Melinda Stefko

Melinda came to Paws of the Rockies Animal Hospital with eight years of previous experience in the veterinary field. She has been with our hospital since 2004 and works in all parts of the hospital. Melinda is originally from Edinboro, PA where she grew up with lots of pets, sparking her interest in veterinary medicine. She graduated from Westminster College in 1999 with a BS in Environmental Science and minors in Biology and Peace Studies. Upon graduation, she and her husband, Steve, got married and moved to Ft. Collins to pursue their dream of living in a place where play is just as important as work. Together, they love to snowshoe, hike, rock climb, bike, and ski (both AT and alpine skiing). Melinda also has a strong interest in photography. When Melinda is not on one of her adventures in the outdoors, she can be found at home playing with her four furry children: cats, Seneca, Dalton, and Tyler and dog, Carver.

Jessica Hathcock

Jessica was born in Reno, Nevada but grew up primarily in New Mexico. There, her family breeds and trains quarter horses, which fostered her love of animals.  Before starting at Paws of the Rockies in 2005, Jessica had worked in the field for 5 years as a veterinary technician, which reinforced her ultimate goal of becoming a veterinarian.  Jessica graduated with a BS in Biology from the University of New Mexico and is currently working towards a Masters in Toxicology at CSU. She hopes to attend veterinary school at CSU after her master’s program is complete. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her fiancé and Chihuahuas, Luca and Abby.

Grace Valdivia

Grace brings a friendly smile to our front office as a member of our veterinary team. Grace was raised in a small town in Central Valley. California. Grace was always surrounded by “furry friends” all her life and knew in her heart she would always be involved with animals in some way. After living a hectic life in California for many years, Grace and her family decided to move to Colorado in pursuit of a more balanced lifestyle, namely one that would allow them to focus on the importance of family.

Grace has been married to her high school sweetheart, Victor since 1997. Together they have have two daughters, Rebecca and Julia. Grace and her husband currently own a home in Severance and enjoy long drives exploring beautiful Colorado.

Grace has quite an assortment of pets in her home, which she affectionately calls, “her zoo”. Grace owns three dogs, all of them Boxers, two cats, one rabbit, one chinchilla and a saltwater fish tank. In her free time, Grace enjoys baking with her daughters, reading, fishing, watching football, and hiking with the family.

Shea Daniels

Shea is a Colorado native who graduated from Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology in 1997 with an Associate of Applied Science. Since then, Shea had worked at a couple veterinary hospitals before starting at Paws of the Rockies as a veterinary assistant in May, 2007. The love for animals started early and Shea has instilled that love in her daughter, Amber. They share their home with their a fish named Zach and their 2 dogs, a Chihuahua named Princess and a mixed breed named Ginger. In their free time, Shea and Amber enjoy spending time together camping, swimming, and biking.

Noelle Lex

Noelle has been with Paws of the Rockies since March of 2008 and comes to us with 3 years of previous experience in the veterinary business. She is a proud Colorado native that still lives in the same town in which she was born and raised - Loveland. Noelle shares her home with her dog (Bones), 2 cats (Handsome Rob and Sargent Splatter), 2 ferrets (Butters and Domino), and fiancé (Ryan). When not busy with her zoo, Noelle is planning her wedding and still manages to find time to ride her motorcycle, watch Grays Anatomy and Smallville, and has even written a fictional short story!  Noelle graduated CSU in Aug 2009 with a degree in Zoology and hopes to eventually work with the Department of Wildlife in Animal Conservation. Although we know Noelle will not be with Paws of the Rockies forever, we are happy to have her as part of our front office staff as long as we can keep her!

Lani Bower

Lani started at Paws in August 2008 and had 3 years of previous veterinary experience and a Masters of Agriculture. She comes to Paws with the hopes of eventually becoming a wildlife veterinarian. She grew up in Casper, Wyoming but has also lived in Woodbury, Connecticut and Boston while attending Northeastern University. Lani enjoys volunteering at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, spending time with her Yorkie (Tim), cat (Jake), and red-eared slider (Beaver). When she is not with the critters, Lani enjoys hiking, camping, skiing, and spending time with her family.

Teresa Garcia

Teresa started at Paws of the Rockies as a veterinary assistant in July 2009 and brings a wide array of experience with her.  After graduating with a BS in Geophysics from the University of Florida and a getting a Masters in Geosciences from Brown she concentrated more on her love of animals. Teresa has worked at the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, a veterinary ophthalmology center, and a wildlife veterinary clinic before finding Paws of the Rockies. Her focus now is more on small animals as she hopes to attend CSU veterinary school in the future.

In her free time you can see Teresa enjoying all the activities Colorado has to offer, especially biking.  She shares her home with two cats, Little Man and Miss Kitty.  One thing people would not know about Teresa by looking at her is her fondness for avocados and breakfast of champions...blueberry pie!

Jess Nunez

Jess came to Paws of the Rockies in May 2009 with 5 years of small animal veterinary technician experience behind her.  She left her hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina to experience all the wonderful activities Colorado has to offer and was not disappointed.  Jess loves to hike, swim, travel, and is excited to learn to kayak.  When she is not in the Colorado outdoors, she loves to spend time with her Shar Pei / Shih Tzu mix, Rocky.