Veterinary Nurses (Certified Veterinary Technicians)
Tracey Nowers, CVT, Head Veterinary Technician
Tracey has been with the Gardner Animal Care Center since 1991. She began her love of this career working in a kennel outside Washington, D.C. She is our head veterinary nurse and inventory manager. She especially enjoys animal nutrition and dentistry. She is a member of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America and the Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association. She is currently working toward a specialty in Internal Medicine.
In addition to her work, she has two boys whom she home schools. She has made several trips with Project Samana to volunteer at spay and neuter clinics in the Dominican Republic. Her hobbies include skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking at the Cape, reading and traveling. She currently is owned by one remaining geriatric cat, YOYO , from her original cat trio.
Bethany Lundsted, CVT
Bethany joined the Gardner Animal Care Center team in December 2003 as a veterinary technician. She graduated from Becker College in May 2005 with an Associates of Science in Veterinary Technology. In June 2004, she passed her certification examination. Before coming to GACC, Bethany worked for 10 years at a small animal clinic in New Hampshire.
Bethany lives in Rindge, NH with her husband, Newton; her oldest daughter, Jackie; Parker in the middle, and Leila, the youngest. They have a dachshund named Zeus and three cats: Ashe, the big gray one; Kahuna, fat, orange and loveable and Jelly Bean, the old lady. The family spends a lot of time at the hockey rink and in the barn with Jackie's pony, Bunny. Bethany's life is very busy, but she is always surrounded by animals! She hopes to someday fulfill her dream of touring Africa.
Christy J. Boris, BS, CVT
Christy has been at Gardner Animal Care Center since 2002, but has been in the field of veterinary medicine since 1991. Prior to coming to Gardner Animal Care Center, Christy worked at a small animal hospital in her home town of Keene, NH as an assistant hospital manager. She is a member of the Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association and serves as the organization's corresponding secretery. She is also a member of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America. She is married and has three cats: Merlin Hamilton Boris, Simon Theodore Boris and Apollo Cornelius Vanderbilt Boris. She likes anything athletic (especially trail running) and is a hard core Dale Earnhardt fan!
Jennifer Davis, CVT, AS
Jen is a mother of 2 teenage boys and has worked here at the Gardner Animal Care Center since 1997. She heads our dental unit. She graduated from Becker College in 1997 and performed her externship with us. She has four cats (Neil, Princess, Duck and Tiger Lilly), two rats and tropical fish. She frequently takes in orphaned kittens to nurse until they are old enough to be adopted. She is also on the Massachusetts Veterinary Technician Association board as the newsletter editor. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and chatting with friends online. Her hobbies include playing street hockey in a local women's league as a goaltender, tending to houseplants and reading a great fantasy novel.
Joel Powers, CVT
Joel grew up in southern Rhode Island. He graduated from Becker College in 2004 with an Associate's Degree in Science specializing in Veterinary Technology. He started working at the Gardner Animal Care Center that summer. Joel sat for the veterinary technician examination and became certified as a veterinary technician. Joel lives in Winchendon with his two cats, Phoebe and Fluffy, and two birds. He currently is enrolled in classes at Mount Wachusett Community College to further his education.
Kim Richard, CVT
Kim graduated from Becker Jr. College with an Associate's Degree in Science specializing in Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation, she started employment with Framingham Animal Hospital. Kim then moved to sunny San Diego, CA, and worked at El Cajon Rancho Veterinary Clinic. She then moved to Monterey and worked at Pacific Grove Animal Hospital. When she returned to Gardner, Kim finally took employment at Gardner Animal Care Center in 1989. Many years and many changes later, she still enjoys her technician job thoroughly.
Joanne Collins-Rancourt
Joanne graduated from Fitchburg State College with a Bachelor and Associate's Degrees. She worked on becoming a Certified Animal Behavioral Specialist and Veterinary Assistant. After working as a behavioral trainer for many years, Joanne became a Veterinary Technician and worked at Veterinary Hospitals all along the East Coast. She did this while traveling with her husband who was in the United States Marine Corps.
In February 2007, Joanne joined the staff at Gardner Animal Care Center. Some of her other interests and hobbies include Animal Communication, Intuitive Searches and Meadiumship. She has a son, an Akita named Kako, D.C. is a Collie mix, and 2 cats, Timon and Dakota.