Dr. Shelly Daume

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine/Owner

A life-long resident of Cape County, Dr. Daume has been practicing for over 25 years in the area, first splitting time between two local clinics before adding in her own horse practice Equine Medical Services of SEMO. In 2003, her Equine practice and Merry Lea Animal Hospital joined together and formed Deer Ridge Animal Hospital.

As a practicing clinic owner, Dr. Daume loves to help her patients live healthy lives while ensuring the clinic provides the best care possible. You can be sure if a puppy or kitten comes into the clinic, Dr. Daume will get in a snuggle or two. One of her favorite parts of her job is being able to visit clients’ farms to see their horses.

When not working, do not be surprised to find Dr. Daume on a trail ride, hiking, playing racquetball, or curled up with a good book. In addition, she loves spending time with her husband and her two grown children and their spouses. On their farm, Dr. Daume and her husband, Stephen, raise cattle, have three horses, three dogs, two Australian Shepherds – Lanni Oakley and Blue Belle and a Golden Retriever – Duke, along with two cats.

Dr. Abigail Kiefer

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine/Associate Veterinarian

Sometimes big things come in little/ packages. This was discovered in 2020 when Dr. Kiefer joined the staff of Deer Ridge.

A 2019 graduate of the University of Missouri with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Kiefer strives to bring compassion, respect, and gratitude to every client and patient she sees. While enjoying many aspects of her work, she has a special interest in internal medicine and dentistry, anesthesia, and preventative medicine. Her spunk and contagious smile brighten up our days at the clinic.

Dr. Kiefer enjoys spending time with her husband Dillon, two children Kennedy and Dawson, dog, Duke, and three cats Tink, Leo, and Sherbert. When she has free time you can find her fishing, playing soccer, solving puzzles, and raising monarch butterflies.

Tonya

Office Manager

Often, behind the scenes you will find our “jack of all trades” office manager. Whether it be fulfilling accounts payable/receivable duties, processing payroll, helping the receptionists answer phone and wait on clients, making our sympathy cards, changing the electronic sign, updating the website, addressing IT issues, or changing light bulbs she always has something to do. Much like her philosophy to life, she just tries to help where needed.

After staying at home for several years, and raising her children, Tonya worked in the public school system before joining the Deer Ridge staff. One of her favorite parts of working in a veterinary clinic is seeing the puppies and giving them rubs. A part of her job that provides her joy is seeing smiles on the employee’s faces when she hands them their paycheck, after processing payroll.

Tonya and her husband Brian live on their farm in Oak Ridge where they raise cattle, have 4 Australian Shepherds, and are looking forward to hopefully raising their first litter of puppies in 2025. They have three married children and two grandsons. Outside of work and family, Tonya enjoys reading, crafting, sewing and is working on her first quilt.

Terri

Veterinary Technician

After spending 3 years in the human emergency medical field while obtaining her associate’s degree in applied science and veterinary technology from Jefferson College, Terri transitioned into the veterinary field. She joined the Deer Ridge staff in 2006 and has been a mainstay employee since. Terri’s goal as a veterinary technician is to always bring honesty to the clients she works with while providing the best care possible to their pets. When asked about her favorite part of her job, she responded that she loves “spicy, fluffy kittens”.

Terri’s love of pets is evident in her own crew, she and her husband, Russ, have three dogs, Stark, Walter, and Raya, and five cats, Chuck, Dennis, Lucus, Jasmine, and Buffy…now that is a house full but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Terri loves to travel, with the Virgin Islands being one of her favorite spots. She also enjoys hiking, winery visits, and reading. Terri also makes the neatest beaded keychains, pens, cup charms, wristlets, badge reel,s and other items which she sells at local craft fairs and at our office.

Brittany

Veterinary Technician

Brittany is one of our newest Technicians joining our staff in 2023. She is a Cape Girardeau native but now resides in Jackson with her husband, Paul, and son, Oscar. Brittany attended SEMO pursuing a Bachelor of General Studies with an emphasis in Zoology and Animal Sciences. Before joining the Deer Ridge staff, Brittany worked as a kennel attendant and receptionist at Spears Animal Hospital, kennel supervisor and technician at Nevada Animal Clinic, and technician at Bryan Road Animal Hospital. In addition to her prior knowledge and experience, Brittany’s value of teamwork is a huge benefit to our staff. We also love that her positivity and never-ending smile can brighten up any room. While she enjoys many aspects of her job, her favorite subjects within veterinary medicine are surgery and reading cytologies.

One of Brittany’s favorite things is playtime with her son Oscar. She also enjoys spending time with her family and occasionally visiting the local wineries. Brittany is very passionate about foster and rescue animals. She has fostered many dogs/cats through local shelters and currently helps run a boxer foster.

Kristen

Veterinary Technician/Customer Service Representative

Kristen began her employment with Deer Ridge in 2022 as a part-time kennel attendant and moved to full-time veterinary assistant and receptionist in 2023. A graduate of Oak Ridge R-6, she completed her B.S. in Agribusiness: Animal Science from SEMO and is currently working on her master’s in Agribusiness.

Kristen’s favorite part of the job is assisting in emergency cases and being a part of patient’s recovery. She also likes to know that she is not only providing love and care to animals that walk through our doors but also providing pet owners with information to best care for and protect their pets for a long, healthy life.

Kristen has two dogs, Scrappy and Lily, and two cats, Daisy, and Bobby. Besides spending time with her pets, she enjoys camping, fishing, and hanging out with friends and family.

Elisha

Certified Veterinary Assistant

We first met Elisha in August 2023 when she shadowed us during her high school’s veterinary assistant program. Since graduating high school, she has completed her veterinary assistant certification and is currently enrolled in the pre-vet program at SEMO. Elisha is always ready to help wherever needed and we knew from the moment we met her she would be a great addition to our team!

Around the clinic, Elisha can be found assisting doctors in appointments, helping the receptionists man the front desks, and even cleaning and organizing in her down time. Elisha’s main passion lies in working with large animals, especially equine. With being a horse owner herself, she has a deep love for equine care. Elisha’s love for animals is evident in her personal life as well, she has three horses, Sundance, Sterling, and Cappuccino, and many barn cats, along with her sweet dog, Wrinkles.

In her free time, you can find Elisha spending time with family and friends, enjoying the outdoors, riding her horses, hunting, going to bible study, and teaching children at church.

Laura

Customer Service Representative

You can always expect to be greeted with a smile when Laura is around. We have been fortunate to have her on our team for the past eight years. Prior to working at Deer Ridge, Laura worked as a stable hand at Fox Run Stables and Alarka Farm, a tray line supervisor at Chateau Girardeau, and has also volunteered at Watkins Wildlife Rehab Sanctuary.

Laura’s calm demeanor helps many of our patients and their caregivers to feel at ease during their visits. She aims to create a positive experience for pets when they come in by providing lots of pets and treats when possible. Her favorite part of her job is helping first-time pet owners. She strives to provide the best care and service for pets and their owners.

Originally from the Egypt Mills area, Laura now resides in Scott City with her significant other Andrew. Together they have three cats, Nova, Merlin, and Wolfy, and one ball python Mr. Snakey. On weekends, she can be seen performing with Cape Specialty Entertainment, where she performs beautiful dances with fire hoops. She also enjoys biking, hiking, paddle boarding, and playing guitar.

Jody

Groomer

Jody grew up in Rochelle, IL but moved to Jackson during her high school years. She began working for Deer Ridge in 1996 as a kennel attendant and part-time groomer. As her clientele built, she was able to transition to a full-time groomer and has never looked back.

Jody loves the animals she grooms, and you can tell the feeling is reciprocal by the excitement shown when they enter the building and see her. Her top priority, besides making the animals look their best, is to treat and love each one like they are her own. Jody says her favorite part of the job is watching the puppies grow up with her.

Jody and her husband, John, live in Jackson with their two dogs, Pedro and Bear and two cats, Marble and Marshmallow. Jody’s four stepchildren also spend time with them. When not working, Jody likes to spend time with family and friends, bird watching, and painting with diamonds.

Lacey

Groomer

A native of Riverside California, Lacey now resides in Scott City with her Nana. She attended Three Rivers Community College pursuing an Associate Arts Business degree. Lacey has worked in both a dog day care and dog shelter prior to joining the Deer Ridge staff. She started as a kennel attendant before moving to a groom assistant and now taking her own groom clients.

Lacey says she has enjoyed learning the basics of grooming and is excited to learn more advanced grooming cuts. She also would like to learn more about animal behavior to aid her with dogs.

Lacey says that she believes that consistency, honesty, and communication are the most important things for her in working with her clients.

In her spare time, Lacey enjoys quilting, crocheting, and baking.