Ryan Birks, DVM, DACVS-SA
Dr. Ryan Birks is a a board-certified small animal surgeon through the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. After graduation, he completed a one-year small animal rotating internship at Oklahoma State University followed by a one-year surgical internship at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists. He then completed a three-year small animal surgical residency at Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Birks has special interest in arthroscopic surgery, treatment of cranial cruciate ligament tears, and fracture repair.
When he is not performing surgery, Ryan enjoys spending time with his wife Ashley, son Wyatt, and daughter Ainsley; preferably outdoors.
Ashley Erbe, DVM
Dr. Ashley Erbe is a 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation, Dr. Erbe completed a rotating internship at the University of Pennsylvania where she gained additional experience and training in both small animal medicine, surgery and emergency medicine. Since the completion of her internship, Dr. Erbe has been a practicing Emergency Medicine at multiple speciality hospitals throughout the United States including – Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Texas and now back in her home state of Missouri. Upon moving back home in 2019, Dr. Erbe and her husband Dr. Ryan Birks founded the Veterinary Orthopedic Surgery Center.
Hannah, RVT
Orthopedic Technician
Hannah is a registered veterinary technician who graduated from Murray State University in 2018. She has been in love with veterinary medicine since she was a young child. She now has over 6 years experience in the veterinary field. In her free time she enjoys horseback riding in new places, spending time with her family, and petting her pet pig.
Natalie, RVT
Orthopedic Technician
Natalie is a Registered Veterinary Technician who graduated from the Vet Tech Institute at Hickey College in 2017. Since graduation, she has worked in emergency medicine and orthopedics. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her husband and three dogs (Cake, Gus, and Marshall), embroidering, and taking care of her many houseplants.
Alex, RVT
Orthopedic Technician
Alex is a Registered Veterinary Technician. She has worked in emergency medicine for several years and enjoys helping pets (and their owners) in their most critical moments. Alex joined the Orthopedic Center in 2020 where she assists in orthopedic surgeries and taking care of patients before, during, and after their procedures. Her compassion is evident to both patients and their humans as she strives to make sure each pet lives their best life. Alex has 6 cats and 2 dogs at home. She hopes one day to own land where she could add to her herd; some goats, chickens, and maybe horses.
Kaitlyn, RVT
Orthopedic Technician
Kaitlyn is a Registered Veterinary Technician. She graduated from the Vet Tech Institute in December 2016, and worked in general practice and Canine Rehabilitation for several years before joining the Orthopedic Team in April 2022. Kaitlyn strives to provide compassionate care to every patient and their families. She loves seeing her patients recover and go on to live their best lives! In her free time, she enjoys cooking/eating, watching Netflix documentaries, traveling, and spending time with her husband and their two dogs, Dobby and Cooper.
Jessica, RVT
Orthopedic Technician
Jessica is a Registered Veterinary Technician. Jessica is originally from central Florida and moved to Missouri in 2016. After high school, she decided to pursue her dream of working with animals and become a veterinary technician. She graduated from Midwest Institute in October 2021. Following school, she worked in Emergency Veterinary Medicine before joining the Veterinary Orthopedic Surgery Center in 2022. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and chocolate lab Malachi. She enjoys going home to FL to visit family and friends and has a true passion for helping animals.
Becky
Customer Service Representative
Becky has always enjoyed a career in customer service. She put this together with her love of animals several years ago, and entered the veterinary field. She joined the Orthopedic Team in 2021. Becky lives in Moscow Mills with her family, husband, Jason, dogs, Morty, Kevin Bacon, Gus, and Moose. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, pinball, movies, listening to music, and spending time outdoors with her family and friends.
Janet
Veterinary Assistant
Janet has worked with animals for the past 30 years. She started with grooming anything from dogs to horses and working part-time in Sullivan as a Veterinary receptionist/assistant. In the early 90’s she began a 17 year career as groomer/dog trainer for Purina Farms, performing hundreds of dog shows including frisbee, agility, dock diving and tricks, attending several seminars and conferences on pet care and pet sports. After a knee replacement in 2013 she went back into vetmed where her heart has always been. Her favorite things are laughing, spending time with my husband Mike , daughter Mackenzie, her mutt Dash, and a cat named Enchilada.
Izzy
Veterinary Assistant
Izzy recently graduated school with her degree in Veterinary Technology and will soon be taking her VTNE to become a registered veterinary technician. She joined the team in December of 2020 and has been in the veterinary field for about 5 years now. Outside of work, Izzy enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family, husband, dog, and 3 cats!
Lissa
Veterinary Assistant
Lissa is an orthopedic assistant. She has always wanted to work with animals. She started in the veterinary medicine field in General practice where she worked for over eleven years. The last four years she has worked in Emergency veterinary medicine before recently joining the Veterinary Orthopedic Surgery Center. Lissa enjoys working out, traveling, and spending time with her family, including her fur kiddos. She has two dogs, Dugg and Nellie, and five cats, Max, Lumpy, Timmy, Batty and Colby.