Support Professionals
Our client care specialists play a crucial role in the delivery of high-quality veterinary care to our clients. We consider these dedicated hard working individuals the gatekeepers of the practice. They are the first to welcome you to our practice and the last to wish you a great day.
These individuals are passionate about what they do, whether it is helping you through an emergency situation, fielding your phone call to a technician or doctor, scheduling an appointment, answering your billing questions, taking your prescription refill requests or just answering your general questions. They fully understand the love and concern you have for your four-legged family members and will care for them like their own.
The people below have shown they have the special aptitudes needed to work at Cleary Lake Veterinary Hospital.
Barb Herrera
 Barb has been the Practice Manager at Cleary Lake since 2005. She is a member of the Veterinary Practice Managers Network of Minnesota and a member of the American Animal Hospital Association. She has an exuberant mixed-breed dog, Jazzy, and two cats, Chase and Pouncer. Before working in the veterinary industry, she used to own, race and train thoroughbreds. She has two children, Amanda and Joey, and in her spare time she enjoys watching them compete in softball and soccer, working in the yard, landscaping, listening to music, cooking and having bonfires.
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Michelle McConnell
 Michelle McConnell started part-time at Cleary Lake Veterinary Hospital in 1997. She now works full-time as a Client Care Specialist at our Equine desk scheduling appointments for our equine veterinarians, along with many other tasks. When she’s not at the clinic working, she enjoys spending time with her menagerie of animals, playing with her horses and hiking. Michelle lives in Kenyon with her husband, Tim. Michelle and Tim share their home with two dogs, Shrimpy and Olivia; and three horses, Pilot, Whinny and China.
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Shelly Foster
 Shelly joined Cleary Lake in 2011 and is primarily responsible for accounts receivable. She graduated from the University of St. Thomas Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Entrepreneurship. She loves problem-solving! She has three horses: Starboy, a retired Appaloosa gelding; Daz, a Quarter Horse cross she rides in endurance competitions and on trails; and Trooper, a Quarter Horse/Appaloosa cross gelding she uses for trail riding. She spends most of her free time riding and training young horses, but also enjoys hiking and visiting waterfalls, especially along the North Shore. She has numerous barn/house cats (many that she has taken in as rescues) and a Sheltie named Harley. She loves to teach her animals tricks - Starboy can rear, bow, sit and say yes and no. All of her cats are trained to come to a dinner bell and know how to sit.
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Corinne Sabatka
Corinne has a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from the University Of Minnesota, and joined the team at Cleary Lake in 2006. Prior to that, she worked with Dr. Bill Sweeney at the old Equine Medical Center from 1976-1980. Corinne also spent more than 20 years working at Northwest Airlines as a mechanic. She owns a small Paint and Quarter Horse breeding farm in Lakeville, June Lake Farm. She lives with her husband Dave and her many animals: Jada the Great Pyrenees, Samantha the pygmy goat, 12 horses and four cats. In her spare time she also loves gardening.
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Tammy Erickson
 Tammy has been with Cleary Lake since 1990. Tammy’s favorite part of working in veterinary medicine is that every day is different and she is always learning something new. Tammy lives with her husband Ben in Webster at their Combined Horsepower Farm. They enjoy drag racing, 4x4 trucks, and caring for their many animals - cats, dogs, miniature horses, chickens, goats and sheep. Tammy is also an avid quilter and makes beautiful quilts and keepsakes for her friends and family.
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