Meet the Team at Partners and Paws

Georgie joined PPVS as CFO (“Chief Feline Officer”, also known as “clinic cat”) in 2015, when she traveled the country in the PPVS “rig” from Georgia.  Her roles include patrol, sleeping, attacking random enemies (i.e., desk chairs), posing for photos, sleeping more, getting pet, playing with gifts from admirers, shunning gifts from admirers, and sleeping.

Dr. Newman received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University in 1998. Following veterinary school, she completed a Surgical and Emergency Internship at California Animal Hospital, in West Los Angeles.

Dr. Newman’s special interests include trauma, emergency surgery and pain management. She completed her certification from the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management and is currently the only Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner (CVPP) in Illinois. Dr. Newman also writes a veterinary column for the Police K-9 magazine, which is well known among K-9 handlers. She speaks regularly to local police and other K-9 groups.

Dr. Newman also has a special interest in police and working K-9s. She has worked with them for many years and understands the needs of the K-9, the handler, and police departments. Her passion of working with police dogs and their handlers, led to starting the practice. Prior to opening Partners and Paws Veterinary Services in June, 2013, Dr. Newman spent her career in Specialty Referral hospitals, as an Intern, then as an Emergency and Critical Care clinician, followed by Medical Director of two specialty hospitals. Dr. Newman also enjoys working with sporting groups, rescue groups and ‘civilian’ dogs and cats.

Drs. Newman and Brandes share their home with two cats, as well as with two rescue dogs. They also have a teenage daughter- who spends much time at the hospital and in the ambulance!

Additionally, Drs. Newman and Brandes are involved in multiple veterinary organizations including the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management. Dr. Newman has served on the board of directors for the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association since 2005 and is the past president of the CVMA.

Dr. Brandes received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University in 1998. After graduation, he worked in a mixed practice for two years. In 2002, he began working with small animals at a practice in the western suburbs where he practiced for 12 years before co-founding PPVS.

Dr. Andrew Groenewold graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2021. Since graduating, he has been practicing small animal medicine in the Chicago suburbs. Dr. Groenewold enjoys helping families navigate the veterinary medical world and has special interests in soft tissue and orthopedic surgeries.

Outside of work, Dr. Groenewold enjoys spending time with his wife, his cat Calvin, and his family. He enjoys playing soccer, golf, and video games, as well as exercising and woodworking.

Anjali received her Certified Veterinary Technician license in 2007 and has practiced in General Practice, Specialty, and Emergency since 2004.  She joined PPVS in 2017.  Anjali has always had a heart for animals and lives with a fat cat ‘Asgard’, a foster cat ‘Mali’, an Amazon parrot ‘Penny’, and a velociraptor (i.e., Belgian Malinois) “Vespa Noel”.  She shares her home proudly with her husband, a Police Officer, who was also a handler to K9 Leon, a Belgian Malinois (… who is still missed!).

Maddie lives locally with her Border Collie, named Evee, and her long-haired cat, named Fabio (unfortunately not pictured here).  Maddie joined PPVS as a veterinary technician in August 2015 and the passion she has for her job is what pushed her to further her career and pursue a Veterinary Technician degree – she can’t wait to put the knowledge and the passion together!  Maddie enjoys spending her free time with family and pets, re-purposing furniture, and being outdoors.

Sarune joined the PPVS team in 2022 and is not new to the veterinary field.  She is qualified as a veterinarian in her home country of Lithuania and had worked there for more than five and a half years before “life unfolded in such a way” that she came to the United States.  She has always had a great passion and love for animals and has wanted to help them, “I have been surrounded by animals all my life, and this is my greatest gift.  Since childhood, I knew what my profession would be. I am delighted that the PPVS team welcomed me warmly and allowed me to join. I continue to learn and never stop improving.”

Katrina joined PPVS at the end of 2021.  As a child, she dreamed about was working with animals and finally decided to make that dream a reality in 2011 by going back to school to be a Veterinary Technician.   Educating people about animals is one of her favorite things.  She has been married for 17 years and has 5 wonderful children.

Craig joined PPVS as a veterinary assistant in 2016 after previously working with Dr. Brandes for 7 years.  He enjoys all aspects of assisting with care in the veterinary industry, with a special interest in dental services.  Outside of PPVS, he spends his time with his family (which includes an As Good As Gold rescue golden retriever, named Pasha), eating and napping (sometimes alot), and taking an occasional fishing trip to Canada.  Craig is also an avid a capella singer.  He has been heard saying “I spent an hour on my hair, then forgot to bring it.”

Lauren is currently a student at Colorado State University. Lauren joined PPVS in the summer of 2020 and has loved being a part of the team! At home, Lauren has two rescue dogs, Cali (german shepherd-lab mix) and Winnie (mini golden doodle), and three foster fail cats, Buffy, Juniper, and Sage (domestic shorthairs). Along with her own pets, Lauren fosters both cats and dogs, which keeps her busy! In her free time, she loves to go shopping and hang out with friends.

Larry has been in the field for 8 years, working his way up from a kennel attendant to a technician, also working his way through a variety of clinics gaining experience. He very much enjoys the outdoors and goes camping in Wisconsin every year with friends. He love to garden and grows several kinds of peppers and vegetables. He is always working, whether at PPVs or doing relief work at other clinics. While he doesn’t have any pets of his own, he always loves on, and takes care of his friends’ pets.

Rachel joined us this summer of 2024 and in Rachel’s own words: “I am a very upbeat person and I LOVE to make people smile. The world is just too cruel and so a smile can always go a long way, laughter makes it even better. Besides, life is too short, so we HAVE to laugh more! I’m also very artistic and creative, so, if there’s ever any decoration or artistic things needed, I’m your gal! I was a bunny momma up until a couple years ago, and I aim to adopt another as soon as I have the means to!!”

Lauren joined Partners and Paws in July after relocating from the UK with her family in December. Lauren graduated from the University of the West of England in 2016 with a Bachelor's Degree in Veterinary Nursing Science. She has an interest in emergency and critical care nursing. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring her new surroundings with her husband, 2 children and 3 labradors.

Paige joined us in Summer 2024: “I am working towards becoming a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) and will be taking my VTNE Exam in November of this year. I have always had a deep love for all animals and currently have two birds – a Cockatiel and an Indian Ringneck named Casper and Pixie, a retired mouser barn cat named Jerry, and two dogs – a boxer named Vader, and a Coyote (also known as a super mutt) named Willow. In my free time, I enjoy spending time outdoors or playing video games, and always love listening to music and going to concerts and musicals.”

Tracy joined the reception team the summer of 2019.  Besides her cat Ivy (pictured), Tracy has another cat, Bailey, and 2 dogs, Bonnie and Ruby.  She shares the pet responsibilities with her husband and five children.  When not working at PPVS, Tracy is spending time with family and friends.

Melanie was born and raised in England and always had a passion for working with animals.  She started working as a veterinary technician in Michigan in 1996 and continued when she moved to Wheaton in 2005.  She “retired” from the “tech world” in 2020 but wanted to stay in the field she loves.  She started working at PPVS as Dr. Newman’s administrative assistant in the spring of 2021.

Melanie has 2 amazing adult children, Sydney and Brayden.  Melanie was recently married in 2020 to her best friend Dave.  They also share their home with Piper a German Shepherd, Jack an English Setter mix and 2 cats, Bella and Prim.

When she’s not working she enjoys spending her weekends at her son’s college football games and going to watch her husband’s band Hi Infidelity.

Ally joined PPVS in 2023.  Growing up, she always enjoyed taking care of animals.  She started her career working at a PetsHotel in 2007 and worked her way through pet care, grooming, retail and then into the  veterinary field. She loves spending time with her family, including her 3 children, 2 leopard geckos, a (foster failure) cat and a boston terrier.  In her free time Ally is an avid gamer and participates in competitive gaming leagues.

Amber joined PPVS in early 2024.  She has an Alaskan Malamute named “Gunner” and a Crested Gecko named “Curious George”.  She enjoys working on cars and drawing tattoo artwork in her free time.

In June of 2025, Rachel will have worked a combined total of eight years in the Veterinary Industry. She left PPVS in 2023 to try a career at an investment firm, but came back after a year because she missed working with animals as well as all of our wonderful clients. Rachel was blown away by the warm reception she received upon her return from our many clients that remembered her. Rachel married Chris, her high school crush, in September of 2019. Last October, Rachel and Chris moved into a cozy townhouse with their black cat, Marty, and they’re looking forward to some day expanding their little family.

Jackie has been grooming for 15 years and joined PPVS in 2015.  She has 3 dogs and 3 cats in her family and enjoys being out in nature and practicing yoga.

Bri joined PPVS in Fall 2024 as a kennel assistant working after her class schedule in high school.  She has always wanted to be a veterinarian and will be going to college to pursue that dream in the fall of 2026. PPVS is teaching her many things about animal medicine and patient care!

Luke is currently a student at University of IL. He has always had a fond interest in helping animals in any way possible and has volunteered at numerous shelters and humane societies. Besides volunteering, he loves to play tennis and hang out with friends in his free time. He also enjoys taking care of his dog, Rosie, and spending lots of time with her. Luke was first introduced to the Veterinary field when he joined the PPVS team as a kennel assistant towards the beginning of 2022. He intends to keep on learning and growing within the Veterinary world to gain a better understanding of our wonderful pets.