Front Office Staff

A love of animals brought Amy to the veterinary field after 10 years with the Walt Disney Company.  She worked for several years in private practice before joining Veterinary Surgical Specialists. In her free time Amy enjoys the beach, swimming and spending time with family.

After 15 years in the medical field, and 4 years of retirement, Marcella re-enters the work force to pursue her passion and love for animals. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling to Atlanta, Georgia to visit her friends and to watch her youngest daughter play softball in college. Her oldest daughter (also a softball player) has graduated from college, and is now pursuing her degree in pharmacy. She also enjoys taking walks at the beach with her husband and her 6 yr old Yorkie named Max.

Marnie came to VSS after managing a record store (Tower Records) for 7 years. She enjoys road trips to Yosemite, hiking, reading, nature photography, and scrapbooking. She loves animals, has four cats, and lives in Aliso Viejo.  Marnie plans to become a surgical technician.

Nursing Staff

I began my career as a Veterinary Technician in 1988 in a small animal hospital in Irvine. I worked there for 15 years learning as much as I could about veterinary medicine and my special interest lie in treating geriatric and debilitated patients. I graduated from Mt. San Antonio College earning my veterinary technician license in 2007. I have since worked at another small animal hospital before coming to veterinary surgical specialists.

I have recently begun work with Therapy Dogs International a non-profit organization using dogs and cats to comfort the sick and elderly. In my spare time I like to spend time with my 2 dogs and 3 cats, swim, hike and practice yoga when I can.

Melissa is a Surgical Nurse at the hospital. 

Jennifer has been with VSS since 2007. She previously attended a Veterinary Technology program at Mt. San Antonio College and graduated in the Spring of 2008. She loves spending her free time with her family and her dogs Star and Rusty.

Armondo is an Assistant at the hospital.

Erin came to VSS in 2007 with 9 years of experience in the veterinary field. She graduated from the Professional Veterinary Assistant School in 2006, and enjoys taking her pugs to the dog park as well as the dog beach. Her hobbies include going to the gym and scrapbooking.

Becky Rothfuss is our Head Surgical Technician.  She has been working in the veterinary field for 15 years, joining VSS in 1997. Becky works closely with both the surgeons and surgical nurses to keep things running smoothly. Her interests outside of work include cycling and diving. Becky has a cat named “Bernie” who has been her companion for 10 years.

Sharne began Veterinary Nursing in England. After completing her Royal Collage of Veterinary Surgeons Nursing qualifications, she moved to New Zealand where she nursed at the country’s premier multi-specialty veterinary hospital.

Prior to joining the VSS team in 2001, she was a Veterinary Technician in the Anesthesia Department at Washington State University. At WSU she spent 5 years with responsibilities for anesthetizing anything from dogs, cats and horses to brown bears and wolves. While Sharne concentrated on anesthesia in the critically ill canine and feline patients, she was also involved in educating the veterinary students in their final year of school.

Now Southern California she finds the climate “Paradise.”  She continues to love her choice of profession, not considering it work, more of a pleasure to offer the standard of care we have here at VSS.

Sharne and Skye her young Australian Shepherd are running addicts … On the trails of Irvine, the beaches at Newport, and the mountains of the Sequoias they are out there loving life.

Emily joined VSS in 2007. She has been volunteering with a nonprofit dog rescue organization for over 4 years, and has been a Veterinary Technician for 10 years. She has 2 dogs, loves the outdoors and to hike, camp, boat, and ski. She grew up in Los Angeles and enjoys traveling. Emily has worked with many exotic animals including tigers, lynx, wallabies, and large raptors. She is a Fish and Game certified wildlife rehabilitator.

Amie has been involved in the veterinary field for over 15 years in both emergency medicine and general practice. Client education and excellent patient care are very important to her. Amie's extended family includes 3 cats and a border collie. Her favorite winter sport is snowboarding.

Vicki is a Technician Assistant.  She has been at VSS for 3 years helping to keep the back office organized. Vicki provides excellent patient care and is always ready to lend a hand to the nurses or assist the doctors in surgery. Away from the office Vicky enjoys touring with her husband on their Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Rafael is our Nursing Assistant. He performs a large range of tasks from restraining pets, assisting with X-rays, prepping pets for surgery, to preparing the O.R. for surgery. He has worked at Veterinary Surgical Specialists for 12 years and become a vital part of our team. He and his wife have two children; a girl and a boy.

Sheryl came to Veterinary Surgical Specialist in 2002 with over sixteen year of experiences.  Her nursing career includes both general practice and a period at the San Diego Zoo.  She resides in Garden Grove with her husband and child.  She enjoys swimming for recreation and her travels to Hawaii in her free time.

Administration

Jill graduated from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1993. After 7 years in private practice in the UK and Colorado, Jill joined the VSS management staff in 2000. Outside of work Jill enjoys running, cycling, camping and travel with her family.

Dr. Rich Pankowski comes to VSS from a career with horses. Following 11 years on the racetrack at Los Alamitos in Cypress, CA and 3 years as a referral surgeon, he has joined his wife, Dr. Craig, to become the hospital administrator of VSS. He enjoys photography, fly fishing and is the biggest fan of his 3 children at their sporting activities.