About South Sioux Animal Hospital

About Us

South Sioux Animal Hospital was founded over 50 years ago, and was owned by Dr. Robert Billiar for much of that time. Dr. Brooke Gilbert purchased the practice in 2013, continuing the commitment to Siouxland’s pets.  We moved to a brand new facility in August 2020, where we can continue providing exceptional service to our clients and patients. We are a full service veterinary hospital offering everything needed for quality animal care.  Our experienced staff  helps your pets feel comfortable while receiving outstanding care and treatment. We provide comprehensive wellness examinations for all your companions’ life stages, helping to ensure early detection of any potential problems. From routine care like vaccinations, heartworm and intestinal parasite testing, to more complex issues such as injuries, illness, cancer, and more, our experience, compassion, and dedication will ensure your pets receive the best care possible. 

Dr. Brooke Gilbert

Dr. Gilbert is originally from Akron, IA, but grew up in Minnesota. She returned to the Siouxland area and began her career with South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2010 after graduating from University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Gilbert enjoyed the clients and staff so much here that in April 2013, she purchased the clinic. Dr. Gilbert loves all aspects of being a veterinarian, but has a special fondness for surgeries and dental procedures.

Outside of work, Dr. Gilbert enjoys hiking, bird watching, reading and camping. She has a son, Ace, and two daughters, Shelby and Reyna. Her husband, Jon, is a pilot for Wells Blue Bunny. Her furry family includes 3 cats: Youth, Willie and Midas.

Dr. Gilbert looks forward to getting to know you and your family.

Dr. Emily Gamm

Dr. Gamm joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital family in 2015 straight out of vet school. She graduated from Iowa State University, where she got both her undergraduate (B.S., Animal Ecology) and veterinary degrees. Dr. Gamm is a Siouxland native and is excited to be back practicing in the area. She enjoys all aspects of being a veterinarian, but has particular interest in preventive medicine/client education and infectious disease ecology.

Outside of work, Dr. Gamm enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, birding, reading, nature photography, and watching sports, especially cheering on her ISU Cyclones! She has 3 cats: Hodgins, JB and Possum.

Dr. Gamm looks forward to meeting you and caring for your pets!

Dr. Rebekah Fredrickson

Dr. Fredrickson joined South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2023. Dr. Fredrickson is originally from Bartonville, IL. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science from Kansas State University in 2018 then graduated from University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2022. She practiced mixed animal medicine for 1 year, before coming to South Sioux Animal Hospital to pursue small animal medicine, which she fell in love with in her first year of practice. Some of her favorite aspects of small
animal medicine are preventative care, internal medicine, and radiology! Outside of work Dr. Fredrickson loves to travel, especially to National Parks (she recently got married in Grand Teton National Park), go hiking, and watch sports! Her husband is also a veterinarian who does cattle consulting, and they have a daughter, Ruth, and a Labrador Retriever named Aggie. Dr. Fredrickson looks forward to meeting you and your pets!

Dr. Carolyn Geis

Every so often you’ll see Dr. Carolyn Geis hanging out at South Sioux Animal Hospital serving as a relief veterinarian. She hails from the Parkston area in South Dakota, where she works as a veterinarian for the state upholding animal health on a state-wide basis. Prior to that, she practiced in a small-town mixed animal practice where she enjoyed hanging out with just about every critter that walked in, including her camel and alpaca patients. Dr. Geis was excited to join the South Sioux Animal Hospital team, where she truly believes they practice quality medicine and sincerely focus on what best serves their clients.

When she’s not looking out for animal health, she enjoys pheasant hunting with her husband, Jake, and their bird dog, Sysco, chasing their 2 feral children around, volunteering at their local parish, attempting to make recipes far beyond her culinary abilities, and seeking out new and unique eating experiences.

Samantha Tedrow

Samantha (Sam) joined the SSAH team as a receptionist in 2018, and is now one of our veterinary assistants. She graduated, with honors, from the veterinary assistant program at Western Iowa Tech Community College in December 2017. Sam was an intern with us for several weeks while in school. Sam has always had a fondness for cute, furry animals and knew she would like a career working with them. Sam loves being able to show her love and compassion for animals every day through her
job.

Sam has one fur-baby at home, a long-haired chihuahua named Penelope. When not working, Sam enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading a good book, making crafts or catching up on one of her many favorite television shows.

Ellie Peters

Ellie joined South Sioux Animal Hospital as a licensed veterinary technician in January 2023. Ellie was born and raised in Norfolk, NE and attended college there at Northeast Community College. Ellie’s favorite part of her job is spoiling all the pets in our care, especially making sure those that are recovering from surgery are comfortable and well-cared for.

Ellie and her boyfriend, Brandon, have 3 fur-kids: two Labrador retrievers, Remi & Teddy, and one cat, Cosmo. In her free time, Ellie enjoys outdoor activities, such as fishing and hiking.

Allie Vanek

Allie joined South Sioux Animal Hospital as a veterinary technician intern in 2022, then was quickly hired and she has filled many different roles at the clinic, including veterinary assistant and receptionist, all while continuing her veterinary technician studies. Allie is originally from Lincoln, NE and came to Sioux City to attend Morningside College. She graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. Allie and her fiancé live together with a blue heeler named Nova, a golden retriever named Zeppelin, and some chickens.

We are so fortunate to have Allie as part of our team and helping care for your pets!

DeAnna Schmitt

DeAnna started at South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2018 as one of our receptionists. DeAnna had previously worked at an animal hospital, but spent the past 15 years working in education to be closer to her kids. She is excited to be back in the world of veterinary care! DeAnna and her husband, Dan, have 6 children and are the proud grandparents to 8 grandchildren and 7 bonus grandchildren! They are also parents to one sweet fur baby, Raven, a Bernedoodle.

Christian Juarez

Christian started at South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2025 as one of our receptionists. Christian returned to the Siouxland area after completing his communications degree at University of Minnesota – Morris. As a receptionist, Christian enjoys being able to meet all the wonderful people in our community and their pets. In Christian’s free time, he enjoys playing games with his family and playing with his Siberian husky, Brissa.

Brianna Swick

Brianna joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital team as a receptionist in 2023. Brianna is from the Siouxland area and has always had a huge interest in and love for all animals. As a receptionist, she looks forward to creating positive relationships with the families and pets we care for! In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, trying new recipes and catching up with friends. She also has 2 dogs and 1 cat who keep her busy.

Sarah Welch

Sarah is both a kennel attendant and veterinary assistant at South Sioux Animal Hospital. She began working at the hospital in 2006. Sarah enjoys learning new things at work, and helping the animals feel better! She loves animals of all shapes and sizes. She can often be found snuggling patients post-operatively, making sure they’re getting lots of love.

Outside of work Sarah enjoys gardening and spending time with her son who is an electrician, and daughter who is attending USD. Her animal family includes 4 cats, 2 dogs, 1 snake, and 2 rabbits.

Kaitlin Reifenrath

Kaitlin joined South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2020 as our groomer, then transitioned out of grooming to part-time receptionist and veterinary assistant. Kaitlin is from the Siouxland area and is a graduate of South Sioux High School. Kaitlin is also a Marine Corps veteran. When she’s not answering the phones and helping schedule appointments (and so much more!), you can find Kaitlin hanging out with her own dogs, Kuma and Bella, all while pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Wayne State College.

Tara Neiman

Tara joined our team in 2024. Tara graduated with honors from the Veterinary Assistant Program at WITCC in May 2023. She has always loved being around animals, learning about their behaviors and the bonds we create with them. She loves meeting new clients and providing a safe environment for your family pet.

Tara has 2 fur-babies of her own: Tucker, a Great Pyrenees mix, and Harley, a Russell Terrier mix. In her free time Tara enjoys reading a good book, practicing archery, spending time with family and friends, writing poetry and hiking with her dogs.

Lupita Muñoz

Lupita joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital family in 2024. Lupita grew up in Sloan, IA and graduated in 2019 from the Veterinary Assistant Program at WITCC. Lupita has always had a love of animals and enjoys giving them all the care and love they need.

Lupita doesn’t have any pets of her own right now, but does plan to getting a dog (or 2!) in the future. In her free time, Lupita loves spending free time with her nieces and nephews and grilling out. Lupita’s family includes her husband, Daniel, and daughter Valeria.

Darwin Gamm

Darwin joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital team as a Business Manager in March 2021, after assisting Dr. Gilbert with the planning and construction of the new clinic from 2019-2020. He brings many years of business management experience, having worked in a wide variety of industries.

Darwin also spent 12 years in the pet food business, where he was one of the founders of the North Sioux City pet food plant, Heartland Quality Foods, which is now owned and operated by Mars/Royal Canin.

Darwin is a Siouxland native and Hinton High School alum. He received his degree in Industrial Administration from Iowa State. In his free time, Darwin enjoys being outdoors, biking, fishing, hiking, camping, going to ISU football games and spending time with family and friends. And yes, Dr. Emily Gamm is his daughter.

Lexi Chang

Lexi joined our team as a groomer at South Sioux Grooming in 2021 and is now living her passion as she gets to work with animals and help them look and feel their best. She takes pride in her work and ability to ensure she is providing a high level of personal care and attention to each client.

Lexi and her husband, Calvin, have a daughter, Lainey, and two fur babies. Gemma is a husky/lab mix and Freya is a heeler/collie mix. Having personal experience owning a dog with severe anxiety and fear of grooming, Lexi is dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable experience for dogs of all temperaments.

Michaela Trudeau

Michaela joined the South Sioux Grooming staff in 2021. She’s has always had a love for animals, and knew from a young age that she wanted a career working with pets. In 2014, she became a part-time dog bather at PetSmart. Two years later, she decided grooming was meant for her, and off she went to a grooming academy to pursue this career path. Michaela’s passion for animals, combined with helping them look and feel their best, created her perfect job. She loves getting to meet all the different personalities of the dogs and forming bonds with your furry family members. Michaela has no human children, but has a 4-legged one: a sassy cat named Luna.

Meathead

Meathead came to South Sioux Animal Hospital in the fall of 2015, after being picked up by animal control.  He had deep wounds in his neck and his ears had been damaged from what we suspect was recurrent frostbite. Meathead is positive for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which is the cat-equivalent of HIV. Meathead has found a home here at the clinic as the resident office cat and you can often find him supervising the doctors while they write patient records, or curled up on a sunny chair in the break room. He especially loves when he gets new visitors that give him a head scratch and a snack! 

Youth

Youth originally came to South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2010 with a rectal prolapse and was surrendered to the hospital. Dr. Gilbert decided to get him fixed up and adopt him. He spent many happy years in the Gilbert home, but in 2023, there were some changes at home that caused Youth a little stress, so he came to live at the hospital. He’s now a happy, inquisitive office cat and getting along well with Meathead! Youth enjoys getting lots of attention during morning staff rounds, afternoon naps in his (multiple) beds in the doctors’ office, and daily belly rubs.

Anastasia

Anastasia is our resident Russian tortoise. She came to live at South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2021. She came from a rescue organization, so we really don’t know much about her, or how she got a crack in her shell. Russian tortoises can live to be over 40 years old. Her favorite activities include basking under her heat lamp, burrowing in mulch and hiding in her log. She also enjoys her weekly spa day where she gets a warm water soak to help her stay hydrated. Her favorite snack is dandelion greens. 

We are proud members of local and national organizations