top of page

The Pawsitive Care Team!

0028.JPG

Dr. Ashley Hotchkiss
Veterinarian

Dr. Ashley Hotchkiss is our wonderful veterinarian.

 

She graduated from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine with the passion to save animals from being euthanized in our shelters. This passion lead her directly into working in the non-profit veterinary field where she focused on high quality high volume spay/neuter surgery.

 

Dr. Hotchkiss realized early in her career that she could make the most dramatic impact on euthanasia in our shelters by spaying and neutering all pets.

​

The idea of Pawsitive Care Affordable Pet Clinic has been on Dr. Hotchkiss’ mind for quite some time. She realized that by providing affordable veterinary care to the public could lessen the number of animals that are surrendered to shelters every year.

​

Dr. Hotchkiss is thrilled to open the doors of Pawsitive Care. It’s a dream come true for her to touch the public through positive education and by providing good veterinary medical care!

IMG_5325_edited.jpg

Dr. Amy Hess
Surgical Veterinarian

Dr Amy Hess is our talented veterinary surgeon!

​

Dr. Hess joined Pawsitive Care in 2021 and has made such an impact while being with us!

She graduated from Michigan State University and has over 15 years of experience in the field. She has always worked in non-profit medicine, providing many different types of surgeries to thousands of animals since graduating. 

​

Dr Hess has always been a cat lover, which drives her passion for TNR work. She assists our community by providing sterilization surgeries and medical care to the outdoor cats livings in the surrounding areas.

​

Dr Amy also has a love for traveling the world. She's gone to many different countries including Africa, India, Thailand and always has an exciting adventure planned! She enjoys reading and caring for her kitties Gern Blansen, Mac Mittens, and Margarine in addition to her many fosters! 

​

We are so fortunate to have Dr Amy Hess on our team!

IMG_2794_edited.jpg

Alyssa
Licensed Veterinary Nurse, Lead Technician

Alyssa is our extraordinary licensed veterinary technician.

​

She graduated from Baker College at the top of her class and quickly dove into her dream career by working with animal shelters and non-profits.

​

When first meeting Alyssa, you will notice that she is very passionate about improving the human/animal bond. She is diligent about educating animal owners how to effectively train and communicate with their 4-legged family members.

 

Even outside of the clinic you will find her actively involved with animals, especially taking her 3 dogs on long walks and cuddling with her many resident cats!

​

Most importantly, Alyssa is very excited to be a part of the team at Pawsitive Care. The strength of the human/animal bond is what drove her to pursue her career and working at Pawsitive Care allows her to develop lifelong connections with our patients and clients.

img_1304-4.jpg

Matt
Veterinary Technician

Matt joined Pawsitive Care in January of 2021! 

​

He came to us with previous experience and knowledge in the field and was looking for just the right clinic! He is currently attending Penn Foster in pursue his veterinary nursing degree. He plans to pursue his passion in animal health and preventative medicine after graduating and earning his degree. 

​

Matt is driven, ready to learn, and always passionate about this work! He strives to provide the best care to all of his patients and educating his clients by answering any questions they have during their visits. His favorite patients are the small breed pups and calico kitties!

 

Matt and his girlfriend have rescue animals of their own, Hudson, Ruby, Florence and London. Matt enjoys walking his pups, playing music and exploring new places when hiking.

 

We appreciate all of Matt's hard work and dedication to provide excellent care to his patients! 

 

IMG_0696_edited.jpg

Jordan
Veterinary Technician & Reception

Jordan joined Pawsitive Care in February of 2021!

​

She came to us with previous experience in the field as a technician at another clinic.

She is eager to learn everything she can while working with us! She is great with every animal, but her passion is helping anxious patients feel calm during visits. Jordan's favorites to see in the clinic are the newfies, aussies and torti-shell kitties!

​

Jordan is currently attending Penn Foster to pursue a Veterinary Nursing Degree. She strives to specialize in surgery and wildlife rehabilitation. Jordan plans to attend Wildlife Rehabilitation classes in 2024 alongside her work 'bestie' Destiny! 

​

Jordan comes from a large family and makes a great big sister to look up to. Jordan has quite a few pets that she acquired as "foster fails" from Pawsitive Cause Rescue. She spends her time studying, working and spoiling her pets Isis, Keller, Dusa, Ma'am, Dutton and Dexter!

​

Company get togethers are never a dull moment with Jordan around. We are happy to have her as a part of our Pawsitive Team and family. 

IMG_7436_edited_edited.jpg

Destiny
Veterinary Technician

Destiny joined Pawsitive Care in June of 2021!

​

She came to us from the food service industry. Destiny has always wanted to work with animals but never found the right clinic. She is now enjoying the fulfillment of that dream by working with Pawsitive Care. She is always calm when an animal is nervous, putting animals at ease during their visits. Her favorite pets to see at the clinic are the tiny kitties and beagles! 

​

Destiny is currently attending Penn Foster to pursue a Veterinary Nursing Degree. After earning her degree, she plans to continue in preventative medicine at Pawsitive Care. She plans on attending Wildlife Rehabilitation classes in 2024 alongside her 'work bestie' Jordan! 

​

Destiny loves both cats and dogs, but she is truly a "cat person" with her three rescue cats Buddy, Baby and Smooshy! She also has a young son, Zayden, that helps her care for all of their pets! She also volunteers her time and fosters for Pawsitive Cause Rescue. 

​

Thank you Destiny for all of your hard work! 

IMG_2123_edited_edited.jpg

Amber
Veterinary Technician

Amber joined Pawsitive Care in March of 2024!

Amber came to us with 8+ years of experience in emergency medicine! Amber has a passion for learning
 new things, which drives her to continue her education. She plans to one day return to school to expand her knowledge as a technician, and one day enroll into the doctorate program at MSU! She will be a part of our surgical team at the new surgery center.

Amber loves all animals, but her favorites are Siamese cats, wildlife species and specialty eye kitties. Amber's passion for wildlife care came from her father, who taught her since she was little that all animals need love and care - not just the cute and cuddly ones!
Amber strives to be as knowledgeable in the field to guarantee the best care for her 
patients. 

Amber spends most of her time caring for her animals, volunteering with Pawsitive Cause Rescue and spending time her husband! Her and her husband share the passion of caring for animals, which make her home the perfect place for foster kitties! 

We are so excited to have her on our team and see her flourish! 

IMG_4901_edited_edited.jpg

Jenny
Veterinary Technician & Reception

Jenny joined Pawsitive Care in April of 2023!

​

She came to us with hopes to get experience and knowledge in the field before starting school. Jenny recently enrolled into Penn Foster to achieve her Veterinary Nursing Degree. Her passion is being able to provide affordable care to all animals and hopes to one day continue her education and become a veterinarian. 

 

You might see her answering phones, replying to emails, refilling medications, or assisting the technicians with appointments. Jenny has recently started training to begin running annual, medical and technician appointments! 

​

 Jenny also volunteers with the Pawsitive Cause Rescue during their adoption events and appointments. She has a few rescue animals of her own - and  that her and her boyfriend spoil rotten!

​

We are happy to have her on the Pawsitive Care team and help her achieve her academic goals! 

Logan
Receptionist

allie_edited_edited.jpg

Allie
Clinic Assistant

Logan joined Pawsitive Care in December of 2023!​

​

Logan learned about our clinic through volunteering and fostering for Pawsitive Cause Rescue. She came to us after a career in the customer service industry but wanted to pursue her passion to help animals. Her passion is helping cats in need by providing a safe home for her fosters. She wishes to start the Veterinary Nursing program through Penn Foster. 

​

You may see Logan answering phone calls, responding to emails, refilling medications or assisting our technicians with appointments. Logan is always available to help and ready to learn new skills! 

​

Logan is mostly a cat person but loves all of the puppies that come in for visits! In her free time, Logan likes to draw, listen to music and play with all of her pets! Logan has a dog named Finley and many cats she has adopted from Pawsitive Cause Rescue.  

​

We appreciate all of Logan's hard work and her dedication to making sure our clients & patients receive the best care! 

Allie joined Pawsitive Care in January of 2024.

Allie came to our clinic wanting to help every animal she could. She learned about our clinic after volunteering for Pawsitive Cause Non-Profit Rescue for 2+ years! 


Allie hopes to continue her education on assisting the clinic through courses at Penn Foster, and possibly pursuing veterinary nursing school! You may see Allie drawing up vaccines, cleaning exam rooms after appointments, answering check in calls and more. We appreciate how quick she is to help her team and animals in need.

Allie loves all animals but is truly a cat lover at heart. She has had many fosters in her home along with her resident kitties Murphy, MooMoo and Nala. She spends her time caring for her kitties, working, volunteering with Pawsitive Cause and watching her favorite show, Suits. 

We are so happy that Allie has joined our team and cannot wait to see her knowledge of the field grow! 

Our Story

Our story began in 2016 in the surgery room of a small non-profit pet rescue.

 

Dr. Ashley Hotchkiss, our veterinarian, had just finished school and was working as the surgeon. The only thing she could imagine using her new degree for was spaying and neutering to help remedy the crisis of pet overpopulation. As a doctor, she wanted to relieve others of the pain and sorrow of euthanizing the unwanted.

  

Alyssa Pennington, the licensed veterinarian technician, had also just graduated from technician school. Much like Dr. Hotchkiss, Alyssa’s passion and life goal was to save as many animals as she could. She dreamed of being able to take care of the damaged and the broken that had been let down by humans.

          

We quickly found that we were all very much alike. We realized that our goals were so closely related, and this led us into a very close friendship. As our friendships grew, we decided that the best way we could help animals (and the community) would be to open Pawsitive Care Affordable Pet Clinic. In our eyes, the more we could educate & assist people about caring for their animal(s), the more animals we would be able to help. It was about making veterinarian medicine affordable and understandable for everyone!

 

 From that first day we met, we have each been fulfilling our passions. We have cared for many animals; most of them ill or abused. We have sterilized thousands of animals to help control the crisis of pet overpopulation in our shelters. We have supported one another during the hard times, and we have been there to celebrate our successes.

 

Our motivation to start Pawsitive Care arose one (very) late night when we were endlessly caring for some unfortunate puppies that were fighting against Parvo disease. Parvo is a highly contagious and fatal disease with a poor prognosis without medical intervention. Some puppies can do very well with supportive care while others, sadly, do not. We strived for all of them to survive and when some did not, all we had was the support of one another to lean on. We also found ourselves treating heartworm disease much too frequently. Both Heartworm and Parvo were difficult for us to watch because both are completely 100% avoidable and preventable diseases. If owners had been informed that vaccines and monthly preventative medication would have prevented these diseases, they could have avoided harm to their animals.

 

Our collective experiences before and after we met are what drive us to reach our goals. The number of animals that we can save by vaccinating, sterilizing & providing preventative care to could skyrocket by just educating and serving this community – OUR COMMUNITY!

IMG_8687_edited_edited.jpg
bottom of page