Lea

Lea is our friendly upbeat Registered Veterinary Technician. While she was born in Washington State, she was raised right here in Wichita, due to her dad being involved in the Air Force. Lea became involved in veterinary medicine because she has always been drawn to animals, especially cats. Lea remembers having one cat growing up, and her name was Suzy, who lived until about sixteen years old. The most interesting pet memory she has was having a betta that lived for about 4 years.

“I got involved in veterinary medicine because wanted to help give a voice to those that don’t” Lea stated. She has now worked in the veterinary field for about 2.5 years. She has also worked at the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital of Wichita since September of 2021. She loves being able to meet new pets and hear the stories of how they became members of the family. Lea says the most rewarding part of emergency medicine is being able to watch sick/injured animals get to go home and be reunited with their owners once they have recovered.

Lea’s philosophy on pet care is that she feels that pets are a privilege, not a right. Just because an individual can get an animal, does not always mean they should. Animals are living beings and need proper care, including things such as vaccinations. “I am very passionate about my own pets’ and their overall health” Lea says. “I honestly take better care of my animals than I do myself”. She also treats client’s pets as she would her own.

Outside of work Lea cares for her own crew. She has 2 cats, Ember, and Honey. Ember is the older of her two cats, and Honey is her sweet big boy. She also has a guinea pig, Piggy, and a betta with some shrimp tankmates. Lea graduated from Colby Community College and adopted Ember, Honey, and Piggy from the Veterinary Technology Program.

Lea says her parents, 2 brothers, and her boyfriend have always been her biggest supporters throughout her career. While in school, she became Fear Free certified, and is currently working on becoming certified in ALS/BLS CPR for animals. Besides spending most of her time spoiling her pets, she enjoys painting and dabbling in interior design.