Our Staff

Palo Verde Animal Hospital employs only well trained staff members for the care of your pet(s). Our doctors and staff are required to attend continuing education classes to ensure that only the best medical care is available for your pet(s).

Dr. Ross Babcock

Dr. Babcock is a 1967 graduate of Colorado State University. He was raised in the Phoenix area and has been very active in the community for over 35 years. He has more than 35 years of experience treating birds and raising parrots and other birds at his home. He has devoted most of his free time to organizations such as the Phoenix Lions Club as well as serving as a Boy Scout Leader. Dr. Babcock's special areas of interest are avian, reptile and primate medicine.

Dr. John Samuelson

Dr. Samuelson is a 2003 graduate of the University of Minnesota. He lives with his lovely wife Jody, and their three dogs ("Loki", "Skippy", and "Mr. Bo Jangles"), two tortoises and a parrot. In his free time, Dr. Samuelson enjoys mountain biking, running, and white water kayaking. His areas of interest include small animal medicine and surgery as well as small ruminants (goats and sheep).

Dr. Sharon Ottman

Dr. Ottman is a 1993 graduate of Colorado State University. She is married with two boys, two dogs, and two horses. Her hobbies include being a taxi driver for her sons, swimming, and showing her horses. Dr. Ottman's professional interests include internal and preventative medicine, and caring for senior pets in their golden years.

Chris Butler, CVT, Practice Manager

Chris has been a part of the veterinary field since 1995. She is a 1995 graduate of Long Technical College and was certified as a veterinary technician in 1998. Chris has worked for PVAH since March of 1997. She has several pets of her own at home. In her free time she likes to swim, hike, mountain bike, and hang out with her dogs, cats, and fish.

Angel Acosta, Client Relations Supervisor

Angel joined the Palo Verde team in November 2004. Since she was a young child, Angel has been an animal lover. She began rescuing stray animals when she was just 5 years old. While living on a ranch in Maricopa AZ, Angel realized in her heart that she wanted to spend her life helping animals. Directly out of high school, she attended Long Technical College (now Kaplan College) and went to work immediately upon graduation. As well as having a human daughter, Angel has a conure, 2 guinea pigs, 2 dogs and a cat, and loves them all very much.

Karry Atwater, Veterinary Technician

Karry joined Palo Verde Animal Hospital in June 2008 after Kachina Animal Hospital closed their doors. She was a member of Kachina's staff for 14 years. Karry is married and has 2 human children and 4 canine children. She loves all animals. In her spare time she enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and spending time with her family.

Jodi Boyles, Veterinary Technician Supervisor

Jodi joined Palo Verde in February 2003. She graduated as a veterinary technician from Apollo College in October 2003. Jodi was born and raised in Phoenix. She is the proud mother of 2 daughters, Destiny and Addison. They have 2 dogs, "Myriad" and "Happy", 2 cats, "Beau" and "Rainie", and 2 conures, "Swazi" and "Sunnie". In her spare time, Jodi enjoys camping, scrapbooking, family events, and of course, helping animals.

Elisa Dahm, Certified Veterinary Technician

Elisa has been with Palo Verde on and off since 1997. Since childhood, Elisa has loved animals and feels like working at Palo Verde Animal Hospital has enabled her to hug pets, not just physically but also in the form of nursing and caring for their well-being. Elisa is married and has three sons, Christopher, Axel, and Jacob, whom share her love for their pets. She is quoted as saying, "When you love what you are doing, it's not so bad to take your work home with you!"

Tanya Drewry, Client Service Relations

Tanya joined Palo Verde in June of 2008. She has worked in the veterinary field for over 10 years, starting when she was in high school. She graduated freom Northern Arizona University with a Bachelors degree in Zoology and will be returning to school for her Masters soon. Eventually Tanya would like to pursue a career in research. She has lots of children: 1 human, 1 canine, 3 felines, 5 avians (birds) and a rat. Tanya enjoys outdoor activities like camping, fishing and spending time with her son.

Paula Jones, Groomer

Paula has been the groomer at Palo Verde Animal Hospital since 1996. With more than 25 years of experience, she will make sure your pet gets the royal treatment. When Paula isn't making your pet beautiful and happy, she enjoys spending time with her family, human and animal alike. She enjoys going to dog and cat shows, playing with her feline and canine friends and just plain having a good time. Another of her amazing talents is teaching old dogs new tricks. Ask her about her partner in crime, "Webster", and she'll be happy to brag about all the tricks he knows.

Amanda Morari, Volunteer

Amanda has been volunteering with Palo Verde since 2002. She was born in Phoenix and has lived here all of her life. She has 3 dogs, ("Blackie", "Sadie", and "Elvis"), 3 snakes, ("Rockey", "Sally", and "Sybille"), a ferret ("Cooper"), and a sugar glider ("Sully"). Amanda enjoys playing with her pets, camping, scrapbooking, swimming, and much more. She is currently in school and makes her Mom proud with her straight A's. Her dream job is to become a veterinarian. She volunteers her time to the pets of Palo Verde after school and on weekends.

Kari Neville, Animal Caretaker

Kari has been with Palo Verde Animal Hospital since December 2002. Her interests are animals, tandem bicycle riding, reading, camping and eating chocolate. Kari is an Air Force Brat and has traveled around quite a bit. Her family moved to Glendale in 1983 and she graduated with her twin sister from Moon Valley High School in 1985. She prefers the company of animals over people, which makes this the perfect occupation for Kari.

Beth Novak, Client Service Relations

Beth has been with PVAH since March of 2007. She has been working in the veterinary field since 1996. She has 2 lizards and a "Choodle" (Chihuahua and Poodle mix), "Tyranny". Beth enjoys lizard husbandry (she's had one of her lizards for 20 years), reading, movies, and teaching her old dog new tricks.

Sibylle Scheliga, Veterinary Assistant

Sibylle came to PVAH from the Arizona SPCA (Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals). She loves elephants, mice and EVERYTHING in between. Sibylle is proud to have been accepted as a member of the very dedicated staff at PVAH, her home away from home. She is still active with animal organizations fighting to help stamp out animal abuse and neglect. She thinks hockey and swimming are the "coolest" of all sports. Palo Verde Animal Hospital employs only well trained staff members for the care of your pet(s). Our doctors and staff are required to attend continuing education classes to ensure that only the best medical care is available for your pet(s).

Kacie Schleier, Kennel Supervisor

Kacie joined the PVAH team in Sep. 2007. Her favorite part of her job is being 
able to pamper the animals and give lots of love! She is married and has 4 
rescued animal children including "Shanti" (Shep/Hound mix), "Jasmine" (Brit. 
Spaniel mix), "Johnny" (Cornish Rex), and "Tanveer" (Ball Python). She is an 
advocate for rescue animals and loves learning about animal behavior/training. 
When she is not working she enjoys spending time with her family, nature, and 
volunteering.