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Our caring and compassionate veterinary care team!

Meet the Veterinarians & Team of Schmitts Animal Hospital in Grand Rapids! We’re pleased to provide exceptional vet care for your pets! Please call us at (616) 791-2011 to speak to one of our caring veterinary staff members!

Veterinarians

Owner

Dr. Eleanor Jones

Dr. Jones is the owner of Schmitt's Animal Hospital. What she loves most about her job is enjoying the human-animal bond and working with a great staff. Outside of work she enjoys kayaking, photography, and fresh water aquariums - fish and shrimp. Her four-legged family includes the dogs: Kara, Karmal, and Aggie; and the cats: Orangey and Sunshine. Her family includes the Lansing Spartans - Laura, Steve, Sarah and Chris as well as the Ann Arbor Wolverine - Josh. She graduated from Michigan State University in 1991 and has special interests in preventative medicine and dental care.

Dr. Ann Timmer

Dr. Timmer is very involved with dog shows. In her spare time she attends agility shows, conformation and obedience/rally events. She enjoys dog training, especially with her Boston Terriers - Victor, Eva, and Dot, and her Boxer - Cash. What she loves most about her job is that the days are never the same, she's always learning and she enjoys the interaction between clients and their pets. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2003 and has a special interest in reproduction.

Dr. Aimee Cochell

Bio to come.

Veterinary Technicians

LVT, VTS (CP-Canine/Feline)

Sarah DeYoung

Sarah graduated from MSU in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in Veterinary Technology. She has worked at Schmitt's Animal Hospital since graduation and is the Head Technician. In 2014 she earned her Veterinary Technician Specialty in Clinical Practice (Canine/Feline). She loves this career for the variety it offers, the ever changing medical advancements, developing relationships with clients and their pets, dentistry, puppy training, and hospitalized patient care. She and her husband have one daughter, one son, three cats, and one black lab. In her spare time, Sarah and her family raise Paws with a Cause puppies.
LVT

Sara Jo Riley

Sara has been with Schmitt's Animal Hospital since her high school internship in 2006-2007. She worked as a receptionist and veterinary assistant while attending Baker College in Muskegon. She graduated in 2012 and has since been one of our Licensed Veterinary Technicians. She enjoys educating & building bonds with clients and their pets. Sara is married to David. They have 2 kids - Sylvia & Benton. They also spend a lot of time with her parents and 2 nieces - Neecy & DeeDee. They have three cats named Gracie Lou, Fox, & Gypsy, two Boxers named Kumi & Katter, & and Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier named Liara.
LVT

Shelly Longfellow

Shelly has been working at Schmitt's Animal Hospital since November 2015. She graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Veterinary Technology in 2007. Her favorite parts of being an LVT include dentistry and that every day is new and interesting with continuous opportunities to learn. Shelly lives with her son and daughter on a small farm with two dogs, two horses, two cats, and various other farm and exotic pets. She enjoys cooking, taekwondo, and spending time with friends.
LVT

Kari Holt

Kari joined Schmitt's Animal Hospital in July 2019. She previously worked at a specialty and emergency hospital for a few years before deciding to try general practice, which she enjoys so far. She really likes surgery and internal medicine. She lives in Muskegon with her boyfriend of sixteen years (Bobby) and their pets. They have two very ridiculous cats named Jax and Little. She is also very interested in rescuing and caring for chinchillas. They recently adopted their fifth chinchilla, a 2-year-old female named Olive, and she is perfect.

Veterinary Assistant

Assistant

Kortney Kleyn

Kortney has been working at Schmitt's Animal Hospital since August 2019. In the future she plans on attending Michigan State to become a veterinarian. Her favorite part of the job is interacting with all the pets and learning new things about veterinary medicine. Outside of work she likes to ride her horse Duke, play with her dog Beau, and hang out with friends and family.
Assistant

Kaitlyn Hansen

In the future Kaitlyn plans on attending Baker College to become a licensed veterinary technician. Her favorite part of the job is learning something different each day, helping with procedures and interacting with clients and their pets. When she's not at work she enjoys helping train horses and hanging out with friends.
Assistant

Joshua Piwowarczyk

Bio to come.
Assistant

Sydnee Keyzer

Management

Personnel Manager

Deb Morello

Deb has been with Schmitt's Animal Hospital since 1983 when the practice was started by Dr. Schmitt. She worked her way from receptionist to her current position as Office Manager in charge of staffing, scheduling and human resources. Deb lives in Wyoming, MI with her husband Joe and their rescue Labrador, Kenny. Deb and Joe have two children. Their son Andy, daughter-in-law Sandy, grandson Hank, and granddaughter Julia live in Santa Fe, NM. Their daughter Natalie, son-in-law Scott, grandsons Jack and Adam live in Grand Rapids.
Office Manager

Beth Willcome

Beth has been at Schmitt's Animal Hospital since July 2013. She and her husband Ben have two children - Annabel and Scott. She has four dogs, seven cats, three goats, four rabbits, and some chickens.
Business Manager

Jennifer Pilon

Jennifer has been a part of our team since 1996. She lives with her husband, two daughters, three dogs, four cats, two dart frogs, a bearded dragon, and multiple fish. The best part of her job is working with such an amazing team!

Customer Service

Customer Service

Jodi Barrett

Jodi has worked at Schmitt's Animal Hospital for twenty-five years. She is blessed with a wonderful husband, two children, two step-children (+ son-in-law), two granddaughters and three dogs. She loves to spend time with her sisters playing cards. She also likes to swim, hike, travel, and shop.
Customer Service

Sheryl Bylsma

Sheryl has been with Schmitt's Animal Hospital since 1997. She enjoys the interaction with the pets, the interesting cases we see, and the constant opportunities to learn something new. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons. Her furry family members consist of a cat and a dog - both rescues. She also enjoys the outdoors, camping, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.
Customer Service

JJ LaBelle

Bio to come.
Customer Service/Assistant

Amanda Destross

Amanda joined Schmitt's Animal Hospital in 2022. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Zoology. Schmitt's is her first job in the veterinary field and she is loving it! She adores all animals but is a cat lady at heart. Outside of work she enjoys hiking, going to concerts with friends, and reading. She currently does not have any pets of her own but does plan on adopting a couple kitties very soon!
Customer Service

Auna Harris

Bio to come.
Customer Service

McKenna Boyle

I joined the Schmitt's Animal Hospital team in September of 2023 as a Customer Service Representative. I have always been interested in learning more about Veterinary medicine and I am enjoying getting to know our clients and their pets.

Office Pet

Feline in charge of all humans

Orange "Dude" Crush

Orangie has reigned over Schmitt's Animal Hospital since 2011. He can often be found napping in scales, recycle bins, inside cabinets, and asking for butt rubs anytime a human sits down at a computer. The best part about being a clinic cat is having an entire team of human servants!