Staff
Hospital Management | Customer Service | Technicians | Boarding - Animal Caregivers | Groomers
Hospital Management
Practice Manager Cathy Bain-Zapata was born in Colombia and moved to Miami at the age of 10. She always had an incline for management so it was only natural that she attended college to major in Business Administration. She began her professional career in immigration law and later worked as an Immigration Interpreter in Miami. She stumbled upon the veterinary field through a friend who thought she could offer her professionalism and business management skills at Town & Country. Despite her fear of cats, she joined the hospital in 2003 and has found it to be her most rewarding career move. "The ability to work with our caring clients in improving their pet's lives is an amazing feeling" Cathy says. She is a member of the Humane Society and the ASPCA, and her animal companions include dogs Dixie, Diesel, Emma, Valentina and Chopper. Cathy spends her free time with her son, husband and family and enjoys gardening, cooking and attending cultural events.
Kristina "Kris" Fairless was born in Miami but raised around the world since her father has been in the military all his life. She always had pets as a child and had a love for dogs and horses in particular. She knew she'd be a natural for this profession and decided to pursue the field when she joined Town & Country in 1998. She began as a Doctor's Assistant but after many years of technical training, her wonderful personality and great client/patient care quickly promoted her to become the hospital's Office Manager. She likes working at the hospital because "we have the best clients!" She is an active member of the ASPCA and loves to volunteer whenever possible. On her free time she likes to be with her family and pets, which include 3 Chihuahuas and a Poodle. Kris also enjoys hiking, skiing and traveling.
Customer Service
Karina Montes de Oca was born and raised in Miami and has always found it rewarding to help animals in need because she's an animal lover at heart. Always fostering, she has consequently ended up owning 4 dogs, 5 cats and a parrot. A current client of the hospital referred Karina and felt that her sweet and courteous personality would be a perfect match for the hospital. Rightly so, in early 2009 Karina joined Town & Country as a Receptionist. She is an active member of the ASPCA and is currently attending school to complete her Bachelors Degree. Her hobbies include cooking, baking, sewing, going to the movies and playing sports with friends but most of all, helping animals in need!
Michelle Mattice was born and raised in upstate N.Y and always had an interest for medicine. After graduating high school she worked as a Certified Nurse Aid for six years. After getting married she moved to Miami in 2007 and decided to begin her involvement with the care of animals. She joined Town & Country in 2010 as a Receptionist and says she particularly enjoys the interaction with clients and the ability to help them and their pets in any way possible. She loves spending her free time outdoors with her family and pets which include her 10 year old yellow lab, Daisy and two cats, Movado and Amber.
Technicians
Katie Emami was born and raised in Miami. She joined the hospital in 2005 as an Animal Caretaker after graduating high school and has always loved animals. She calls Town & Country her second home and loves that she and the other staff members are able to treat patients while learning, teaching and having a good time. Katie is considered to be one of the "sweetest people around" by her fellow co-workers and is loved by clients and their pets. After training for three years, she was promoted to Technician and began assisting the Doctors with the treatments of patients. Katie enjoys playing basketball, going to the movies and the beach and listening to music when she is not working. She also loves to spend time with her pets, including her American Bulldogs, Vanilla and King.
Roselyn Romaguera was born in Venezuela and came to live in Miami at the age of 6. After graduating high school in 2005 she enrolled in college for Biology and decided that she wanted to work in an animal hospital early on. She joined Town & Country in 2007and is also currently enrolled in the Veterinary Technician Program at Penn Foster. Working at the hospital has taught Roselyn many things about animal care and particularly enjoys being able to assist in the healing process of pets. She is the proud owner of a Calico named "Trashy" and her American Bulldog Tyson and likes to spend her free time with family and friends. She also enjoys playing softball, football and basketball.
Alexandre Contreras was born in Houston, Texas but was raised in Miami. He always had an interest in the animal field and at a young age when he began breeding Leopard Geckos but after graduating from high school in 2005 he immediate enrolled in the Veterinary Technician Program at Penn Foster. He began working at Town & Country in 2007 and has also become certified as a canine massage therapist through Equissage, one of the leading on-line schools in the art of massage. Alexandre likes working with animals because he can see first-hand the outcome of his hard work as he aids animals. While working at Town & Country he has developed a deep interest in Veterinary Dentistry and currently is pursuing further education in the specialty. He likes to go fishing to help him unwind, and he is the owner of a bearded dragon and a rough neck monitor, both three years old.
Jeanette Deniz is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico. After high school she attended the Universidad Iberoamericana in Dominican Republic where she received her medical degree 2005. After receiving her doctorate degree, she moved to Miami and has continued her education as she plans to validate her degree in the U.S. She has always had a passion for animals and although her medical degree is in human medicine she feels just as much joy in helping heal animals in need. She began working in the field back in 2006 and joined Town & Country in 2009. She is the proud owner of two Chihuahuas, Coco & Kuki and three cats named Misha, Oscar & Buffy. She spends her free time reading, playing Piano and listening to music.
Ashley McAlister was born in Austin, Texas. She considers herself to be an animal lover with a deep passion for the animal sciences. She decided to pursue her education in this field and completed her Bachelor's in Animal Science Degree from Texas State University in 2006 while simultaneously working in a veterinary hospital in her hometown. After college she joined the Peace Corps and served in Niger, West Africa as an Agriculture Volunteer. Returning to the States, Ashley worked as a Veterinary Technician in animal hospitals in Texas and Colorado before moving to Miami in early 2011.
Ashley enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, biking or playing tennis. She is the proud owner of 8 year old Whippet, Haley and her 6 year old Italian Greyhound, Luna.
Boarding - Animal Caretakers
Bryan Klein, a full-time animal caretaker, joined Town & Country in 2009. Working with animals was a natural choice for Bryan, who as a child would take care of strays he found. He is the owner of Bella, a Maltipoo, and Carmel, a mixed breed, and has plans to become a veterinarian. When he's not working or taking care of animals, he likes to play lacrosse and paintball.
Heather Brittle is an animal caretaker who also works in customer services. After working in the animal field for three years, Heather joined our team in late November of 2010. She is an animal lover at heart and greatly enjoys helping people. She is currently attending school and plans to be in the animal field for a long time to come. She loves spending time outdoors and being active along side her family and pets, Sassy, a 17 year old Siamese and dog Jack, a 2 year old Doberman.
Groomer
James Rodriguez in a native of Miami and began his grooming career in 2005 but joined Town & Country full time in 2010. Having owned three dogs and a cockatiel, he's always had a love of animals and enjoys being surrounded them while working. He particularly likes working in an animal hospital that provides grooming services because "It great to see the doctors heal animals" and James enjoys helping with that recovery process by lifting a dog's spirits with a great haircut! He is fond of his fellow staff members and likes the work environment. He spends his free time with family and friends. He also enjoys playing Basketball and Poker but finds some quiet time in writing and baking.
