Dr. Sarah Lavelle

Owner

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A native of the United Kingdom, Dr. Sarah earned her professional degree in Veterinary Medicine from The Royal Veterinary College, London University in 2001. Growing up on her family’s working dairy farm she cared for a menagerie of pets which inspired her to pursue a long-term career working with animals. While completing her professional curriculum she successfully completed the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination) and was licensed to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in North America. Upon graduation from the Royal Veterinary College, she served on the epidemiology team of DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs) in the British government to address the Foot and Mouth Disease crisis at its origin near Newcastle in NE England. She then chose to pursue further education and was invited to complete a large animal internship teaching senior veterinary students and gleaning from professors at Washington State University. After completing her work at Washington State University, she took a position as an associate mixed animal veterinarian in Bozeman and successfully completed her Montana licensure examination. After tasting the outdoor lifestyle of the Rocky Mountains, the unlimited trails to explore, and the wonderful community spirit, she settled down to call Bozeman her home. Dr. Sarah is no stranger to the Gallatin Valley. She has practiced mixed animal veterinary medicine in Bozeman full time since 2002, not only at local veterinary hospitals but also at the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter and on various wildlife research teams in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness and in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
In February 2011, Ark Veterinary Practice was born, with the vision of creating an integrative veterinary hospital that treated all species. A practice that not only provides the most current technology and medical techniques, but also offers nutritional counseling, acupuncture, laser therapy, and chiropractic care, while maintaining a family atmosphere with personal care. Dr. Sarah is devoted to promoting the powerful human-animal bond and the special relationship that exists between people and their pets. She was so determined to ensure that her patients have the most enjoyable and least stressful experience possible that she became a Certified Fear Free Professional, providing all of her clients and patients the peace of mind that is needed for the best possible medical outcome.
Her professional interests include soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, exotics, preventative care, feline medicine, dentistry, and senior wellness care. With over 20 years of full-time clinical and emergency experience Dr. Sarah still very much enjoys learning at continuing education seminars around the country and internationally. She is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Montana Veterinary Medical Association.
Dr. Sarah has the privilege of being an active member of our community by volunteering her time health checking 4H participants at fair, speaking in local schools science classrooms, and serving at the Fork and Spoon. She has also had the opportunity to serve overseas in Europe, Bolivia, Turkey, and Tanzania. Serving with CVM has taken her deep into the Amazon Basin Chaco, testing cattle for Tuberculosis and Brucellosis to benefit the health of the communities living there.
When Dr. Sarah is not working she enjoys spending time with her husband, friends, and family and enjoys spending as much time in the great outdoors as possible. If you see her out on a trail, she’s sure to be accompanied by her border collie Jessie Jane. Her favorite activities include horse riding, dancing, floating the rivers, and backcountry skiing.

Jenn

Client Care

Jenn is a Scranton, Pennsylvania native who moved to Montana in 2014 in hopes of growing her roots and being surrounded by beautiful landscapes. She earned her B.A. in Professional Writing in 2013 from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Cultural and Media Studies, and a minor in Public Relations. She has two children, Cora and Roran, as well as two dogs, a cat, and four chickens. Jenn found her love for working in veterinary clinics in 2017 at Livingston Veterinary Hospital. She loves the fast-paced environment, being a resource for clients, and the continual opportunities for education that Ark Veterinary Practice has to offer. When she isn’t at Ark, you can find her either playing with her kids, at the dog park, lost in the mountains, in her art studio, or doing yoga.

 

 

Samantha

Patient Care Coordinator

Samantha hails from Colorado where she developed a strong passion and respect for animals of all species while spending time in the great outdoors. Growing up, Samantha always had a collection of pets from dogs and cats to rabbits, fish, and geckos. She followed her outdoor enthusiasm to Montana State University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Ecology and Management in 2018. She has worked on a diversity of scientific projects studying Grizzly bears and Black bears, eagles and raptors, native fish, ungulates, and native songbirds. While she chose the wildlife path for her degree, she has always enjoyed domestic species and desired more hands-on work with animals of all kinds. Working with Dr. Lavelle and her team at Ark, Samantha has found the ultimate outlet for meeting all of her criteria for her skill set since it is a place where almost every species is welcomed and cared for. The constant diversity of cases seen daily at Ark keeps Samantha challenged and on her toes. Her special interests include exotic medicine, theriogenology, laboratory analysis, and intensive care of critical patients. Samantha truly enjoys daily developing friends ships with her clients at Ark. Samantha is a true blessing to work with and is always willing to help.
In pursuit of her passion to provide the best possible animal care to her patients, Samantha is completing her certification as a Certified Veterinary Technician. She has also achieved her certification as a euthanasia technician to assist clients in their time of need. In her free time, Samantha enjoys spending time outside in the mountains. You may find her fishing in a mountain lake, hiking through wildflowers with her favorite Frenchie Charlie, bow hunting with her Dad, or camping with friends.

Ansley

Veterinary Technician

Ansley was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where she grew up riding horses, competing in 3-day eventing, equitation, and sportsmanship. She has always desired a future in veterinary medicine and is currently pursuing her degree in Biology at Montana State University. 
During Ansley’s time at Ark, she has become the lead surgery technician and is a cool cat when it comes to staying calm in difficult situations. She is invaluable to the team at Ark and we would not want to spend a week without her calm and gentle spirit. 
In her spare time, Ansley likes to hike throughout the local mountains as well as spend her time with her friends and family. She has 3 dogs, a tripod cat, and a hedgehog named Bilbo, who all contribute to her ever-growing love of animals.

Amy

Veterinary Technician

California grows some good eggs and Amy at Ark is one of the best! Growing up in SoCal, Amy was raised on a large ranch with all sorts of animals that birthed her love of working alongside them, and from then on she knew that being around animals was what she was born to do. 
While assisting a Hollywood animal trainer for 4 years, Amy gained experience working with a variety of wild and domestic species including wolf hybrids, camels, buffalo, dogs, horses, cats, bears, squirrels, and a tiger. Her passion for a full-time career with animals intensified as she worked on movie sets to assist in animal handling which led her to begin a microbiology degree as part of the pre-vet program at Montana State University. Amy started working on the team at Ark in 2020 with a goal of gaining experience in the veterinary field and had no idea how much she would enjoy it. Her experience with the wonderful team at Ark has absolutely exceeded her expectations because of the training and hands-on experience she has received allowing her to become proficient and competent as a veterinary technician confidently performing blood draws, catheter placements, monitoring anesthesia, and assisting in surgeries. Amy recently completed her certification as a large and small animal euthanasia technician to assist clients in their time of need. Amy has blossomed to become a key team member here at Ark and we are thrilled to have her on board. Amy really thrives in the teamwork culture at Ark as she continues to develop great relationships with our clients and co-workers who together make up the ultimate animal care team. We could not do what we do without our clients being part of the team!
Being able to work with any and all animals has broadened her horizons significantly and she hopes to one day be a veterinarian.
Any has three dogs and two horses of her own that keep her life interesting. Her happy place has always been outdoors adventuring and exploring. She loves to do anything from paddle boarding on Montana’s beautiful lakes to hiking around in the forests, and of course, it’s always better with her four-legged family by her side.

Stevie

Veterinary Technician

Stevie is a Montana native who has grown up with a love and passion for helping a wide variety of animals. Stevie knew from a very young age that she wanted to pursue a career in veterinary medicine and so has made it her life long pursuit. She showed a variety of animals in 4H including horses, pigs, poultry, goats llamas, rabbits and even a chinchilla and a gecko. Stevie spent several years competing in rodeo and enjoys barrel racing in her free time. Stevie is currently attending Montana State University to gain her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and plans to apply to veterinary school in the Fall of 2019.  Stevie joined Ark Veterinary Practice in 2016 and plans on spending the next 3 years growing with the practice. Her special interests are in equine reproduction and surgical assisting. Stevie is a great asset to the Ark Care Team because of her large animals skills, her IT skills, her persistence to get deadlines met, and her determination to give every patient the very best of care. Stevie enjoys spending time with her family on the weekends and helping with chores at her parents ranch where she keeps her menagerie of animals including 6 mini donkeys and her miniature zebu.

Dr. Nicole

Nicole came to Montana on a full-ride Honors Program Scholarship from Minnesota and graduated from Montana State University in Bio-engineering with a minor in Spanish in 2015. After volunteering at Ark Veterinary Practice in 2014 during her engineering degree she realized her life dream of pursuing veterinary medicine as a career. While working full-time at the Ark she continued her studies to complete her prerequisites for veterinary school and began her degree in veterinary medicine at the University of Wisconsin in the Fall of 2016.  During her first year of veterinary school, Nicole received a grant to complete a primate research project in Columbia. During her third year of veterinary school, she completed a Masters degree in Public Health and then went on to complete her veterinary degree graduating in May of 2021. A big congratulations to Dr. Nicole from everyone at Ark! She is currently enrolled in an emergency and critical care internship in California and hopes to return to Bozeman to continue serving the animals and their owners that she has grown so fond of over the past 7 years. Her current special interests are in critical care and emergency medicine, zoonoses, and the human-animal bond. Nicole continues to be a great asset to the Ark Care Team because of her diligent research skills, her exceptional memory, and her great compassion. She looks forward to reconnecting with everyone again when she returns to the beautiful Gallatin Valley.

Cassidy

Veterinary Assistant

Cassidy is a native Montanan – raised on her family cattle ranch near Augusta in the Rocky Mountains. She grew up with a love for animals from an early age and pursued her interest in science and veterinary medicine by graduating from Montana State University with her microbiology degree in 2021. With her pre-requisites for veterinary school in hand, she plans to start veterinary school in 2023 and return to serve her rural Montana community upon graduation.
At Ark Veterinary Practice Cassidy has found a work family who she enjoys growing with and serving her community alongside. Every day is an exciting adventure with so much variety of species and cases. Her favorite patients are the exotics as there is always something different and interesting to learn from the Doctors and the specialists they often consult with. The one thing that Cassidy enjoys most about her position is making a real difference in the lives of the animals she helps treat and the way that our clients appreciate her so much for helping them to understand how to best care for their furry family members. Cassidy’s motto is; Hydration is Key!
Outside of work, she loves to hike with her 2 dogs Nova and Nookie, especially in Glacier National
Park. Having a close friendship circle to visit all the local hot springs with in Bozeman is a bonus.

Dr. Tracy Schmitt DVM, CVA, CCRT

Dr. Tracy completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Studies before graduating with her DVM from Texas A&M University in 2001. After graduation she served our country overseas as the officer in charge of the Kaiserslautern Veterinary Treatment Facility for 4 years where she worked with military working dogs as well as privately owned animals. She then served overseeing Europe’s largest military veterinary referral hospital before returning stateside to manage 4 hospitals across 3 states. After returning to civilian life Dr. Tracy worked in Colorado Springs from 2008-2019 and completed additional training in acupuncture, Canine Trigger Point Therapy, anesthesia and pain management, as well as advanced dentistry. Dr. Tracy most enjoys rehabilitation therapy with a focus on pain control in dogs and cats, dentistry, as well as developing the human-animal bond. Dr. Tracy is a USDA federally accredited veterinarian who is licensed to practice in both Montana and Colorado, and is certified in Veterinary Acupuncture as well as Canine Rehabilitation Therapy. She is a member of the IVAPM and the AVMA.
Dr. Tracy has been enjoying getting to know the clients at Ark Veterinary Practice over the past few years on a part time basis and is excited to join the team full time in the Fall of 2022.
Outside of work, Dr. Tracy enjoys hiking and camping with her family, skiing, traveling, shopping for antiques, visiting wineries, spending time with her military family from all over the world and participating in triathlons. She also enjoys volunteering with the National Ski Patrol and the Colorado Springs Humane Society Disaster Management Working Group.
1740 East Baseline Road
Belgrade, MT 59714
406-586-7387
careteam@arkveterinarypractice.com
Monday – Friday: 7:30am – 6:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: By appointment only!
Available 24/7 for client emergencies!