Molly has worked for State Line since 2006; part time while she was in college and full time since 2008. As a Veterinary Assistant, she helps the doctors and the technician during medical procedures, assists Dr. Otte during surgery, fills prescriptions, helps with cleaning, and enters inventory into the computer. She is also takes care of Garfield, the hospital cat.

Molly enjoys working with pets and clients and hopes that the valuable knowledge and experience she is acquiring will help her get into vet school. When she is not at SLAH, Molly works out, coaches a swim team, and has recently begun scuba diving. She is also a housesitter/petsitter.

At home, Molly has an "awesome" white/tabby cat named Rocky.

Jacquie Conn - Veterinary Assistant

Jacquie has worked as a veterinary assistant at State Line for 2 years. She began by entering inventory data into the computer, but now assists the doctors with x-rays, medical procedures, bloodwork, and inventory control.

She enjoys people as well as animals and is always interested in learning about the various medical cases presented at the hospital.

When Jacquie is not working, she spends her time with her 6 year old daughter, Abby, often going on nature walks at Shawnee Mission Park. She takes Abby to Girl Scouts and is a member of her school's PTA. Jacquie also enjoys movies and cooking, and finds time to care for her two dogs, Spanky and Spence.

Kathy Porter - Kennel Manager

Kathy, our Kennel Manager, has been working at State Line for 11 years. She works all day on Saturdays and Sundays, taking care of our boarding animals and the animals brought in by Leawood Animal Control. Kathy oversees the kennel staff to ensure that all of the pets are well-cared for. In addition to feeding, watering, walking, and administering medicine when necessary, Kathy alerts the doctors if there is any change in an animal's behavior or if it exhibits any signs of discomfort or illness.

Kathy enjoys the fast pace at SLAH and she also enjoys the people she works with. She says that she has a "great boss with a heart of gold." When she is not working at the hospital, she spends lots of time with her family and friends. At home, she and her husband, Zack, have Sparky, a lab/chow mix; Tie, a Tibetan/spaniel mix; and Bennie, a black and white tabby/Maine coon cat.

When asked why she wanted to work in an animal hospital, she said, "For love of animals…helping them makes me feel good inside."

Kennel Assistants:

Jessie Ford

Jessie's love and compassion for animals makes working in an animal hospital the perfect job for him. He has worked for Dr. Otte at State Line for 20 years, during many of which he was the only person taking care of the kennel. His duties include giving baths, feeding and watering the animals, walking the dogs, giving medications, keeping the kennel clean, talking to our clients and working with the staff.

When he is not working, Jessie spends his time with his daughter, Jessica. He also enjoys
reading, watching TV, playing with their two dogs, Jennie and Maverick, and doing "Army stuff."

Jessie holds the rank of Staff Sergeant in the 445th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service) in the Army Reserves. During his 20 years at State Line, Jessie has been deployed 3 times, to Iraq, to Bosnia, and to Afghanistan - each deployment for a year's tour of duty.

Billy Smith

Billy spent over 20 years working in shelters and wanted to work with owner animals for a change. He came to State Line 7 years ago to work weekends and has stayed because "the owners and management are great to work for." Billy cares for the boarding animals and the animals brought in by Leawood Animal Control. He spends busy Saturdays and Sundays feeding, watering, cleaning cages, walking animals, and generally making sure all of the 'guests' are happy and comfortable.

When Billy is not at SLAH, he works on his farm and also raises show chickens. And when he has any free time, he enjoys canoeing, hiking, camping, traveling, reading, and folk music. He and his wife, Marcia, share their home with 5 dogs (Otis, Marcus, Winnie, Chuckles, Groucho), 2 cats (Uno & Dos), 2 goats (Bud & Kelly), and a house rooster, (Buckley.)

Harvey has been with State Line for 3 years. As a Kennel Assistant, he stays busy giving baths, cleaning cages, feeding and watering the animals, giving medication, and helping the doctors during medical procedures. Harvey may also be found cutting the grass or trimming the rose bushes.

Harvey and his wife, Nitesa, spend LOTS of their non-working time with their 5 children: Harvey, Jr. (10), Sierra (7), Brianna (13), and twins Alexis and Nicole (15). They also have a couple of dogs and a cat in the household. Harvey finds time to repair cars when he is not at SLAH. A favorite pastime of Harvey's is taking his son joyriding in his dad's '55 Belaire.

Unfortunately, Harvey was given a 'wake-up' call several months ago when he suffered a heart attack. He is now back full time and is working hard to stay healthy. We are very proud of Harvey because he has lost 52 lbs. and is looking great!

Tom has been a Kennel Assistant at State Line for 4 years. In addition to feeding, watering, and walking the dogs, Tom cleans the cages, helps with the laundry, bathes dogs (especially the large ones) and is the general "fix it" guy when something breaks.
Working at an animal hospital is a natural for Tom because he loves working with animals and caring for them.

When he is not working, Tom enjoys fishing, camping, 'fixing things,' and 3 dogs (Daisy, Little Boy, and KC.)

He and Anna are raising their son, William, who is "the light of our lives." William is a year old and "the center of everything."

Ryan has worked at SLAH for 7 years as a Kennel Assistant and has recently been assigned some Veterinary Assistant duties. He spends his time walking dogs, bathing dogs and cats, and giving medications to the animals. He also assists the groomer and the doctors, and prepares records and cover sheets for new clients.

Ryan likes having a wide variety of work duties and he enjoys working with other people who love animals as much as he does. When he is not working, Ryan is either in school or playing in a band. He enjoys writing music, working out, eating, and especially his pug, Gus!

Mary has been a groomer for over 24 years; State Line has been lucky to have her for the last 4! She learned to groom in Westport with Darrell Smith and later taught dog grooming with him.

At State Line, Mary's clients come to her by reservation only. She grooms all types and sizes of dogs and can turn a matted mess into a movie star dog pretty quickly! She also advises the animals' owners on home grooming steps and ways to keep "Fluffy's" coat soft and shiny.

Not only do the grooming clients love Mary, but she loves them and all of the animals at SLAH. Dr. Otte's Toby runs to Mary first thing every morning so that she will pick him up and give him a hug, then he's on his way.

When she is not working, Mary works parttime at a dance studio, does cardio and strength training, and enjoys time with her friends and family (she has one daughter, Alex), and often spends weekends at the Lake.

She doesn't have dogs at home; rather, she shares her home with 3 cats, Zoomie, Oink, and Solomon.