Technicians & Assistants
Tina Smith
Tina is a Harrisburg native who joined the Animal Health Care Center in 1994. She has been involved in veterinary medicine locally since 1985.
Tina's family includes Steve and a menagerie of rescued pets. They have two mixed breed dogs, Wrigley and Duke, and three cats, Munch, Louise, and Mona.
In her time outside of being the surgery technician at the Animal Health Care Center, Tina is involved in ballet dancing, cat rescue, and travel, especially to Hawaii. She also enjoys many outdoor activities: walking her dogs, gardening, and playing tennis. Tina creates and sews the dogs scarves and collar scrunchies that we sell. She works at a local nursery and is responsible for the many beautiful flowers and plants in and around our facility.
Stephanie Youtz, LVT
Stephanie is originally from Shellsville but currently resides in Annville. She is a Licensed Veterinary Technician who received her degree from Wilson College in 1993. Stephanie has been in the veterinary field since 1987 and began working with us in 1998.
Stephanie's family includes her husband Rick, his sons Aaron and Tyler, and her daughter, Sierra. They have two rescued dogs, a black lab named Montana and a chocolate lab named Dakota. They also have a pygmy goat named Miracle, a guinea pig named Oreo, and many ducks and geese.
Stephanie likes to spend her free time with her family in the mountains where they enjoy snow mobiling, 4-wheeling, and jet skiing. She also enjoys reading.
Sue Miller
Sue is a Cumberland Valley High School graduate who attended Antonelli Art Institute and Harrisburg Area Community College.
She is a native of Mechanicsburg and started with us in 1999. She has been involved in veterinary medicine since 1995.
Sue has a cat named Casey Bean and enjoys pottery, photography, tennis, music, baking, and traveling.
Jennie Hand
Jennie began working with us in 1999. She is from Manheim and currently resides in Cleona with her husband and daughter.
At work, Jennie enjoys handling and treating exotic animals and pocket pets. She has two chocolate labs named Trotter and Hogan and two cats, Harmony and Mercury.
In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach, swimming, going to the movies, and spending time with her family. Additionally, Jennie is a HUGE Philadelphia Eagles fan who enjoys watching games at home or attending games in Philadelphia with her husband.
Shannon Hess, CVT
A Hershey native, Shannon and her husband Jerry, have two dogs, a yellow lab named Casey and a black lab named Atley, and four cats: Funky, Kizzy, Szechuan, Tinee.
Shannon is a Licensed Veterinary Technician in the States of New York and Pennsylvania who earned her degree in 1998 from Medaille College in Buffalo, New York. She has practiced in the Central Pennsylvania area since graduating and began working with us in 2004.
Shannon enjoys continuing education and updating her knowledge on animal care. In 2005 she traveled to New Orleans following hurricane Katrina to help in a shelter for displaced animals with Noah’s Wish, bringing back six cats for adoption. In her free time Shannon enjoys, hiking, running, watching the Hershey Bears and Indianapolis Colts. She has completed 2 marathons, raising money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and soon to complete a ½ marathon in Philadelphia for The Society.
Joy Persinger
Joy has worked at Animal Health Care Center since 2006, starting as a receptionist and soon becoming a technician. She graduated from Messiah College in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
She lives nearby in Elizabethtown with her husband, Brandon, and their cat Payne. They enjoy trying new restaurants, watching movies, and spending time with their friends and family. They also enjoy watching their cat attempt to catch a laser pointer. He hasn’t caught it yet.
Amy Ebersole
Amy joined us in 1998 and resides in Manheim with her husband, Kenny, and three children, son Jared, and daughters Blake & Alyssa.
She is currently working on her veterinary technician certification in an online program and owns a successful petsitting business called Warm Noses Petsitting.
Amy's family includes six dogs: Spanky, Daisy, Reese, Piper, Riley & Callie, three cats: Jonah, Cuda, & Twirley, 2 guinea pigs: Spot & Oreo, and 25 chickens. In her limited free time, Amy enjoys hiking, gardening, playing with all the dogs, petsitting, and teaching puppy classes.
Tina Flowers
Tina is a Central Pennsylvania native who joined the Animal Health Care Center in 1994. She has worked in animal care since 1986. Tina has extensive knowledge from her study and attendance at workshops on dog training and behavior, natural healthcare for pets, and Natural Horsemanship.
Tina's family includes husband, Randy, and many beloved pets: two Dogue de Bordeaux's, Chili and Porterhouse, a horse, Mr. Chips, three Guinea Pigs, Fig, Clementine, and Davie Jones, a Grey Rat Snake, Ron, two cats, Ani and Curly, a Conure named Squirt, and two Rose Breasted Cockatoos, Sunny and Pinkie.
Tina and her husband, Randy, own U-Turn Salon in Palmyra. In her time outside of the hospital and the salon, Tina enjoys baking organic food and treats for animals, visiting zoos, and is a talented wildlife painter. She is happy to be a part of the great team at Animal Health Care Center and is proud of the work we all do.
Kelly Kunkel, CVT
Kelly joined our team in March of this year, as a full time certified technician. She was previously employed at a veterinary hospital in Lancaster for 8 ½ years.
Kelly attended Lehigh Carbon Community College/ Northampton County Area Community College, where she received her Associates Degree as a Veterinary Technician. Graduating in 2000, becoming certified as well. Kelly has a special interest in endocrine diseases, and her favorite part of being a technician is getting sick patients to eat.
Kelly goes home to a full house, her husband Scott and stepson Kaleb (who is 10 years old), as well as a ‘zoo’ of sorts! Kelly has 2 dogs, a 6 year old chocolate lab named Koko and a 1 year old pitbull named Samson. There are 2 cats in the mix as well, Minzy, a black 2 year old long haired and Kalypso, a 3 year old shorthair, originally rescued from Italy! To finish out the zoo, there are also 2 toads, 2 tree frogs, 1 turtle, fish and 1 mouse.
Along with her work and home responsibilities Kelly enjoys reading, watching movies, and learning to surf. Kelly is also an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Hershey, where she is a praise team singer and co-leader of Jamaican Mission Trips.
