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 a daughter, Shelby. Her husband, Jon, is a pilot for Wells Blue Bunny. Her furry family includes 2 cats (Youth and Willie), and 1 dog (Ralph).

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. 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, nature photography, reading, practicing archery, and attending ISU athletic events (Go Cyclones!). She has 3 cats, Hodgins, JB and Possum, and one dog, Barkley.

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

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.

Teasha Mclay

Teasha has been working as a veterinary assistant at South Sioux Animal Hospital since 1998. Before working at the clinic she was a pet groomer for 5 years. Her favorite part of her job is working with animals and seeing new things every day. She loves getting to interact with our many clients and their pets.

Outside of work Teasha enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews, and watching scary movies with her husband. Teasha has a Miniature Pinscher named Porscha.

Charlene Weber

Charlene (Char) joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital team in 1991. She began working as a kennel worker and then became a veterinary assistant. Char enjoys many aspects of her job, including the animals, the pet parents, the procedures we do to help the animals, and making the pets more comfortable. She also enjoys seeing the new technology that becomes available in this field.

Outside of work Char enjoys gardening, and spending time with her grandkids. She is married and has 5 children. Char is also a pet mom to 3 cats and 1 dog.

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 9 grandchildren and 6 bonus grandchildren! They are also parents to one sweet fur baby, Wrigley, a golden doodle.

Sarah Welch

Sarah is both a kennel worker 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 and daughter. Her animal family includes 4 cats, 2 dogs, 1 bearded dragon, and 2 snakes.

Sharlie Withers

Sharlie joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital team in 2009 as a kennel worker. She provides excellent care for the pets staying with us for boarding or staying due to illness, and ensures they are comfortable. Since she was a little kid, she has always been bringing home stray animals and caring for them.

Outside of work, Sharlie enjoys painting and sketching animals, spending time with her family, and spending time outside. At home, she has 1 dog; at her parent’s farm, she has 4 horses, 2 mini horses, 3 dogs and 2 cats!

Kaitlin Reifenrath

Kaitlin joined South Sioux Animal Hospital in 2020 as our groomer, but an unfortunate grooming accident the following year resulted in a fractured elbow. Kaitlin started working for us as a part-time receptionist while her elbow healed, and liked the position so much, she elected to keep her position at the desk and also helps out “in the back” as a veterinary assistant and kennel worker! Kaitlin is from the Siouxland area, and is a graduate of South Sioux City 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.

Irma Quinones

Irma joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital team as a part-time veterinary assistant in 2022. She brings a great deal of previous customer service experience and animal knowledge. Irma has always enjoyed being around animals and helping those in need. Irma is also currently going to Western Iowa Tech Community College in the Veterinary Assistant program.

Outside of working and going to school, she enjoys singing, reading, walks in the park, stargazing, and traveling to different countries. She shares her home with her husband, Cristian, 1 cat (Hazel), 2 dogs (Max and Sunny) and 2 hermit crabs. A fun fact about Irma is that she is a fraternal twin!

Darwin Gamm

Darwin joined the South Sioux Animal Hospital team as a Practice 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 Anderson

Lexi joined our team as a groomer at South Sioux Grooming in 2021. She’s always had a passion for working with animals and helping them. In 2016, she was offered an opportunity to go to grooming school, and the rest was history! She’s now living her dream job 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 has 2 fur babies: Sophie, a German shepherd mix, and Gemma, a husky-lab mix. Having personal experience owning a dog with severe anxiety, she’s dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable experience for dogs of all temperaments. She can’t wait to meet you and your fur babies!

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 two 4-legged ones: a sassy cat named Luna, and a fearless bearded dragon named Steve.

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!

Diego

Diego became our newest clinic cat 2021. We cared for him when he had extensive burns on his abdomen, and the clinic eventually became his permanent home. Diego has nystagmus, which is involuntary movements of his eyes; this is something that some Siamese cats are born with, and it does not affect his vision. He also has polydactyly, meaning he has extra toes on his feet. Diego can often be found curled up on one of the chairs in the doctors’ office or following his favorite staff members around looking for ear scratches or a snack.

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.