Our Support Staff

Our Support Staff

Jackie Warbis, Hospital Administrator

Jackie grew up in Arlington and eventually bought a house in Woodbridge, Virginia. She began her career with animals in 1989, working for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. Jackie has also worked with the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria and for a short time at the Washington Humane Society. She also owns a part-time mobile grooming service that caters to special needs pets. Jackie spends her spare time with her many pets that include two Italian Greyhounds, a special needs Chihuahua, a lab mix, and an Aussie mix; four cats; and three exotic parrots. All were rescued through shelters, adoption agencies, or from owners who could no longer care for them.

Janira, Inventory Specialist

Janira grew up in the Falls Church area and began her employment with B.A.H. in the summer of 1998. Over the course of the years she has worked in just about every area of the hospital. As our inventory specialist she spends the majority of her time ensuring we have all the inventory and supplies necessary to provide exceptional healthcare to your canine and feline family members.

While growing up, Janira and her family welcomed numerous dogs into their home. She has become particularly fond of the Pomeranian breed and has a 10 year old of her own, named Maximus. She proudly describes him as “the best dog anyone can ask for”!

Veterinary Technicians and Veterinary Assistants

Aimee, Licensed Veterinary Technician

Aimee has spent her entire working career in the animal health care field and is the proud owner of an unruly dog by the name of Mia. She began her employment with Ballston Animal Hospital (BAH) in May of 2006 and is both honored as well as excited to be one of our senior LVT’s/Supervisors. In May of 2010 she graduated from Northern Virginia Community College’s Veterinary Technology program. In the future she looks forward to growing with B.A.H. and strengthening the human/animal bond.

Heather, Licensed Veterinary Technician

Heather, a Licensed Veterinary Technician originally from Toronto, Canada, started working at Ballston in September 2009. From a young age, Heather was interested in horseback riding and taking care of neighbor’s pets (birds, guinea pigs, fish, cats, and dogs). She has been in the veterinary field since participating in a cooperative education program at a vet. clinic in high school. Instead of pursuing vet school, she followed her other interests and achieved a BSc degree in Psychology from York University in Toronto. Heather then went on to the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, for her Veterinary Technology diploma. Heather moved to the Northern Virginia area to marry her husband in 2008. She owns a cat named Sadie and a guinea pig named Ping.

Liz, Licensed Veterinary Technician

Liz graduated in May of 2010 from Northern Virginia Community College's Veterinary Technology program. Shortly thereafter, she joined the team at Ballston Animal Hospital. She grew up and currently resides in Arlington, Virginia. Liz looks forward to continuing to expand her knowledge of veterinary medicine and experiencing as many different aspects of it as possible. She is highly interested in domestic animal behavior; currently she holds monthly classes at Ballston on how to properly rear puppies. Her hobbies include going to museums, arts and crafts, vegan baking and she is constantly found training her dog Bindi L. Alexis so she can one day pass the Therapy Dogs International test and become a certified Therapy Dog! Her other pets include her Corn Snake named Eos, and a Love Bird named Noodle.

Caitlin, Licensed Veterinary Technician

Caitlin has lived in Northern Virginia her entire life. She attended Osbourn High School in Manassas City, Virginia, then attended the Northern Virginia Community College Veterinary Technician program and graduated in May of 2011. Caitlin has had many pets in her life Ð mostly exotics like guinea pigs, hedge hogs, geckos and frogs. She now lives in Fairfax with her cat Falkor.

Anne, Veterinary Assistant

Anne has been in the animal health care field for over 20 years. She began working with animals during her employment with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, and joined the Ballston Animal Hospital team in 2003. Anne tells us, “I truly enjoy working here at the hospital and am very passionate about animal care.”

Anni, Veterinary Assistant

Anni is from Alexandria, Virginia and has spent her whole life around animals. She loves working for the Ballston Animal Hospital because she enjoys caring for animals and furthering her knowledge of veterinary medicine. She is currently fulfilling the requirements to enroll in Northern Virginia Community College’s Veterinary Technology program.

Tony, Veterinary Assistant

A native of Washington, DC, Tony has been in the animal health care field for 26 years. Prior to joining our team he worked as a surgical assistant at the Langley Animal Hospital, in Hyattsville, Maryland. Over the years he’s also worked for the Washington Animal Rescue League and the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.

Tony has been a vital member of the Ballston Animal Hospital team for almost 11 years. He has two sons and a 3-year-old Havanese named Dude. Tony is a valuable member of the B.A.H team and sincerely enjoys caring for the animals. Lastly, while it may not reflect in his photo Tony’s all smiles at work!

Amy, Veterinary Assistant

Amy grew up in Western New York State, and moved to Northern Virginia in May of 2003. She has loved animals since she was a small child, owning everything from the "typical" cat and dog to exotics such as chinchillas, guinea pigs, bearded dragons, hamsters, and fish. She started her veterinary career as a receptionist at an emergency facility, but realized that she wanted a more hands on position and obtained a job as a veterinary assistant. She began the Veterinary Technology program at Northern Virginia Community College in the fall of 2010, which she looks forward to completing in May 2012. When not busy with work or school, she enjoys spending time with her fiancŽ taking beach trips whenever possible, hiking, or trying out different restaurants in the area. Together they have five cats (Cole, Mittens, Tigger, Gabby, and Pickles) and an aquarium full of fish.

Emily, Veterinary Assistant

Emily was born in Arlington and has lived in Northern Virginia all her life. She has been working with animals professionally since 2007. She joined Ballston Animal Hospital in September 2011 as a veterinary assistant, and now also helps out at the front desk. Her pets include a 2 year old Norwegian Elkhound/Chihuahua mix named Carmen, a bearded dragon, a Chinese water dragon, an albino king snake, and a hamster. She looks forward to continuing to learn as much as possible about animal health care.

Nikki, Veterinary Assistant

Nikki works full time as a Forest Carbon Specialist for the Climate Change Team at The Nature Conservancy. She received her BA in Biology from Duke University and her Master of Environmental Science and Management (Conservation Planning specialization) from University of California - Santa Barbara. Nikki joined the Ballston Animal Hospital one year ago as a veterinary technician and works part-time on the weekends. She has over 10 years of combined experience working as a veterinary technician at animal hospitals in California, Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey. Nikki also runs a small specialty petsitting business called Happy Tails to You. In her spare time, Nikki enjoys rockclimbing, hiking, camping, snowboarding and reading - and of course playing with her super-awesome dog pal Patrone.

Rachel, Veterinary Assistant

Rachel began working at Ballston Animal Hospital after earning her certification in Veterinary Assistance. She is a long time volunteer at the Humane Society and an advocate for Feral Cat Colony Management through the TNR (trap/neuter/release) program. Rachel owns 3 special needs cats: Buddha, Sleepy, and Baby.

Veterinary Reception

Colleen, Receptionist

Colleen, a Burke, VA native joined the Ballston Animal Hospital team in mid-2010. She spends her time perfecting her skills as a black belt by practicing martial arts. Her dog, Jack, also keeps her busy with long walks in the park. Colleen graduated from JMU, with a major in Psychology, and a double minor in Biology, and Statistics. She hopes her knowledge of the Veterinary Medicine only continues to grow.

Faith, Receptionist

Faith is a huge animal lover! She loves all types of animals, especially cats. She has a black cat named Stargazer, who was taken in to her loving home after being found on the streets of Washington, D.C. She has been a vegetarian for seven years and has devoted herself to this lifestyle decision. Currently, she’s attending classes so that in the future she can pursue a degree in veterinary medicine.

P.J., Receptionist

P.J. was Born and raised in Columbia, Maryland and moved to the Northern Virginia area about two years ago. Shortly after “the big move”, he joined the team at Ballston Animal Hospital as a part-time receptionist. These days PJ is a full time receptionist and also studies cosmetology at Paul Mitchell: The School Tyson’s Corner. Over the past two years at BAH his love for animals has only grown. In his spare time, you can catch P.J. on stage or behind the scenes anywhere in the Northern Virginia area doing community theater. His career goals include performing on Broadway, as well as, working backstage doing hair and make-up.

LaTeasha, Receptionist

LaTeasha is a mother of three children. She was born and raised in Arlington and went to Wakefield High School. In her spare time she loves to read and spend time with her family. LaTeasha has been with Ballston Animal Hospital since May 2011.