loves getting to meet the animals and their families and is always looking to recruit the next office cat.

Outside of CCVH, Robert lives with his 2 cats, Pretty and Oly. In his free time he can be found on the sideline at his daughter's swim meets.

Nicole

Customer Care Representative

Nicole became a part of the CCVH team in September 2021 as a customer service rep. She is a long-time resident of Chester County.

Nicole graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and has a diverse background in healthcare and healthcare technology. Her first experience with her own rescue dogs Rocky & Lucy taught her about the value of patience and compassion as she cared for them through age related illnesses and cancer. Because of her personal experience with her dogs, she understands and appreciates the connections that people have with their pets, she decided she wanted to pursue a career in the animal healthcare field. She enjoys all of the happy wagging tails she gets to meet daily at CCVH.  

Outside of CCVH, she is a dedicated volunteer for a local rescue where she participates in various activities that help match homeless animals with their ‘furever’ families. She also enjoys spending time with her family. She lives with her husband and her teenage daughter and son. In her free time, she can be found volunteering for her children’s various school related activities or in the stands watching her son play baseball. She also loves spending time with her 3 rescues dogs, Peanut (stealer of socks) an 8-year-old Beagle Terrier mix, Phoebe (stealer of snacks) a 5-year-old Chihuahua and Piper (stealer of hearts) a 2-year-old Shih Tzu Terrier mix. Her continued goal is to strive to be the person her dogs think she is.

Riley

Kennel Assistant