For those of you long-time customers, you probably remember Dr. Bott with this veterinary clinic even before the namesake of Countryside existed. Dr. Bott was a partner with Dr. Ron Maifeld when the practice resided at of 1st Avenue as Maifeld Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Bott and Dr. Shoemaker purchased the operating entity in 2000 thus starting Countryside Large Animal Veterinary Clinic. The new clinic was built in 2003. Dr. Bott came to the Greeley clinic upon graduation from Colorado State University Veterinary School in 1996 and has been associated exclusively with this operation ever since.

Dr. Wade Shoemaker was raised on a commercial cattle and quarter horse ranch in Divide, Colorado. Growing up on a high altitude ranch and being raised in the 4-H program allowed Dr. Shoemaker to gain a deep understanding of not only the process of production and health of all large animals but also the importance of handling each of the species for successful ranching. This knowledge allowed Dr. Shoemaker to be quite successful in showing both English and Western performance horses and working his share with a rope in his hand.

Dr. Zacharias was raised in Persia, Iowa on a farm raising corn, soybeans, and beef cattle, with both a cow/calf and feedlot operation.  Dr. Zacharias showed cattle in 4-H and was active in FFA.  He participated in calf roping, steer wrestling, and team roping in high school and roped calves in college.  Dr. Zacharias attended Iowa State University, completing two years of coursework towards a degree in Animal Science before being admitted to the College of Veterinary Medicine.  He graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2003 from Iowa State University.  In 2004, he completed an internship at Oakridge Equine Hospital in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Mary grew up on a dairy and beef farm in northeastern Iowa. She received her first horse from her grandfather at the age of 2 and was hooked from then on. Growing up Dr. Hoffmann was active in 4-H and FFA showing dairy cattle, horses, and competed in many judging competitions. After high school Dr. Hoffmann attended Colorado State University and received a degree in Equine Sciences with a minor in Business Administration. During her time at CSU she was a member of and helped coach the CSU Horse Judging Team.

Dr. Laura Johnston grew up on a self-sustainable beef farm in the small town of Derry, Pennsylvania. When she wasn’t helping care for the cattle, gathering chicken eggs, feeding pigs, mulching the garden, or bailing hay, she was riding horses through the woods behind the farm. She was raised in a tightly knit family that taught her the importance of a strong work ethic.  

Kindle was born in Fort Collins, CO and lived southwest of there with her parents and older brother. At the age of 5 she and her family moved to Lusk, WY to live on her grandparent’s ranch. Being homeschooled until her teen years, Kindle spent her free time working cows, roping calves, late night calf watch and starting her first colts. In Dec. 2012 she accepted a position at Countryside Large Animal Vet. She has worked under many of the Veterinarians over the years. She now assists our intern Veterinarian and works in the front office. Kindle lives in Wellington CO with her husband Austin. Together they have three border collies, Spur, Podrick, and Yara, one cat Ophelia and several horses. Kindle enjoys being in the mountains, hunting, traveling with her husband, riding her horses, spending time with family and friends, art and music. 

Carissa was born and raised in Conifer, Colorado. She joined Westernaires at the age of 9, where she competed for 10 years in precision drills, as well as performing for the National Western Stock Show. Carissa achieved captain of two teams and lead both teams to first place. She also competed in bareback vaulting and pole bending. She was very active in high school with track and volleyball.

Brooke has been a part of the Countryside team and working with Dr. Zacharias since 2015, after obtaining her veterinary technician certification through Eastern Wyoming College. She now lives in Platteville, CO with her husband, Alex, and their dog, Waylon, draft horse Cici and 2 cats. During her free time she enjoys scuba diving, sewing, horseback riding, shooting sports and skiing with her family.   One thing that Brooke hopes to accomplish one day is to dive the Great Barrier Reef. If you would like to contact Brooke directly, you may e-mail her at [email protected]. 

Both Dusty and Kimberly loved Colorado, and not long after being married, they sold the Alabama farm, and returned to Colorado. Kimberly is enjoying being part of the Countryside Large Animal Veterinary Services team. She hopes to be an asset to both the hospital and the community by not only sharing her knowledge and hard work but to learn even more from her colleagues. Kimberly & Dusty currently reside in Eaton, CO along with their 8 horses and 3 dogs. They get outside to enjoy the beautiful outdoors every chance they get, whether it be for their love of helping others or enjoying it via foot, bike, hunting, car or horseback. Kimberly continues to compete in barrel racing every chance she gets and still enjoys teaching others.

Kelcey has been a part of the Countryside Vet team since March of 2013. She started as one of the smiles of the front office staff and in 2017 became Dr. Shoemaker’s technician. Kelcey’s favorite part of her job is getting to make a difference for her patients and clients. Her passion is helping equine athletes feel their best and recover from injury to get back to competing. Kelcey competes as a professional barrel racer in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, Colorado Pro Rodeo Association, and the Mile Hi Barrel Horse Association 2nd qualified for her first RFD-TV’s The American semi-finals in 2019.

Tonya grew up in Fort Collins and always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.  However, at age 16 she discovered an aversion to blood and an attraction to numbers.  So, as talents would have it, she became an accountant and has spent many years in the trenches of CPA firms, doing accounting for a variety of business types.  Tonya joined the CLAVS team as our Accountant in May, 2013.

Charley Armstrong, C.V.T. grew up on the central coast of California in a small town called Carmel Valley. Charley has always owned horses and grew up competing in high school and college rodeos. After attending Feather River College, Charley moved to Colorado in 2014 to pursue her love for veterinary medicine. After attending Bel-Rea for two years she graduated with her AAS in Veterinary Technology.

Sarah Hall is from Upstate New York. She went to SUNY Morrisville and SUNY Cobleskill for her Bachelor’s Degree in Equine science then moved to Colorado in 2012 to attend her internship at the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center. Once officially graduated from college Sarah decided to stay in Colorado. She started working at a small animal vet clinic in Boulder where she worked for 5 years.