Dr. J.L. Huffer has been practicing veterinary medicine in the area for over 30 years. He graduated from Purdue University with his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and from IU Bloomington with his Bachelors. Dr. Huffer is a member of the American Veterinary Dental Society, the American Veterinary Medical Society, the American Animal Hospital Association, and the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association. He and his wife have two grown sons. His area of interest is veterinary dentistry and he is expanding the dental services at Family Pet Health Center. As well as offering cleanings and treatment of periodontal disease, Dr. Huffer is able to offer periodontal surgeries, complicated tooth extractions, intraoral radiology, root canals, orthodontics and much more. Aside from Dr. Huffer’s veterinary interests, he also enjoys bicycling and Irish music.

Dr. Jennifer Croghan graduated from Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018. She joined the Family Pet Health Center team in May of that year. Dr. Jen values traditional veterinary practices, but also embraces an integrative approach to veterinary medicine. When she is not at the clinic, Dr. Jen can frequently be found at home surrounded by three dogs, two cats, one husband and entirely too many books.

Chelsea began her career at Family Pet Health Center in April of 2015. She has lived in the South Bend area all of her life and loves it! She graduated from IUSB with a Bachelor’s degree in Education but found her way to the veterinary field after working in management for several years and hasn’t looked back.  She and her husband , Jeff, have a son, Emmett, and a terrier mix, Lulu. She loves being a part of the FPHC team because she enjoys serving people who love their pets and she gets to work with an amazing, talented, and compassionate group of people. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her son and dog, walking nature trails, board games, crafting and reading. 

Barb started her career with Family Pet Health Center in 1977 as a kennel attendant. She knew at an early age that her life would always revolve around animals! She lives on a farm in Bremen with husband, Dave. They have a menagerie of pets which includes four dogs (three Labrador Retrievers and a Golden Retriever), four cats, two horses, five goats, three llamas, and a mule. Her hobbies include tending to her animals, gardening, embroidery, and spending time with family. She and Dave are active church members and die-hard Cubs and Notre Dame fans!!

Kim started her career in veterinary medicine in 2008, after being in the retail field for fifteen years. She finished her Certified Veterinary Assistant Program through Penn Foster in 2012.  She joined the Family Pet Health Center family in the fall of 2015, and has loved every minute of it. She is thankful for the opportunity to continue her education by attending conferences throughout the year. Her interests include holistic medicine, hospice care, and ultrasound. She has been married to her husband, Andrew, for twenty-seven years. She has three very spoiled and sassy cats: Ava, Kahlan, and Arya. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and reading.

Mindy graduated from Purdue University in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. She continued her schooling at Purdue and became a registered veterinary technician in 2006. Mindy has worked in the veterinary field since graduation, and she joined FPHC in July of 2011. Her interests include holistic medicine and client education. Mindy and her husband, Ben, live in Warsaw with their 3 dogs: Moises, a Beagle, Marlin, a Foxhound, and Parker, a German Shepherd mix. Outside of work, Mindy spends her time with friends and family. She enjoys mountain biking, hiking, softball, and drawing.

Samantha was born in the Chicago, IL, area, but raised here in the South Bend area. Her mom raised her as a single parent and times were rough growing up, but it made her the strong person that she is today. As a child, she knew she was going to have a career in the veterinary community.  In 2011, she graduated from International Business College of Fort Wayne with an Associate’s Degree in Animal Science.  She started her career at Family Pet Health Center in April of 2015. Samantha is married to a wonderful man named Eddie – they are high school sweethearts! They currently have four cats that are their children and they spoil them rotten. They spend most of their time working on their fixer-upper of a house and Samantha’s personal hobby is photography.  She truly enjoys her time here at FPHC.  She loves the bond we share with the community and looks forward to many more years of service to the River Park area. 

Summer is a registered veterinary technician having graduation from Brown Mackie College.  She started working at Lakeville Veterinary Clinic in 2009, with Dr. Huffer, and began working part-time at Family Pet Health Center in 2010.  As of 2015, Summer works full-time at Family Pet Health Center. Like many of her coworkers, Summer has loved veterinary medicine since she was very young.  She thinks that many of us would agree that you don’t necessarily choose veterinary medicine, it chooses you.  She started working with Dr. Huffer at his Lakeville practice in 2009, and quickly fell in love with the job.  He introduced her to veterinary dentistry right away as it is a big passion of his.  It was amazing to witness the difference that you can make for a pet’s overall health and how they felt within a day. Dental disease is a huge problem in the pet community and one of the most commonly diagnosed diseases amongst our patients, especially in the smaller breeds.  Summer really enjoys being part of a team that values good oral healthcare and places emphasis on the importance of following through with the recommendations made for our patients.  She has seen pets that have come in acting tired and worn out who leave acting like a much younger dog within the same day by simply treating their periodontal disease.  Sending patients home looking and feeling (and smelling) better than they came in makes for a very satisfying work day. Summer lives in Lakeville with her husband, Tyler, and three children, Vera, Evelyn, and Montgomery.  They also have a hound mix named Honey.  They enjoy spending time outdoors, doing art projects, and having family game nights.

Ashleigh graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Technology in 2014. She is originally from Lafayette, Indiana. She and her fiance, Eric, moved to South Bend in 2015. They moved here with their first dog, Dakota, and adopted Their second dog, Daisy, soon after moving to South Bend. Outside of being a technician, Ashleigh spends a lot of time outdoors with her dogs and teaching group fitness classes at the YMCA. She loves being a technician and her goal is to provide our clients with the level of care and love for their furry family members that she would expect for her own pets.  

Kelly graduated from Purdue University – Boiler up! – and has been a Registered Veterinary Technician for eight years. Kelly loves being a voice and an advocate for those who don’t have a voice and can’t advocate for themselves.  She decided to change her path in veterinary medicine and landed at Family Pet Health Center as a Customer Care Specialist. She and her husband live in Osceola with their cats, Marlin and Sunny, dog, Tobie, and Leopard Gecko, Elliott. Kelly is a total cat fanatic and loyal Purdue fan. She loves to read, shoot at the range, be with family and friends, and travel to the Caribbean. 

Lori has been in the veterinary field since 1996, when she graduated from the Purdue University Veterinary Technology program. She is a lifelong Michiana resident, except for the five years she lived in “Boiler Country” for school and working in the oncology department at the university. Lori has two handsome orange boy kitties – Ziggy and Guppy. She also has a little old man Peke – Herbert Dean. She enjoys photography, walking, spending time with family and friends, and hopes to take a beach vacation sometime soon!

Aubrey began her career at Family Pet Health Center in September 2017 after completing two months of externships here.  After working in human medicine and customer service, she decided to go back to school at the age of 21 for a career in animal medicine which is a perfect fit for her. Her favorite thing about working at FPHC is the close relationships that we are able to establish with each other, as well as with our patients and clients. Aubrey feels that every day is rewarding when you are working with great people and doing something you love.  Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family and her two spoiled dogs, Bean and Skip. She likes camping, hiking, and just about anything else outdoors!

Kelsey has been with Family Pet Health Center since May 2015. She has two Corgis, Elle and Liam, a terrier mix, Max, and one rabbit, Chandler. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her dogs and being outdoors in the summer. 

Maribel’s interest in animals began when her family got a cockatiel, Paullie, when she was young.  She ended up being the one who took care of him. The same thing happened with other “family” pets they were given. She realized she really liked having the responsibility of caring for our pets.  It taught her a lot growing up and she became interested in medicine.  She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology/Pre-Vet from IUSB in 2014.  She decided to take a year off of school after graduation to figure out what she was doing next.  She got a job at Family Pet Health Center as a kennel assistant and typing up medical records.  Then, Dr. Stephenie offered her a job as a veterinary assistant in 2015.  She enjoys helping the doctors care for our patients.  Her old man, Paullie, is not his late teens.  She also has another cockatiel and Miniature Schnauzer named Indy who likes to go hiking.  

Darcie joined the Family Pet Health Center team in December 2018.  She started working with animals in 2003 when she volunteered at a local humane society in Michigan.  She then became a staff member and really enjoyed the medical aspect of working with animals.  From there, she started working at a veterinary clinic and has since been providing patients and clients with the care that she would want for herself and her fur babies.  Darcie has three cats (Soprano, Carmella, and Munch) and two dogs (Bucket and Titan).  She also really enjoys bottle feeding kittens and raising them if need be.

Courtney has been a veterinary assistant for almost 18 years. She started at Family Pet Health Center in March 2019. Her love for animals started when she was very little. She lives on a small farm in Michigan with her husband and their blended family. She has a dog, Sonny, and a horse, River. Barrel racing is her passion. She also has a variety of other animals at home including cats, chickens and rabbits. Her life-long goal is to someday have a ranch in Texas.

Sarah joined the FPHC team in May of 2020 as a Veterinary Assistant. She loves competing in dog sports with her boxers! When not competing, Sarah is hiking, biking or camping with her dogs. She also loves dog training and working with dogs!

Maddie began working at Family Pet Health Center in August 2018, shortly after moving to South Bend from Columbia, Missouri.  Born and raised in Southern California, she has always known that she wanted a career working with animals; she loves being able to provide them with care and protection.  Her interests include holistic medicine, nutrition, raw feeding, and wildlife conservation and she is hoping to go back to school to study animal sciences in the near future.  Maddie lives with her husband, Stu, long-haired dachshund, Rickey Henderson, and three cats, Kaman, Wilberforce, and Fred Savage (who was adopted from FPHC). On her days off, Maddie enjoys volunteering with the zookeepers at the Potawatomi Zoo, reading true crime novels, watching SVU reruns, drinking wine, and going road trips to see MLB, NBA, and NHL games.

Jessica joined Family Pet Health Center in September 2018.  She has a deep love and compassion for animals; it started as a young child with her first kitten and rescuing the neighborhood animals and developed into a lifelong passion for working with animals.  Jessica has worked for rescue organizations and veterinarians from South Bend to Seattle and back again.  She currently lives in South Bend with her husband and two sons.  She has a boxer mix named Charlie and three cats named Virgil, Petunia, and the naughty cat that eats everything he shouldn’t: Frank.  In her spare time, Jessica enjoys crafting, gardening, traveling… and beer.

Devon has been an animal lover since she was little and has been pet sitting and volunteering at animal shelters around the area since she was 13. She loves being able to interact with so many different animals every day at the clinic. She has one dog with her fiancé but they both dream of having a farm and more dogs! In her free time, she enjoys being outside with her dog and spending time at Silver Lake in northern Michigan.

Haley joined Family Pet Health Center in October 2020 as a Client Care Specialist. She has been an animal lover for as long as she can remember. Haley grew up with a variety of animals; from dogs and cats to ferrets and rats. She knew from a young age that she wanted to work with animals. Haley currently lives in Mishawaka with her husband Ian, their two dogs, and two cats. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing board games, and watching movies.

Max has been a kennel attendant at Family Pet Health Center since June 2017.  He is a junior in the International Baccalaureate program at John Adams High School.  He enjoys all animals, but is a dog lover at heart.  He has two wonderfully ornery dogs of his own: Millie, a beagle/hound mix and Brutus, a rat terrier (both were rescues). In his spare time, Max plays the drums for his school and is a percussionist for The South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestra.  He is on Adams’ mock trial team and in the summer he will be a Counselor-in-Training at YMCA Camp Eberhart.  Additionally, he plans to pursue a career in medicine. 

Michael started his journey with FPHC in July 2019. Michael comes to us bringing his animal knowledge and care from not only his own four kitties, but also his 5+ years (and counting) with Pet Refuge as a volunteer in the cat department. While Michael only had cats, he does also love learning about dogs and taking care of them at the clinic.

Desirae grew up around animals and has used her love for them to drive her passion to work with them. She is currently a senior Biology student at Indiana University South Bend with the goal of attending Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in the fall. Desirae has been working at Family Pet since February 2020 and has loved being able to expand her knowledge and skills in the animal field while meeting some amazing patients and clients. Desirae has a spunky and loveable dachshund named Ginger and loves to spend time at home relaxing with the other family dachshunds sharing snacks and naps.

Bekah joined the Family Pet Health Center team in March of 2018.  She began as a kennel attendant, the transitioned to a data entry role.  She enjoys her position because she gets to learn more about animal health first-hand.  At home, she has three cats and one dog that she loves spending time with.