Meet the Hospital Team

Dr. Drummond has been with Applewood Animal Hospital almost from the beginning, working here part-time starting in 2014, then moved up to full-time in 2017.  Born in St. Louis she grew up in Arizona and graduated from ASU with a degree in kinesiology before graduating from the Washington State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2013.  What little time off she gets is spent attempting to train her French Bulldogs Elmer Frankenbean and Wilbur, along with Jackson, the only sensible dog in her house.  She also enjoys SCUBA, traveling, working out, hiking and chocolate.  Not necessarily in that order.

An Arizona native, Dr. Crouch’s love of animals was evident early on.  She grew up surrounded by goats, sheep, horses, mules, chickens, dogs and cats, and as a teen volunteered for Arizona Game and Fish as well as Southwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.  So getting a degree in Biological Sciences from ASU and then in 2016 graduating from Ross University Veterinary School of Veterinary Medicine (having done a clinical year at) Colorado State University.  She also competed two internships in South Africa and multiple externships in Hawaii, California, Colorado and Arizona.  Dr. Crouch and her husband Greg share their home with Tonka, a German Shepherd mix and Kaeto, a senior kitty, and are excited to be expecting a real human daughter this fall!

An Iowa native, Dr. Lemus grew up both there and in Minnesota and says that one of her more “interesting” jobs as a youngster was detassling corn. After earning a double major (biology & chemistry) from the University of Indianapolis she went on to earn her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Purdue University. Shortly after graduating from Purdue in 2007 she and her husband moved to Arizona and she’s now a confirmed desert rat! Always athletic, the mother of three active young children (two girls and one boy) now spends lots of time running after them in addition to doing CrossFit training and other outdoor activities. Dr. Lemus joined Applewood in 2020 and particularly enjoys surgery and preventative care. What she likes best about being here is the “supportive staff that helps me be my best every day”: what you will like is the way she treats you and your pets with kindness, compassion and great medicine!

Joanne started showing dogs as a mere child and has been involved in breeding and competing in dog sports (conformation, obedience, draft, agility, tracking and dock-diving) for over forty years, the last 30 years with Bernese Mountain Dogs. She earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, and has lived in the Valley for over 20 years, working in the veterinary field during most of that time.  She is in the process of getting approved by the American Kennel Club to be a dog show judge. Joanne presently shares her house with Segen the Greeter and Kansas, the Junior Greeter, and understands that they are much more popular than she will ever be.

If you’re ever in the hospital and hear someone speaking rapid-fire Spanish in the back, smile and know that there is a happy pet being cared for!  Alicia, who was born and raised in Madrid, Spain, has a way of talking to the animals that helps even the most anxious feel soothed.  Alicia graduated with a degree in veterinary medicine from Universidad Complutense de Madrid and was a licensed veterinarian in Spain before moving to Arizona in 1989.  She worked for 23 years as a veterinary oncology nurse at a specialty hospital before joining the Applewood team, and how lucky we are to have her here!  Alicia is an avid birder and hiker (she completed the famed Camino de Santiago [The Way] trail) and loves to knit, travel and read.  She hopes to visit the Galapagos Islands some day but until then enjoys working “surrounded by the best coworkers one can dream of…and the best patients!”

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio Coming Soon!

When asked where she grew up Amanda’s response was “I refuse to grow up.”  Yep, that’s pretty accurate! Nonetheless she has worked in the veterinary field for over 15 years, starting as a kennel technician and working her way up to supervisor. She is an incredibly talented technician and always brightens our day.  Amanda considers glitter to be amazing and believes it should be a part of everyone’s life, she has a TY Beanie Baby collection and prides herself on making awesome PB & J sandwiches topped with BBQ chips and cut into perfect squares. It should not come as a surprise that she is a mom to two “spitfire” young girls! She and her husband also have a dog (Endo) and a cat (Frankie), and her best nights are spent watching movies with a big bowl of popcorn and all her family gathered around.

Here’s what you need to know about Kate: she used to ski to work, she is an avid knitter, she and her husband own a company that manufacturers and sells surgical scrubs, she’s only had five jobs in her life (the first three were as a “bartender extraordinaire”) and she foster-failed (“HARD”) with Tater, the adorable Bull Terrier pictured here. A Certified Veterinary Technician, Kate and her husband also share their home with her soul-cat Oliver and a sassy Oriental Shorthair named Mouse. Born and raised in West Michigan, Kate’s long-term goal is to become a snowbird as soon as possible to continue working on the fixer-upper they own back there. Despite the knitting and the snowbird goals Kate wants you to know she’s not that old 🙂  We want you to know she is a phenomenal technician and we’re thrilled she is part of the Applewood family!

Bio Coming Soon!

It’s Debbie’s smiling face you’ll usually see behind the front desk – well, Debbie’s and the Berners!  Originally from Indiana, Debbie earned a BS in business from Ball State University and attended Anthem College’s Veterinary Technology program.  She and her husband Matt have an adorable Maltese named Agnes, a newly rescued pup named Daphne and a tortoise shell kitty named June. She loves sushi, wine and fitness, in fact she has worked as an online fitness coach. Debbie is not just friendly to pets and people, she’s also super-efficient and helps keep the hospital running smoothly.  Her obsession with office supplies (specifically Post-It notes) works in her – and our! – favor.  And Debbie’s claim to fame: she was on the Bozo show!

Think you have a lot of pets? Let’s compare to Danica’s menagerie: six dogs, one cat, one bearded dragon, two leopard geckos, 2 corn snakes, 1 salamander, 100+ axolotls, one red-eared slider, two tarantulas, one millipede and a 120 gallon fish tank with too many fish to count.  Who wins?  Coming to work and being surrounded by animals is like being home for Danica, but there she also has a husband and two sons, so this is probably more like a break!  Danica wears many hats while she’s here: although hired primarily to manage all of our inventory (she says she’s probably the only person who considers working on inventory a “hobby”), she also helps out as a technician (she is a Certified Veterinary Technician) and as a receptionist. No matter which task she’s working on at the time her fun personality and love for animals shines through! Danica dreams of cage diving with great white sharks or going on an Alaskan cruise to see humpback whales but we worry that if she does either one she’ll just come home with more exotic pets.