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Staff

Meet the qualified and caring staff of Pets Alive.

Melissa Kusturin
Executive Director with Pets Alive since February 2009

Melissa began her career in Animal Welfare in 2003 on the Board of Directors of the White River Humane Society before accepting the Executive Director position of the organization in July of 2004. While at the White River Humane Society she established many programs including neuter before adoption, spay/neuter assistance for residents, and spay/neuter transport with Pets Alive. Her passion has been spay/neuter since beginning her career with the White River Humane Society and realizing the extent of pet overpopulation in Indiana. She joined the Pets Alive team in hopes of assisting a much larger region to have access to affordable spay/neuter services.

Dr. Theresa Navarro, DVM
After spending the past five years in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter veterinarian, Dr. Anttila joined Pets Alive as a full-time veterinarian in September 2009. Dr. Anttila received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 2002. Dr. Anttila has seven years of spay/neuter experience and is extremely proficient with large female canines and animal pediatrics. Dr. Anttila shares her home with her King Charles Spaniel, Angel.

Dr. Jennifer Breese, DVM
Dr. Breese graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences in 1990. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2004 and is proficient in pediatric surgery. Dr. Breese has come to Bloomington after 12 years in Colorado with her family, which consists of: husband Chris; young daughters Caroline and Katrina; Harry the "dopey but loveable" Labrador; Bella, who is a "spoiled rotten" orange tabby; Ferdinand, the "fierce" kitty; and Meadow, who is a precocious Lab/Chesapeake retriever mix.

Charlotte Walker
Development and Communications Director since September 2011 Pets: Zoey the Akita/Sheltie

Charlotte interned for the Monroe County Humane Association and volunteered for the Bloomington Animal Shelter while studying nonprofit management at Indiana University. She received her B.S. of Public Affairs and Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (formerly American Humanics) certification in 2007. Having worked in an animal shelter for two years, her favorite thing about working at Pets Alive is the opportunity to contribute to the solution to ending pet overpopulation.

Chris Winkle
Operations Director with Pets Alive since August 2009
Pets: Dylan the Great Pyrenees/Great Dane/Golden Retriever and Gus the Mini Chihuahua

Chris graduated from Indiana University with in 2006 with a B.A. in Biology. He interned at the Monroe County Humane Association in addition to volunteering at Bloomington Animal Care & Control. His favorite part about working at Pets Alive is knowing that our efforts are making an impact on the community, surrounding communities, and area shelters, but most importantly knowing that with each and every surgery performed we are one step closer to ending the unnecessary euthanasia of homeless pets in southern Indiana.

Meagan Ginley
Administrative Assistant with Pets Alive since June 2011
Pets: Lucy the SuperMut and Harlow the cat

Meagan graduated from Indiana University in 2010 with a degree in Management and Finance from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She was an intern for Bloomington Animal Care and Control and now serves as their Volunteer Coordinator. In March 2011, Meagan won a Humane Award from the Monroe County Humane Association for her involvement in recent puppy mill and hoarding rescues. Her favorite thing about working at Pets Alive is helping people provide a better quality of life for their own pets and the community as a whole.

Karen Turner
Administrative Assistant with Pets Alive since February 2005
Pets: Chat the 7-year old Chihuahua/Rat Terrier and Buddy the Miniature Pinscher

Karen began working with Pets Alive doing bookkeeping and later transferred over to Sweet Repeats to manage the store. She has now returned to Pets Alive as an Administrative Assistant. Her favorite things about working at Pets Alive are all the people with whom she is able to work and being a part of saving animals.

Nathan Scholten
Transport Staff with Pets Alive since January 2008
Pets: Kaldea (Kallie) the Female Lab Mix

Nathan volunteered at Bloomington Animal Care & Control 4-5 years ago and now picks up and drops off cats and dogs from our transport partners across south central Indiana. His favorite thing about working at Pets Alive is being able to work with amazing staff members and transport partners that feel just like family.

Lanie Hines
Veterinarian Assistant with Pets Alive since March 2009
Pets: Scout the Setter mix, Mercy the American Bulldog mix, Skunk the Pitbull, Forest the French Bulldog and cats Magic, Aurora, Tallulah, Big Ben, Phoenix, Mo, Morgan, and Lucky

Lanie is an Indiana University student and has volunteered at the Humane Society of Indianapolis for 1 ½ years and also Brown County Humane Society for three 3 years. Her favorite thing about working at Pets Alive is the people she works with and working with homeless animals.

Emily Kaley
Veterinary Assistant with Pets Alive since October 2010
Pets: Rhea the Husky and cats Nevis and Uzi

Emily graduated from Indiana University in 2010 with a B.A. in Sociology and Animal Behavior and also volunteered at WildCare for two years. Her favorite thing about working at Pets Alive is being able to make a difference in reducing cruelty to animals.

Marissa Ryan
Veterinary Assistant with Pets Alive since October 2009
Pets: Cats - Nick, Tila, and Smokey; Dogs - Hank, Jersey, CJ, and Sasha

Marissa volunteered at White River Humane Society while in school and studied animal science as a career elective. Her favorite thing is being able to interact with all of the animals that come through. She finds it to be a truly amazing feeling knowing we help save the animals.

Cathy Williamson
Veterinary Assistant with Pets Alive since October 2005
Pets: Minnie Mooo Mooo the Corgi/Beagle from Terre Haute transport, Allie the Beagle mix from Bloomington Animal Shelter, and Grundy the cat

Cathy has had animals her entire life and grew up caring for Beagles training them for hunting. Her favorite thing about working at Pets Alive is meeting the clients and personnel who run the shelters and of course our cause of saving lives.

Value of Spay/Neuter
Learn more about the importance and benefits of spaying and neutering your pets.

Vaccination Clinics
Keep your pet healthy at our weekly walk-in vaccination clinic held every Friday 3– 4 pm.

Clinic Tour
See photos of our clinic or RSVP for one of our monthly tours.