Meet Our Team!

Tender Care Animal Hospital

 6002 S. Hwy 94, Weldon Spring, Mo 63304

 

Doctors

 

Dr. Judy Dennis was born in Kirkwood, Missouri and raised in Florissant, MO. Her interest in animals started with her first pet, Tiger a very sweet, striped domestic short hair kitten. When Dr. Judy was younger child, she lived in the country and had 2 dogs (Snowball & Patches), both mixed breed. She used to love spending time playing ball with her German shepherd, Gretchen. Her other pets also included: Cinnamon & Teddy (Teddy Bear hamsters), a finch named Pepper, and a very friendly Labrador/Golden retriever mix (Annie) who liked to visit throughout the neighborhood. As a teenager, she had a rescue kitten, Coco that was very particular; he would only drink from the kitchen faucet. She also had a cat, (Eco) that had congestive heart failure and a Dalmatian mix named Ty. While working at a veterinarian’s office, Dr Judy adopted a rescue cat, Ivan. Ivan developed hyperthyroidism, but through her expertise and compassionate care, he is now doing well. Her love of animals and wanting to help them is what motivated her to work in the veterinary field. She worked in several veterinary clinics before going to veterinary medical school at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has a Bachelors of Science degree in biology from Webster University. She states that the most enjoyable part of being a veterinarian is the connection she develops with her patients and their owners, she is also passionate about educating owners to provide better care for their furry family members. She currently shares her home with Cleopatra and Isabella (domestic short hair cats). Cleopatra is definitely the queen of the house. She thinks she has to be the center of attention and always has to be on the highest perch. Izzy (Isabella) is a rescue kitty with 6 toes on both front feet. She is very sweet, but she is shy and takes awhile to warm up to new people. Once she warms up to you, she likes to sleep on the pillow next to your head!

Dr. Bob McCool was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. As a young child, he used to spend hours playing with plastic zoo animals, and his favorite thing to do was visit the zoo. He had a habit of catching animals (from frogs/toads to even a gopher) and trying to make them pets. He drove his parents crazy with the approximately 15 fish tanks he kept in his room. It was clear early on that he had a fascination for animals.During career day in high school, he recalled how most of his classmates chose 3 or 4 different career choices to research as most of them were uncertain what direction they would go. For himself, it was different. He knew he wanted a career working with animals. He had already narrowed his choice down to veterinary medicine. Everything he did from that point forward was focused on getting into veterinary school. In 1985, he was accepted for admission into the University of Missouri-Columbia Veterinary School. He would eventually marry one of his classmates, Lori, in 1988. He knew early on that the area he wanted to pursue was small animal medicine and surgery. So when he graduated he and his wife took positions as Associate Veterinarians in practices in California. Having grown up in Missouri, they both thought it would be nice to live elsewhere for a change. After one year in California, they made the decision to move back to Missouri to raise a family.Currently Dr Bob and his wife have 2 children, both boys, attending elementary school. Both of his sons also love animals. He always said there must be “animal gene” that he and his wife passed on to them. They have several pets including a golden retriever who loves attention (Kilimanjaro), a cat who loves to eat (Jack), two sweet maltese (Ella & Eli), another cat who is constantly in to things (Holly), a pomeranian who is our most bull headed child (Mikaela), 4 pigmy goats who love to climb (Patrick, Sandy, Nutmeg, and Lily), 2 sweet nubian goats that love cheerios (Sponge Bob and Flower), and 2 chinchillas (Benji and Minnie).

Dr. Susan Starr was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania and moved to Bridgeton, Missouri when she was four years old. Starting in her early years in elementary school, she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian. Growing up, she had two basset hounds, Margo and Abby. Unfortunately, when she was in first grade, her family’s car was stolen with her dog, Margo, in it. She remembers walking home from school, meeting her mom in the yard, and learning that Margo was gone. Eventually, they got the car back but not Margo. She still has very fond memories of Margo. In addition to her own dog, Susan’s friend next door had a black Labrador Retriever named Gwen, a yellow tabby cat named Ozzie, a little turtle, and sometimes a flying squirrel when her grandma brought it over. She played with her friend’s dog and took it for walks all the time. Whenever her friend would go out of town, she took care of her friend’s pets and would pretend they were her pets. She always liked going with her mom to take her dog to the animal hospital. It made her so proud when her mom told them that Susan wanted to be a vet too.She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. The most rewarding part of her career has been helping owners to keep their pets healthy. She loves seeing families bring in their puppy or kitten for their first visit – they are always so excited! Watching the pet grow and become an important part of their household makes me feel great. Currently, Dr. Susan shares her home with her daughters, Perry and Summer. They are currently without pets but are searching for a new cat and a puppy much to her daughters’ delight.

 

Pet Team Members

 

 

Brianne Tabaka was born and raised in St. Charles, Missouri. Growing up, she was surrounded by animals: four gerbils (Betty, Blacky, Spotty, and Veronica), two guinea pigs (Oscar and Hailey), two horses (Willie and Dexter), and a black standard poodle (Champ). Her horse, Willie, loved to eat strawberry candy with soft centers and raspberry jelly donuts. Dexter, her other horse, was a little more wild. Brianne was the only person who could ride him as he would buck everyone else off. She had many fond memories of her poodle, Champ, but one thing she will always remember is how he always slept with his head under her bed. Brianne has always had a passion for animals. She learned everything she could about the different types of animals, how to take care of them, their behavior, and any information she could read regarding their biology. She takes great pride in being able to help and comfort our four-legged patients and their owners. Brianne shares her home with three Great Danes (Karma, Blu, and Coal) and a tortoiseshell cat (Ria). All of her pets have some interesting and entertaining behaviors. Coal loves chasing laser lights and flash lights, while Karma loves to dance with people. Blu’s favorite past time is chasing and fetching things, while Ria likes to spend her time eating things. Unfortunately for Ria, she once ate some rat poison which nearly killed her.

 

 

 

 

 

Linda Kauffman was born and raised on a farm in Warren County, Missouri. During her childhood, she had a number of pets including her Border Collie (Blondie) and three horses she loved to ride. Between the cattle, pigs, and horses, she often was able to witness the miracle of birth. Being around all these baby animals helped nurture her passion for animals. She spent a lot of time especially with her horses. She recalled how her horse, Dolly, loved carrots. One time she went into the stall to give Dolly carrots, which she kept in the back pocket of her blue jeans. Dolly was so anxious to get the carrots, she did not wait until Linda had taken them out of her pocket. Instead, Dolly grabbed the carrots along with Linda’s jeans lifting her a few feet off the ground! Linda worked for Verizon Wireless for 24 years before joining us. She decided it was time to pursue her passion which was working with animals. She volunteered at Humane Services and shortly after began working at Tender Care. As a veterinary technician, she especially loves providing that little bit of extra TLC it takes to nurse young puppies and kittens back to health. She also enjoys working with pet owners who share her passion for animals.Her and her husband, Dan, own two dogs and one cat. Her cat, Memo, was a cat that was pregnant and had kittens that she fostered through our shelter. Once the kittens were adopted out, she decided to keep mom. Her two dogs are Coco, a male beagle, and Ben, a male black lab mix. Ben likes to chase rabbits and squirrels and loves to slowly crawl and sneak up into her lap while she sits on the recliner chair (an extremely tight fit). Coco likes to run crazy up and down the steps. Linda is excited to meet you so please come in to visit us!

 

 

 Tara Johnson was born and raised in Bridgeton, Missouri. Growing up, she had a miniature pinscher (Rudy), a black cat (Max), and a turtle (Frankie). Frankie was her first pet. Tara and her sister found Frankie in the yard and decided to keep him outside in a box in her back yard. They fed and took care of him, but eventually he chewed his way out of the box. They thought he was gone for good until he came back up to his house later in the day. He continued to leave in the morning and return each night as if he knew where his home was. Tara was very happy to have the opportunity to work at Tender Care. Because she is able to take care of animals all day long, she said she always goes home with a smile on her face. Working at Tender Care has provided her with some of the most rewarding days of her life. She believes that working at a veterinary hospital is a perfect fit for her. She absolutely loves working with the pets and their owners. Tara shares her home with a Chihuahua (Lucy) and a Boston terrier (Frankie). Lucy and Frankie are opposites. Frankie loves everyone, while Lucy is cautious around those she does not know. Although she is small, Lucy is very protective and does not seem to know her size. She is a very loyal companion, following Tara everywhere she goes. Frankie does not even get upset when a complete stranger walks in the yard. As far as Frankie is concerned, all humans are great. He is also a little comedian. He snorts and crawls around all day, and, at night, he snores so loud, he shakes his crate. But regardless of the noise, Tara refers to Frankie as her “love bug”.       

 

 

Amy McCourt was born and raised in Florissant, Missouri. As a child, Amy had three pets: Lady (a cocker spaniel), Thumper (a rabbit), and Rolly (a hamster). Lady was an expert at giving “high fives”. She would sit down and raise up one of her front paws until you “high-fived” her. Anyone that came to the house was sure to get a “high five”. Amy has always been crazy about animals and jumped at the first opportunity to work at Tender Care. She loves animals and has always enjoyed being around them. She also enjoys spending time talking to pet owners, some of the nicer people she has ever been around. She loves seeing the same clients coming back and has bonded with many of them. She and her boyfriend, Marvin, and their children, Axton and Alayna, share their home with their new eight week old puppy, Abel. The kids are absolutely crazy about Abel as he loves to chase them around and wants to be part of any game they play. Abel also has the habit of chasing his tail. When he sees his tail out of the corner of his eye, he gets very excited and spins around in circles trying to catch it.

 

 

 

Tonia Trevino was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Her passion for pets began very early in childhood. She used to play “school” with her beagle-shepherd mix, Mandy. She developed a very close bond growing up with Mandy. Her first job was walking her neighbor’s dogs for $1 per walk when she was 7-8 years old. After high school, Tonia worked at a fast food restaurant chain for many years. Finally, she decided to pursue her dream of working in the animal field and joined Tender Care in 2006. She loves the opportunity to provide the pets with that little extra TLC they need. She also gets great satisfaction from helping people when they are worried about their furry companions.Tonia, her husband, Roel, and their two sons own two dogs, Chewie and Allie. Chewie is a male pug born in October 2007. Allie is a female puggle born in 2004. Allie “smiles” at you when she is happy; she loves food and occasionally gets into the trash. She often refers to Allie and Chewie as her shadows because she can not even visit the ladies’ room without them following her.