Our Team
Meet Our Team!
Meet the Veterinarians & Team of Spring Valley Veterinary Hospital East and West! We’re pleased to provide exceptional vet care for your pets!
Meet The Spring Valley Veterinary Team in Springfield, MO
Whichever facility you choose, be it our East Veterinary Hospital, our West Veterinary Hospital location, or Happy Tails you can expect nothing less than outstanding service and personalized treatment for your pet. And that’s all thanks to our skilled, hard-working team. At Spring Valley Veterinary Hospital and Happy Tails, our team members work together to create a culture of compassion and appreciation for the bond shared between pets and their humans. Take a moment to meet these wonderful people before scheduling your first appointment or calling (417) 887-0898 (East) (417) 831-2666 (West).
Veterinarians
Dr. Karen VanAnrooy, Medical Director
Dr. Karen VanAnrooy earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Michigan State University. She brings over 40 years of experience in small animal and exotic animal medicine. Her areas of expertise include advanced soft-tissue surgery, regenerative medicine, and platelet-rich plasma therapy.
Inspired by a childhood experience caring for an injured family cat, Dr. VanAnrooy developed a passion for veterinary medicine at an early age. She approaches every patient as if they were her own, with a strong focus on preventive care, thorough diagnostics, and thoughtful treatment plans.
Outside of work, she enjoys boating with her husband, riding and showing Arabian horses, and caring for her show horses. She shares her home with her three German Shepherds and three barn cats.
Dr. Rebecca Skinner, DVM
Dr. Rebecca Skinner graduated from Michigan State University in 2007 with the ambition of creating awesome teams to serve the veterinary industry. Moving back to Missouri in 2016, she bought Spring Valley East (2016), Happy Tails Doggie Daycare and Boarding (2017), then Spring Valley West (2018). With the new focus on getting the right talent in place to evolve our experiences in veterinary medicine and pet care in Springfield, a very collaborative approach has brought about a wonderful family dynamic to our teams. She loves how challenging the field of veterinary medicine is and loves giving kissies to all the patients that will let her. In her personal time, Dr. Skinner enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and their four kids, pickleball, exploring all things new, traveling near and far, hanging with friends, pickleball (worth mentioning a second time), and just being still.
Dr. Megan Berlin, DVM
Dr. Megan Berlin has been an associate with Spring Valley Veterinary Hospital since 2017. After earning her veterinary degree from the University of Missouri she spent her first two years practicing mainly large animal medicine. Having grown up on a dairy farm, she was always very excited when the herd veterinarian would come to the farm. Although Dr. Berlin still enjoys tending to her family’s beef and sheep herds, she has enjoyed the challenges small animal medicine has provided.
The ability to run additional diagnostics and provide more advanced surgical services has been very rewarding. Dr. Berlin enjoys the variety of clients and patients that she has had the opportunity to work with over the years.
In her spare time, Dr. Berlin loves running! Starting with small mileage, first, she has built up to running marathons and loves the challenge. In addition to the beef and sheep on her farm, she, her husband, and her daughter enjoy making fresh pesto which they sell at the local farmer’s market.
Dr. Jesse Blades, DVM
Dr. Jesse Blades earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Missouri and has over fourteen years of experience in small animal medicine. His background spans a wide range of practice settings, including mixed animal practice, emergency care, and companion animal relief work.
A proud Missouri native and U.S. Army Reserve Veterinarian, Dr. Blades has served both stateside and overseas while building a diverse career across mixed-animal medicine, emergency care, federal service, and companion-animal practice. Throughout his career, Dr. Blades has been driven by a desire to help his community and support the wellbeing of both pets and the families who love them.
Outside of work, Dr. Blades enjoys spending time with his family and hopes to re-establish a more regular routine in nature now that he’s closer to home. He also shares his home with his cat, Maybell, who happily runs the household.
Hospital Managers
Amy Cochran
Amy Cochran is a lifelong native of the Springfield area. Amy has always had an interest in working with animals and started to make her dreams a reality by learning about all the areas of a veterinary hospital. Amy started her career as a kennel assistant, learned veterinary assisting, reception, and jumped into the management side of the veterinary world about ten years ago.
Amy spends her free time with her family, pets, and rides her horses as much as possible.
Lindsay Evans
Born and raised in the heart of the Ozarks, Lindsay has always loved being with animals. She started working with animals back in 2007 and never regretted a moment of it! She started as a kennel assistant then worked her way up to veterinary technician. Fueled by her passion to help both the animals and their owners, she eventually earned her title as manager and has been in management position for about 6 years.
In her free time, you can find her wrangling her two boys and her household full of animals! As if that wasn’t enough, you can often find her on the many hiking trails of Springfield.