We are fortunate to have great staff members here at our hospital.  They have been hired because they are skilled in their arenas and share our philosophy of compassionate patient care.  Let us introduce them to you…

Chris Becotte - Head Receptionist/Office Manager

Chris has been working in veterinary medicine since 1988.  She started her career as a receptionist.  Since our opening, she has also taken on the added responsibility of office manager.  She manages incoming calls, handles scheduling, and runs some of the day-to-day operations of our hospital by herself. Only Chris and the hospital cat, Grace, could do this, as we are busy enough to utilize two people in the reception duties!  She cares about who she is speaking with and develops relationships with clients letting them know how important they and their animals are to us.  When not at work, Chris spends her spare time cheering for the Red Sox and caring for her all of her cats that she has rescued.  Her older dog Morgan keeps herself busy by chasing around 2 newly rescued puppies.

Petra Schoenbrod - Veterinary Technician

Petra Schoenbrod has enjoyed her career as a Veterinary Technician for 21 years.  She received an Associates Degree in Equine Management from the State University of New York in Cobleskill in 1984.  Following college, she had the privilege of training in dressage and jumping for five years with Istvan Sorenyi-Sander.  In the veterinary field, her work included both general and referral practices in Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Maine.  She has worked with a wide variety of animals including dogs, cats, horses, exotics, and even zoo animals.  Dentistry and laboratory work are her areas of greatest interest and she continually strives to expand her knowledge of these areas.  Petra lives alone with her extended family on a beautiful farm in Arundel.  Her “three sons” include a beloved English Setter named Scout and two Oldenburg horses, Ben and Rudi.  Horseback riding and hiking are her favorite activities.  When not out with her horses, she spends a great deal of time hiking in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  She also enjoys biking, rollerblading, cross country skiing, and scrapbooking.

Anne Thurlow - Veterinary Technician

Anne earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science: Pre-Veterinary Medicine from the University of New Hampshire in May 1999.  On the advice of her college advisor, she decided to work in a veterinary hospital for a year before applying to vet school.  One year turned into several and before long she was well into her career as a veterinary technician.  She took the Veterinary Technician National Exam at Tufts University in January 2004 and passed to earn her C.V.T.  status.  She has worked in several small animal and specialty practices in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.  Prior to coming to Pine Point, she was the Ophthalmology Technician at Dover Veterinary Hospital and retains her interest in ocular injury and disease.  She also greatly enjoys her work with exotics and has two ferrets of her own, Hallie and Logan.  They share their house in Saco with her husband, Adam, a 13 year old cat named Chuck that she adopted from the first hospital she worked at, and a 4 year old Jack Russell Terrier named Willis and her most recent addition, Aggie, a terrier mix. When she is not at work, she spends a lot of her time throwing tennis balls for Willis and Aggie.  She is a certifiable scrapbooking junkie and can frequently be found in craft stores shopping for papercrafting items.  She enjoys documenting events through photographs and scrapbook pages.  She finds that veterinary medicine provides daily challenges that keep her job interesting and fun.

Kim Zacharias -Veterinary Technician

Kim Zacharias graduated from Median School of Allied Health Careers in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania with a Veterinary Assistant diploma in 1993.  Kim began her career working in animal shelters in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Maine specializing in small mammal care and adoptions.  She helped to develop and open the Pennsylvania Wildlife Center where she helped to rehabilitate injured wildlife and educate the public.                 Before coming to Pine Point she was the Small Mammal manager at the Animal Refuge League in Westbrook.  While working at ARL, she was also an educator for the House Rabbit Society, helping to teach people how to successfully keep rabbits in their home cage free.  Kim lives on a dairy farm in Falmouth with her husband Mark and her three children, Elizabeth, 23, Stephanie, 20, and Alex, 18.  In addition to the cows, their pets include an 8 year old cat named Gwen, and several pet rats including a male named Finn and a female named Charlotte and her litter of babies.  She also does petsitting in her home for rabbits and rats.  In her spare time she enjoys shopping and making crafts.  She is very skilled at making earrings and other jewelry.  She has a special interest in small mammals due to her prior background with them and finds satisfaction in educating clients on the proper care of their little critters. Recently Kim became a co-founder for a new Rat Rescue.

Lisa Grimaldi - Veterinary Assistant

Lisa Grimaldi is just starting her career in veterinary medicine after having worked in the child care field for 22 years.  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Child Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, and is currently taking classes online from Purdue University in order to become a Certified Veterinary Technician.  Although she has a long way to go, Lisa is very excited about her new career path and looks forward to expanding her education to include her first love- animals.  Lisa’s interest in veterinary medicine was sparked by her work with the Animal Refuge League in Westbrook, where she has been a foster mom for the feline population for the past three years.  Her foster assignments have included sick cats, pregnant cats, and orphaned kittens.  At one time, she had 13 kittens with various degrees of illness under one roof!  While she is not currently owned by any animal of her own, her house in Portland is frequently filled with her “foster children” from the Refuge League, as well as dog and cat visitors from her petsitting duties.  When she is not at work or studying for classes, Lisa has been known to enjoy reading a good book, watching an entertaining movie, or cross-stitching.