Meet Our Team

I was born in a small farming community in Northern Iowa, close to the Minnesota border, of Burt. Milking cows, feeding the pigs, walking beans and hay baling were all part of life growing up on our small farm and the farms of my Grandparents and Uncles. The family moved to Iowa City in my early teens, where I graduated from West High School in 1973. Sports, especially basketball, became a new focus. Always wanting to return to the rural life, I chose Veterinary Medicine as the path to bring me to my dream occupation of being a veterinarian, in particular a dairy vet.

After graduating from Iowa State in 1981, I married Sandy and we had three great kids, Blake, Kirstin and Megan. We lived in Mondovi, Wisconsin and Grinnell, Iowa before moving to Virginia, Illinois in 1997. We live on a hobby cattle farm in Cass County, with three dogs, Macy, Jave and DeeDee. Kiki, our cat, patrols the house.

I enjoy mixed animal practice. But, over the years, I have refocused on small animal medicine, most enjoying challenging orthopedic cases. I have a deep rooted practice philosophy about providing a practical, ethical, economical and compassionate care to my patients for their owners.

Dr. Zeller grew up on a farm near Alexander and always found the various animals fascinating, so becoming a veterinarian was a natural progression for him. He graduated from the University of Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine in 1974 and began working for Drs. McKinney and Roegge in what was then a mixed animal practice.

He continued working with them until Dr. McKinney retired from practice, at which time Dr. Zeller bought the business which became exclusively small animal. Health concerns led him to sell the practice in the Spring 2017 to Cass Veterinary Services. He is enjoying his additional free time to do a little traveling and to “cheer” or “bemoan” U of I sports. “I am proud to be a member of the Cass Vet team and am still working a couple of hours a day.” – Dr. Zeller

Born and raised in rural Illinois, Anna knew at a young age she wanted to work in the animal care field. She joined Cass Veterinary Services in 2004, but has worked in the profession since 1988 with experience in general, emergency and specialty medicine. Her favorite areas of treatment include radiology, lab work, and petting the patients.

Anna and her family share their home with four chihuahuas, one chihuahua mix, two birds, and usually a stray foster.

Madison is a Beardstown High School graduate and recently received her associates degree in Veterinary Technology at The Vet Tech Institute at Hickey College.

Madison started as a Kennel Assistant with Cass Veterinary Services in 2014 and has assisted in the clinic during college. Her favorite areas of treatment are dental services, surgery and appointment assists.

Her fur family includes Inari, a Shiba Inu, Beans, a Corgi, and a cat named Thomas.

Kris joined our team in May 2017 as a receptionist in our Virginia Clinic. Her more than 30 years of business administration experience, including bookkeeping, payroll, human resources and marketing, made her a natural to move into her current role as Inventory/Purchasing and Media/Marketing coordinator. In addition to working in the veterinary field, Kris has been a longtime animal owner, ally and advocate. Kris also lends time and financial support to several local, regional, national and international animal welfare and rights agencies and causes.

Kris grew up in Macomb, and returned to this area after 17 years living in Nashville, TN. She and her husband, Scott, have an adult child who lives in St. Louis with their spouse and two amazing dogs, Petra and Finch, both agility champs. Kris and Scott have been parents to many pets who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge. They currently are enjoying their sweet little goofy girl Beagle/Lab mix, BusyBee.

Jacksonville native, Ariel, and her four-legged babies, Ellie, a Rottweiler, Remy, a German Shepherd, and two domestic shorthair kitty’s, Garfield and Minnie are a busy family. Along with fiancé, Tyler, they enjoy spending time with family.

Ariel has been with Cass since 2021 and loves being able to play and interact with our patients. She keeps busy working at the clinics and attending Lincoln Land Community College where she plans to pursue a veterinary technician degree.
Her hobbies include reading and diamond painting.

Sarah spent six years as a veterinary assistant in an area clinic before joining our team in July of 2021. She is an area native and currently lives in Jacksonville with her husband, Brandon, and daughters, Hannah and Claire.

Sarah's love of animals is obvious at work and at home. Her family includes pets Razor, Matilda, Charlotte, Wonky, and Tubber.

Taking care of others is a big part of who Taylor is. Prior to joining our team in 2022, she worked at an area nursing care facility as a CNA.

The born and raised Philadelphia, IL resident, loves working with all our patients, and especially likes assisting in surgery.

Taylor's family includes Corgi/Mini Aussie mix, Wrigley, and yellow Lab, Ella.

A self-described lifelong animal lover, Terrie has worked with veterinarians for many years. Cass Veterinary Services gained Terrie’s vast experience when they acquired Dr. Zeller’s practice in May 2017. Terrie worked with Dr. Zeller for more than 37 years, combining her pleasure of working around animals with the necessity of feeding her own.

Terrie is a lover of all animals but has a special interest in Morgan horses, Australian Cattle Dogs, geese, ducks, and chickens.

Hailey comes to Cass Veterinary Services with several years of veterinary tech experience. Most recently in Macomb, IL. She has earned an Associate’s Degree in Science.

Helping and working with animals in need are what is important to Hailey. She loves spending free time with her babies Gidgit, a “very spoiled cat” and Scooter an “also spoiled hamster”.
The born and raised Philadelphia, IL resident, loves working with all our patients, and especially likes assisting in surgery.

Taylor's family includes Corgi/Mini Aussie mix, Wrigley, and yellow Lab, Ella.

A Cass County native, Abigail recently moved to Murrayville with her new husband. Her higher education includes an Associate’s Degree at Illinois College and currently working on a Bachelor’s Degree in Ag Business.

Working with the staff and animals and learning about the many medications and treatments are what Abigail enjoys about working in our clinics.

Growing up on her family farm, Abigail has shown sheep and goats for ten years. She loves spending time with family and friends and going on walks with her babies, Heidi Mae, a mini Aussie, and Paisley, a mini Aussie Doodle.

A Jacksonville native, Alex attends IC working towards a degree in veterinary medicine. Her Aussie, Dara, and German Shepherd, Max, give her all the love as she spends time studying and reading in her free time. She began working with our clinics in March 2022.

Working with Cass gives Alex valuable information to apply to her studies and career in veterinary medicine. She loves seeing improvements to animals’ health and quality of life and how happy it makes pet owners.

Kayla joined our team in 2022 bringing previous veterinary clinic experience, a WIU bachelor’s degree in animal science/agronomy, and tons of personal knowledge learned from caring for her own multi-species of animals.

When not working part-time at the clinic, Kayla works a full-time job in the agriculture industry and in addition, can be found farming along side her husband, Jordan. Together they crop farm and own and operate a commercial cow/calf beef herd, have many chickens and ducks, 2 APHA horses, Rocky and Holly, 2 Australian Shepard’s, Tucker and Penny, 3 indoor and 3 outdoor cats, Diesel, Leo, Milo, Binx, Emily, and Mia, and an indoor bunny, Elvie.

Kayla has a passion for learning and caring for all animals and is always looking forward to assisting our clients.

Lisa has worked with our clinic for ten years. She started as a weekend Kennel Assistant in our Ashland clinic. In 2010, she moved to our Virginia clinic as a Kennel Assistant.

Lainey is new to our clinic. She works in our Virginia clinic as a Kennel Assistant.

After a few years of being away, Mackenzie is back in the Virginia area where she was born and raised. Her years in the US Army and as a home helper working in an adult group home prove her sense of service.

She enjoys the “tight-knit” feeling working with our clinic staff. She loves horseback riding and spending time with her fiancé, step-son, and fur babies Max and Zoe.

Born and raised in the Jacksonville area, Gerica recently graduated early from High School. She plans to continue to higher education this fall to become a Veterinary Technician.

The knowledge that she has gained by working in the clinic is what Gerica enjoys most about working at Cass Vet.

Gerica has two fur babies, Waye Waye and Panther, as well as two foster babies. When not working at Cass Vet or volunteering at the local rescue shelter, Gerica enjoys sleeping and taking pictures of adoptable animals at the rescue.

Keri was born and raised In Virginia, Illinois. With almost 20 years in customer service, she has been a great addition to the Cass Veterinary Services team since she joined in August of 2017.

A lifelong lover of all animals, Keri’s compassion for our patients and family member clients is a great addition to our staff. When not at the clinic, Keri can often be found spending time with fur baby loves, dogs Zoey and Molly, and cat Benny.

Another of our front desk employees is Jacksonville native, Kathy. Kathy has a long history in customer service positions including, working for Dr. Zeller before his partial retirement, home daycare, County Market and Maxamillions. She joined our clinic when it was purchased in 2017.

Kathy enjoys her co-workers and the Jacksonville clinic kitties, Franklin and Cheese. She loves seeing happy, healthy pets and their owners who love them.

Marshall, a Golden Retriever and Binx, a house cat share Kathy’s home. Kathy has two children, Maggee and Tanner.

Another Jacksonville native staff member is Arika. Arika joined our clinic in 2023, but she is not new to grooming. Prior to coming to Cass, she was a groomer at The Dog Wash.

Arika, her husband Charlie, share their home with a Siberian Huskey named Akira and two grey and white kittens, Koa and Sadie. They have two daughters, Crysta and Piper, and a son, Mason. She also has two grandchildren Braighlynn and Eli.

She and her family enjoy hiking while visiting Giant City Park, Starved Rock and Garden of the Gods.

The time she spends with the animals is her favorite part of her work. She also says “the staff is great”!

Ehno is my name, greeting is my game. I joined the Cass Veterinary team in 2016. Although my background may seem shady, I actually graduated from CATS ARE COOL DOGS DROOL UNIVERSITY in 2015. There I majored in controlling humans, with multiple minors, which include but not limited to, removing ponytails, buns, and hair ties, automobile inspector (which does get me in some trouble), how to fit in all size boxes, nap in awkward places in really cute positions, making subtle demands not so subtle, and unintentional aggravation to dogs.

My favorite jobs are getting humans to let me in and out, and greeting all clients and pets when I’m not napping.
In all seriousness, everyone that meets me loves me.

Hi! I’m the resident greeter and CCI (Chief Carrier Inspector). I enjoy laying on my cat tree, talking, eating treats, talking, greeting every cat patient, talking, walking on keyboards, talking, and giving lots of hugs. One of my people found me wandering her neighborhood and brought me here. They fell in love with my handsome face and outgoing personality, so I stuck around.

Do you see my face? I don’t have time for this. But, I love my people and they give me the nip so I stick around.

Hi! I came to Cass Vet around January of 2023 and used to be Dr. Dan’s barn cat. It was a very big change for me and I’m not sure I really liked the change. But here I am now being tormented by Ehno. On a normal day you can find me hiding behind Anna’s computer or just hiding in general. The girls here like to take really good care of me, which I appreciate. Being brushed is my new favorite thing since coming to the Vet.