Meet Our Veterinary Team

Ashley Scott, Licensed Veterinary Technician

Ashley has been a Licensed Veterinary Technician for six years. She has worked in various facilities – from research dairy farms to animal shelters to small animal practices. She had several pet dogs growing up, but once on her own, she decided to adopt a FeLV+ cat as her first pet and immediately became a “cat person.” Today, Ashley owns three cats, Penny, Dex, and Sebastien, with her wife in Halfmoon, where they spend as much of their free time outside as possible. Ashley is an aspiring 46er but also enjoys kayaking, camping, snowboarding, and snowshoeing.

Fun Fact: During hockey season, Ashley plays on the Saratoga Storm women’s hockey team, which became national champions in 2022.

Casey Rowen, Licensed Veterinary Technician

Casey is one of our Licensed Veterinary Technicians who has been in the field for over 18 years. Her knowledge, along with her calm and gentle nature, is invaluable to everyone and every pet at our hospital. She spends her spare time camping and listening to Taylor Swift. She has two dogs, three cats, and a horse with whom she loves spending time. Casey is one of the kindest people you will ever meet, and she will do anything for the people she loves. 

Fun Fact: The ocean is Casey’s happy place, so you can find her there every summer, vacationing with her daughter, son, and husband in Cape Cod.

Nicole Guilianelli, Customer Service Representative

Nicole is one of our staff members who is cross-trained as a customer service representative and a veterinary assistant. She has worked with us for almost 18 years. Nicole works on the weekends as she is a teacher for Head Start during the week. Nicole took her love of kids and animals and made a lifelong career out of both. When she is not working, Nicole is at home enjoying family time with her three kids and their three family pets.

Fun Fact: Nicole is obsessed with anything to do with pickles. Whether it is pickle soup, dip, a frozen pickle pop, chips, or a platter of assorted pickles, Nicole is always ready to try it.

Karen O’Neil, Customer Service Representative

Karen is one of our customer service representatives and has loved animals since she was a little girl. Karen started working in the veterinary field when she was 16, and her love for animals and helping people grew from there. She started working with us in 2006 at our sister hospital in Latham and, in 2019, switched over to our office. In her free time, Karen enjoys camping, hiking, kayaking, and biking with her husband and daughter. She also enjoys spending time at home with her animals, which include a golden retriever, a cat, and three very nosey chickens.

Fun Fact: Karen loves country music and never seems to get caught telling “Alexa” to change the station.

Jill Rom, Customer Service Representative

Jill is one of our customer service representatives and has been a fixture at the front desk for seven years. Jill loves her job so much that she drives a long way to serve our pet parents every day. In her spare time, Jill loves to do water aerobics, take her boss of a dog, Benjamin, on truck rides, and complete jigsaw puzzles and crafts with her sisters. She is a nurturer and a caregiver at heart who always goes out of her way to help people with their problems.

Fun Fact: Jill is obsessed with Sunflowers and loves anything and everything to do with them.

Brianne Kilmer, Customer Service Representative

Brianne has worked in the veterinary community for over 24 years as a veterinary assistant and receptionist. Bri has enjoyed developing meaningful relationships with both our clients and our patients. She truly believes that it helps to impact the level of care and medicine we are able to offer. In her free time, Bri enjoys gardening, pet sitting, helping people, traveling, seeing different places, meeting new people, and spending time with her family. She has always known this is what she was meant to do and feels blessed to be doing what she loves.

Fun Fact: Bri LOVES to do things for the staff and often leaves little gifts for them to brighten their day.

Shyla Popa, Assistant

Shyla has dual roles in the hospital as both a veterinary assistant and a customer service representative. She has been with us for three years. Shyla grew up rescuing cats and other small animals and is often called our cat whisperer. Shyla always knew that she would work in the animal care industry. She currently has seven cats, two rabbits, two ferrets, and a dog. She is also taking courses to become a cat and dog groomer. In her free time, Shyla loves reading, dancing, archery, and baking.

Fun Fact: Shyla can often be heard giving her coworkers hydration checks and then watching as said coworkers rush to drink some water.

Deyanara Spencer, Vet Assistant

Deyanara grew up in Upstate New York and is currently in school pursuing a business degree. She loves helping animals, so she joined our team. She has two dogs – a crazy golden retriever and a therapy lab/pit bull mix. In her free time, Deyanara enjoys reading romance or mystery books and watching drama TV. She has a diverse taste in music but hates country music. For fun, she likes to get tattoos, paint by numbers, and travel- her goal in life is to explore the world.

Fun Fact: Dayanara is trying to learn to play the piano.

Lexi Mercier, Veterinary Assistant

Lexi is from Massachusetts and has traveled around before making her way to our hospital. She plans to go to school to become a veterinary technician at our hospital. Lexi has two cats named Whiskey and Willow, who are very clingy. She has a passion for playing basketball, as she has played since she was able to walk. When Lexi is not working, she spends her time drawing portraits and playing video games.

Fun Fact: Lexi was the 2019 State MVP for Hoosac Valley Division Girls 3 high school basketball.

Claudia Eckel, Veterinary Assistant

Claudia is one of our veterinary assistants and is currently in school to become a Licensed Veterinary Technician. Claudia has loved to be around different kinds of animals all her life and currently has many chickens, a family cat, and three family dogs – a German Shepherd, a Pitbull/Beagle mix, and a Pug. She herself owns a cat, a German Shepherd puppy, and two fish. Claudia recently brought her love for animals to South Africa for three weeks to volunteer in a veterinary program. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts (especially country), doing aerial yoga, and paddle boarding.

Fun Fact: Claudia tells us she is the favorite daughter out of her four sisters.

Kayla Killoran

Practice Manager, Veterinary Technician

Kayla was raised in Staten Island, studied Zoology at SUNY Oswego, and then moved to Albany, where she found a home at our Veterinary Hospital. She joined us as a veterinary assistant and recently earned her Veterinary Technician license. When she is not working, you can probably find her with the people she loves and with her three dogs. For fun, Kayla enjoys being outside, taking her dogs to the creek, water rafting, snowboarding, playing/watching football, and playing KanJam. She loves a good challenge and is always down for competitive games.

Fun Fact: Kayla is a picky eater but can be won over with french fries, double-dark Milano cookies, or seven-layer (rainbow) cookies.

Dr. Christina Perogine, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Christina Perogine is a dedicated veterinarian in small animal medicine and surgery. Dr. P. grew up in Rockland County, New York, graduating from Tappan Zee High School. She attended undergraduate school at Pennsylvania State University, majoring in Animal Sciences with a minor in Wildlife Management, and graduated from Ross University Veterinary School in 2009. She has a passion for soft tissue surgery, ophthalmologic surgeries, and dental treatments. When not devoting herself to the care of your fur babies, Dr. P. enjoys reading, crafting, traveling, and scuba diving. She is a devoted “dog mom” to her long-haired dachshund, Lexie, who can be described as a loving “attention hound.”

Fun Fact: Dr. P has placed an IV catheter in an African Lion.

Dr. Nicki Poppenger, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Nicki Poppenger was raised in Central New York and received her B.S. at the University of Vermont. She later went on to attend Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 2015. After graduation, she moved to New Hampshire and then Vermont, where she practiced both emergency medicine and general practice for small animals. Dr. Nicki recently moved back to New York and looks forward to providing compassionate, quality care at Drumm Veterinary Hospital. She is currently working on bringing acupuncture into her practice to provide a more integrative approach to helping animals. Dr. Nicki enjoys spending time with her family, including her two kitties and one dog. During her free time, she loves traveling to visit friends, hiking, biking, reading, and skiing. 

Fun fact: Dr. Nicki always keeps maple syrup on hand to put on many different foods or to drink straight from the bottle.

Dr. Ruth Loree-Houser, DVM

Dr. Ruth Loree-Houser is a seasoned veterinarian in small animal medicine and surgery. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate studies at Cornell University. She is also a proud alumnus of Cornell’s polo team. Dr. Ruth is our go-to surgeon here at the hospital. She is always researching and is devoted to finding the best ways to help your pets. When she is not at the hospital, you can probably find her riding her dressage horse, Cipriano, doing yoga, or practicing archery. Dr. Ruth has two grown daughters, a supportive husband, two dogs, two cats, and more than 800 dairy cows. 

Fun Fact: Dr. Ruth has a sweet tooth and will never turn away a good treat.

Dr. Amanda Hansberger, Medical Director

DVM

Dr. Amanda Hansberger grew up in Stuyvesant, New York, and graduated from Ichabod Crane Central School. She attended undergraduate school at SUNY Delhi and Cornell University and graduated from Ross University Veterinary School in 2012. Her kindness and “say yes” positive attitude help drive our hospital to give the best pet care we can to your pets. When not taking care of all the animals at the hospital, Dr. Amanda enjoys being with her husband and two daughters. She has two dogs, Berta and her new puppy, Albie, and four horses – Lilly, Minnie, Lane, and Dreamy. As a competitive person, one of her favorite hobbies is competing in horse shows. She plans on showing Lane as much as she can in the upcoming years.

Fun Fact: Dr. Amanda is also a big foodie and loves to always have treats in the hospital – salt or sweet, it doesn’t matter!