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Meet the caring and compassionate Buffalo Mountain Animal Hospital veterinarians and staff!

Click the photos to learn more about each team member.

Veterinarian

Mark Cowan, DVM

After graduating from Veterinary College at Kansas State University I returned to Colorado to practice at a mixed animal hospital. After deciding to concentrate on small animals I returned to school to pursue a small animal internship. I moved to Summit County in 2000 and opened Buffalo Mountain Animal Hospital in 2004. When I am not working, you can find me enjoying the slopes in the winter and cycling in the summer.
Veterinarian

Christine Murphy, DVM

Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Cat-Friendly Certified

I started working at Buffalo Mountain Animal Hospital in July 2012, but have been working as a veterinarian in Summit County since 1998! I earned my Bachelor of Science at the University of Michigan in Natural Resources/Environmental Science in 1989, and graduated with honors from Michigan State University Veterinary School in 1995 earning my DVM. My husband and I then moved to the Denver area where Dr. Cowan and I first worked together at Broomfield Veterinary Hospital. I moved to Breckenridge in Nov. 1998. Although I completed my education in Michigan, I grew up as a military brat and lived all over the United States. I have always had family ties to Colorado, where my mother was born and raised. Our whole family has a love for the mountains and the outdoors, and you may see me with my husband Peter, two children Mia and Jacob, and two dogs Maple and Finn skiing, biking, backpacking, hiking, or camping. The two cats in the family (Bobbi and Einstein) tend to be couch potatoes and prefer to enjoy the sunshine from the upstairs deck!
Veterinarian

Shannon McCollough, DVM

After graduating from Colorado State University Veterinary School in 1990 and completing a 1-year internship at the Sacramento Animal Medical Group in CA, Dr. Shannon McCollough spent the first few years of her career in Denver. She just returned HOME to Colorado after a 28-year absence! She has been a leader in her 30+ years in the veterinary industry. She is a past-president of the Greater St. Louis Veterinary Medical Association (GSLMVA) and has worked on various committees for both the GSLVMA and the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. McCollough has been active in Animal Welfare in the last 15 years of her career, including 9 years as a shelter veterinarian and active in various animal welfare organizations in St. Louis. Though she enjoys all aspects of her job as a veterinarian, she is especially interested in internal medicine and dermatology.

Shannon has been married to Mark McCollough (his career has been in the construction industry) since 1989 and they have one child – Luke – born in 2000. The McColloughs currently have 4 pets – 3 dogs and a cat – all named after cars!!!

Shannon and her husband ALSO run a business in South Africa called Global Gift Innovators which creates and sells giftware and provides consulting services to the African adventure travel industry. GGI owned/managed several gift shops near Kruger National Park as well as managed a business for the South African government for 2 years in Atlanta, Georgia. Shannon’s love of Africa stems from when she was a 17-year-old AFS exchange student to Kenya…If you ever want to go on safari, just ask and Shannon will help you plan a trip-of-a-lifetime!

Shannon has been an active member in political organizations in St. Louis for many years and has already begun networking politically as well as in the animal welfare sector in Summit County. She has also been a committed volunteer in the education sector for 20+ years. She is looking forward to “making a difference” in Summit County!

The McColloughs are avid adventure travelers and have traveled to 53 countries so far and all 7 continents…

Veterinarian

Caroline Cervelli, DVM, MS

Dr. Caroline Cervelli grew up in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania and moved to Colorado as soon as she could in 2005. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Biological Science, Master’s in Biomedical Sciences, and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine all from Colorado State University. Dr. Cervelli has a passion for preventative medicine, dentistry, and surgery. She is devoted to providing the best care for every pet because pets deserve nothing less! Caroline moved from Fort Collins to Summit County in July 2018 and lives with her fiancé, Chris Miller, director of Summit Youth Hockey. They have a Heeler-Malamute mix named Storm and a horse named Odie. In her free time, Caroline enjoys horseback riding, snowboarding and skiing, traveling, quilting, and spending time with loved ones.
Visiting Specialist: Radiologist

Liz Hoaglund, DVM, MS, DACVR, DACVR-EDI

Dr. Liz Hoaglund grew up in Indiana and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Purdue University where her love for veterinary medicine was sparked. She graduated from Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016 and subsequently went on to Pioneer Equine Hospital in California for a rotating Equine Internship. She then returned to CSU to complete a fellowship with the Equine Field Service prior to beginning her residency in Diagnostic Imaging. Dr. Hoaglund became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Radiology (ACVR) as well as a Diplomate of the ACVR Equine Diagnostic Imaging (EDI) subspecialty in 2021. She enjoys the mixed caseload of specialty/referral and general practice hospitals and is passionate about abdominal ultrasound, musculoskeletal ultrasound and cross sectional imaging, particularly CT. Dr. Hoaglund loves spending her free time enjoying the Colorado outdoors, cooking, traveling, and relaxing with her family, cats and horse.
Visiting Specialist: Cardiologist

Carrie Ginieczki, DVM, MS, DACVIM

Dr. Carrie Ginieczki received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. She then pursued a rotating small animal internship at Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Following her internship, Carrie completed a combined cardiology residency and Masters program at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University. Immediately following her residency, she achieved board certification in the discipline of veterinary cardiology through the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

During her time at Purdue, Dr. Ginieczki was thoroughly trained in echocardiography, the clinical discipline of veterinary cardiology and catheter-based techniques that offer minimally invasive options at correcting congenital heart disease. She also performed research and published articles related to many aspects of veterinary cardiology. Topics she has covered include therapy for Atrial Fibrillation, anticoagulant therapy and pacemaker patients.

Dr. Ginieczki is the founder and sole owner of Colorado Veterinary Cardiology. She has a passion for assisting clients and their family veterinarians in diagnosing and treating dogs and cats with heart disease. She has a particular interest in treating subclinical heart disease (heart disease in patients without clinical signs), congestive heart failure and feline heart disease. Dr. Ginieczki lives in Evergreen, Colorado with her husband, son, cat and the many wild animals that visit their home daily. She is an active mountain biker, rock climber, cross-country skier and yogi.

Visiting Doctor

Vanessa Koehler, DVM

Dr. Koehler is a native of the Chicagoland area, but has lived in 6 states and abroad. After her 1 year experience as a Rotary International Exchange Student in Germany, she was a Division I walk-on student athlete at the University of Miami in Florida, where she earned her BS in Marine Science/Biology. She then worked in chemical oceanography for 2 years, which afforded her some great travel opportunities on research vessels all around the globe (New Zealand, Antarctic Circle, Iceland, Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean).
Dr. Koehler received her doctorate of veterinary medicine from Ross University in 2007. She completed a rigorous rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, followed by 2 years of postdoctoral surgical training at Animal Hospital Specialty Center in Highlands Ranch and Animal Specialty Group in Los Angeles.
She has published numerous articles in various veterinary journals.
Dr. Koehler enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine and its constant challenges. Most of all, she enjoys getting to know her clients and patients.
Dr. Koehler has been practicing medicine in Summit County since 2011. When not working, you can often find her enjoying Colorado’s outdoor playground or traveling. She has traveled as far as Fez, Morocco and South Africa for volunteer efforts as well.
Veterinary Technician

Suzanne, RVT

Suzanne grew up in Southwest Michigan and moved to Colorado about 12 years ago to attend Veterinary Technician school. After graduating in December 2011, she moved to Summit County. Her four-legged family consists of 2 dogs named Bella and Yetta, 2 cats named Mellie and Weston, and 2 horses named Porter and Milo. In her spare time you can find me throwing a frisbee/ball for her dogs, hiking, photography, horseback riding, and lake kayaking, Her goals this summer are to climb her first 14er and learn to fly fish!
Veterinary Technician

Heather, RVT

Heather obtained her BS at Appalachian State University, then decided to pursue her veterinary technician degree at Bel Rea Institute of Animal Technology in Denver, Co. After finishing veterinary technician school in 2001, she completed internships at both Alameda East Veterinary Hospital and Littleton Large Animal Clinic. She loves veterinary medicine, but has a special affinity for surgery. She likes to spend her free time outdoors with her husband Chris, their two boys, Wes and Sam, and their two dogs, Lucy and Barry.
Veterinary Technician

Alexandria, RVT

Alex grew up on the East Coast and moved to Colorado in 2015 to snowboard instruct and attend Bel-Rea Institute for Veterinary Technicians. After graduation, Alex practiced as a relief RVT in Denver for a variety of speciality veterinary practices and spent many years working with wildlife rehabilitation. Alex loves all sides of Veterinary Medicine and is very passionate for surgery and anesthesia. Alex has an orange tabby named Donald and a Havapoo named Tulip. Outside of work Alex is outside with her pets, snowboard instructing, hiking, rock climbing and spending time with family.
Veterinary Technician

Kourtnee, RVT

Kourtnee grew up in Georgia (Go Dawgs) and was raised by huge animal lovers and as a child you could always find her outside catching any bug, reptile, or small animal that would let her. Animals have always been her biggest passion in life and she has been in the veterinary field since she was 18 years old. She moved to Colorado in 2023 to obtain her Registered Veterinary Technician license. When she is not working, Kourtnee loves to hike with her pitbull mix Scout, snowboard, read books and play video games.
Veterinary Technician

Leslie

Leslie grew up in Brownsville, Texas with her parents (Maribel and Gilberto), her 2 brothers (Erick and John), and her lovely husky, Hunter. She then moved to Kingsville, TX where she graduated from Texas A&M University of Kingsville with a BS in Agriculture Animal-Wildlife and Veterinary Technology on May 10, 2024. During those 2 years she learned to handle many species such as ruminants, avian, reptiles, rats, and fish. Before graduating from her last semester she moved to Silverthorne for 3 months to begin an externship at BMAH to practice her skills and to learn new ones. After graduation, she decided to come back to Summit County to start working at BMAH since she loved and enjoyed her time in Colorado.
Hobbies: Watching horror films and Korean shows, thrift shopping.
Veterinary Assistant

Hailey

Veterinary Assistant

Beth

Veterinary Assistant

Mackenzie

Mackenzie graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2017 with her Bachelor’s in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology. After spending several years working in wildlife education and husbandry across the state of Colorado, she decided to move overseas as an educator in rural Japan for a change of pace. Mackenzie spent 2.5 years in Tsushima, off the coast of Nagasaki prefecture, then returned to Colorado in 2021 to further pursue careers in animal science. Mackenzie currently resides in Park County and started working at BMAH in January 2023. She has two beautiful cats of her own, Grim and Phantom, and spends her free time playing piano, hiking, and creating wildlife-inspired artwork.
Veterinary Assistant

Melissa

Melissa is a Colorado native with a deep-seated love for animals and has been immersed in veterinary care since 2018. She joined Buffalo Mountain in 2024, where she continues to pursue her passion for helping animals. Melissa lives with her partner Cody, their two dogs, Puzzle and Willow, and two cats, Harley and Odin. Outside of work, she enjoys outdoor activities like 4-wheeling, fishing, and camping, as well as crafting, movies and attending live music events.
Veterinary Assistant

Renee

Veterinary Assistant

Tristan

Tristan grew up in Columbus, Ohio while traveling to Summit County multiple times a year to visit family. He graduated in 2016 from CU Boulder with a degree in French and International Affairs but found his passion in animal care. In his spare time, Tristan enjoys reading fiction, classical music, hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. Tristan has three cats; young Owlie and Clementine, and senior Roo.
Client Service Representative

Ali

Ali currently supports the team by managing client appointments and ensuring smooth communication between pet owners and our veterinary team. She is passionate about helping animals and creating a welcoming atmosphere for every pet and their family.
Outside of work, she has been married to her husband, Vincent, for 4 years. Together they have 3 dogs—Lily, a German Shepherd-Doberman cross rescue, and Nigel and Roxie, both Xoloitzcuintli—and two cats, Sindri and Shadow. They love camping, mountain biking, hiking, and spending time outdoors with their pets.
Client Service Representative

Ross

Client Service Representative

Joseph

Joseph is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and has two pets, Tetra the dog and Millie the cat. He moved to Colorado in 2024 and enjoys hiking, eating, and movies.

Interested in working with us?

We’re always looking for great talent. If you have experience in vet med or are interested in learning, we’d like to hear from you!