Meet the Team at Kingdom Animal Hospital

Dr. Bill Mentes was born and raised in northern New Jersey, and then graduated from the Washington State University College of veterinary medicine in 1976. After graduation, he joined the US Army Veterinary Corps where he spent 10 years in a variety of different locations. One assignment was in Demark where he met Margrethe, his wife of 39 years. They have 2 children: Erik is a C-17 pilot in the U.S Airforce and Emily is a photographer. He has Buddy, a 13-year-old rescue doggy. Dr. Mentes enjoys the outdoor sports Vermont has to offer all year round.

Hello! I am a native of the North East Kingdom. I started out my animal loving career when I was just a small child. I enjoyed playing on the farm with all my cousins. I captured snakes, frogs, mice, and anything else I could get my hands on to “save” them. I continued my life calling my attending Vermont Technical College to become a Veterinary Technician. I started working for Dr. Henderson in May 2011. In 2014 I became a Credentialed Technician! I have a dog (Trixie), a turtle (Graceful), and a parakeet (Skittles). I love doing ANYTHING outside, fishing, hiking, and snowshoeing with my daughter Miss Peighton and Trixie the dog.

Ethan began working for Dr. Calamaio in July 2018 but has loved being around animals his whole life. He grew up in Danville with his two sisters. Ethan graduated from Swarthmore College in 2001 and then moved out west for a number of years. He came back in 2011 because northern Vermont is the place that he feels most connected to.

Ethan’s two favorite things are dogs and mountains. He has worked at a sled dog kennel in Concord, VT, for the past 8 years and hikes with his dogs “Stella” and “Nori” in the White Mountains whenever possible.

Kaitlyn started working in the veterinary fields when she was a senior in high school and decided to go to college to pursue being a veterinary technician. She graduated with an associated degree in veterinary technology in 2019 and started working for Dr. Calamaio at Western Avenue Vet Clinic a few weeks later. Outside of work, Kaitlyn enjoys spending time with her 3 dogs (Romeo, Archie and Riley), hanging out with friends and family, and gardening in her flower garden.

Jill graduated from SUNY Canton in New York in 1997 and has been a part of Kingdom Animal Hospital ever since. Jill brings several years of vet tech experience to our team, including multiple years in emergency medicine. Jill worked through several interesting experiences with Dr.Hoppe including treating an injured vulture and caring for a bear cub! In her free time Jill likes to ride and care for horses.

Hannah joined us in September of 2020 eager to learn. She began working as a receptionist and has slowly moved her way to becoming an on the job trained technician. She is very passionate about animals, especially exotics. Hannah spends her free time with her pets Allie (cat) and Dova (rabbit) or outside hiking.

Emily-Rose grew up on a dairy farm in Irasburg, VT. Ever since she was a little girl, she knew she had a passion for taking care of animals. Although she grew up on a dairy farm, she has a love for all animals, especially dogs! Emily-Rose has worked in the veterinary field since she was a sophomore in high school and eventually decided to go to college to become a veterinary technician. She graduated from Vermont Technical College in the spring of 2019 with an associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her 4 dogs (Rosie, Alvin, Ruby, and Dolly), taking photographs, and spending time with family and friends.

Kiera is a Vermont Technical College graduate of the Vet Tech program and especially loves to work with dogs. She has a German Shorthair Pointer mix named Max. She has a special passion for educating clients and helping her coworkers. In her free time, Kiera likes to go for a ride in her jeep and spend time with her family.

Kelly is a native to St. Johnsbury and originally began working at North Country Vet Clinic in January 2021. She had interned for Dr. Henderson in previous summers and became interested in working with dogs and cats. She has a dog and cat of her own, Harper and Snoopy, along with her horse, Willy. Kelly enjoys hunting, fishing, and being outside as much as possible.

Meagan began her journey working with animals while she was living in Florida. There she worked as a veterinary receptionist at a shelter clinic, where she adopted her dog Endo. Once in Vermont, she found herself caring directly for the dogs and cats at a local animal shelter. There she was able to combine her passion of animals and photography; capturing photos and writing short bios to post online in the hopes of finding each animal their perfect forever homes. Meagan now hopes to excel in the veterinary field alongside the other talented and knowledgeable staff at KAH. In her free time, she enjoys quality time with her family (four legged included), baking, and finding new places to hike.

Rylie is native to the Northeast Kingdom and enjoys all animals, especially cats. She has six years of customer service experience and enjoys seeing everyone’s pets come in as well as being able to meet all our customers. When she’s not working, she mostly enjoys spending her free time at the beach with a good book as well as cuddled up with her best cat friend Trixie.   

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Celeste was born and raised in a small Vermont town. She lived on a dairy and alpaca farm where she learned the importance of being a helping hand. She carries this great trait with her wherever she goes. She went to Vermont Technical College (VTC) after High School, and later took a break from the animal world to travel to South Carolina. She realized that her “happiness” was back in Vermont, and started a veterinary receptionist job in 2014. She has been doing it ever since! When she is not at work or taking classes, Celeste truly enjoys kayaking, camping, firepits, going to see live music and staring out into the Ocean’s abyss. She lives with her cat named Carmen Sandiego.