Meet Our Veterinary Team in Grafton, WI

Katie, Receptionist/Assistant

Katie worked for Dr. Boss years ago at our old clinic, then worked at a couple of other veterinary clinics before coming back to Best Friends years later, in 2017. There are few questions you could have that she can’t answer! She is mostly a receptionist, including doing some supervising and training, but she spends a few hours a week filling in as an assistant. She also works on marketing projects, obsessively worries about patient care and cleanliness, and occasionally makes Dr. Boss clean her desk. Katie has two grown sons and two dogs.

Mary Beth, Receptionist

Mary Beth is our receptionist assistant. She keeps the place running smoothly by managing files, copying handouts, keeping the waiting area clean, and restocking so the receptionists can focus on our clients. Her English bulldog Buddha is featured in our atopy video because he has chronic skin and ear problems. Mary Beth can tell you all about how high-maintenance bulldogs are and the value of pet insurance!

Mandy, Receptionist

Greetings, meet Mandy, a Mequon native with a background in Criminal Justice. While her formal education led her down the path of justice, Mandy’s true passion lies with animals. Since October 2021, she has been serving as a receptionist at Best Friends. Although this marks her first foray into veterinary medicine professionally, her upbringing immersed her in the world of animals.

Mandy’s childhood was filled with experiences such as riding, owning, and showing horses. She dedicated years to volunteering for an equine-assisted therapeutic program in Cedarburg, contributing to horseback riding lessons, and assisting with summer camps at a local stable. Mandy is a proud parent to two daughters, Rhileigh and Piper, as well as her husband, Scott, and their two feline companions, Tux and Rue.

Her joy extends to engaging with all of you and meeting your beloved pets. Mandy is enthusiastic about answering any questions you might have, particularly those related to cats or equines. Feel free to reach out and share your inquiries or stories!

Olivia, Assistant

Olivia has been at Best Friends for 6 years. She started out working in our kennel and is now an exam room & surgery assistant. Olivia’s professional interests include fear-free education, dermatology, and working with farm animals.

At home, Olivia lives on a hobby farm where she enjoys the company of the family’s sheep, goats, steers, chickens, and a donkey.

Nicole, Reception/Marketing

Nicole has been with Best Friends since November 2019. She is a receptionist, preps files for upcoming appointments, and handles our marketing, website, and social media pages. Before coming to Best Friends she worked at Safe Harbor Humane Society in Kenosha for 3 years. Her interests at the clinic include fear-free visits and client education. She shares her home with 2 cats, Tonks & Ginny, and a rabbit named Mack.

Allie, Receptionist/assistant

Allie has been with BFVC since March of 2016. She enjoys surgery, dentistry, and assisting in ultrasounds. She helps to train and mentor new veterinary assistants. If you need to know where something is kept or how to do a task, Allie is the one to ask! She is married and has two small children. When she is not in the clinic, Allie enjoys camping, hiking, and spending time with her family and her fur children, Bailey and Nemo. Nemo was adopted from Best Friends after he was treated for severe urinary tract disease.

Rachel, Veterinary Assistant

Rachel started working at Best Friends as a kennel caretaker, then moved up to pharmacy and lab assistant, and is now a full-fledged exam room assistant. She also likes assisting with procedures. Rachel is in her 4th year of college, majoring in biology, and plans to become a certified veterinary technician. She also wants to specialize. Technicians can become board-certified in specialties such as anesthesia, dentistry, and behavior. This requires extra training and sitting for a certification exam. Once she is no longer living with her parents, we expect Rachel will start accumulating pets like the rest of us!

Ryanne, Veterinary Assistant

Ryanne is a part-time assistant who has worked at BFVC since 2003. She has worked in the veterinary field since 1994. She is often the one to lead school/scout tours at the clinic. Ryanne has worked at the Schlitz-Audubon Raptor Center and the Milwaukee County Zoo teaching education programs to school children. In her spare time, she enjoys playing softball, gardening, hanging out with her husband, and chasing her twin boys and their younger brother around. She has a cat named Shadow and a dog named Cricket. (Seven of Cricket’s eight great-grandparents were purebreds but each a different breed. The eighth was a mutt. So, Cricket has DNA from beagle, miniature poodle, Great Pyrenees, Sheltie, American Stafford terrier, Border collie & chow ancestors!)

Jen, Veterinary Assistant

Jen is a part-time pet care attendant. She has been with BFVC since August 2000. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and is very interested in behavior. Jen attends many obedience and nose work classes with her Doberman, Emmit, keeshond, Niki, and German Shepherd, Kona. She also likes to spend time relaxing with her two cats, Pebbles and Meatball.

Chris, Kennel Manager

Chris came to Best Friends in 2018 as our Kennel Manager. She works very hard to make certain your pets are happy and comfortable while vacationing here at Camp Best Friends. She wears many hats at the clinic and enjoys filling in and helping out wherever she can. She has learned a lot in the past few years, including seeing how the underwater treadmill helps rehabilitate dogs post-surgery, and testing blood work and urine to determine the cause of a possible illness. Chris shares her home with Gracie who is a terrier mix who is the princess of the house. In her free time, Chris enjoys gardening, fishing, cooking, and hanging out with her family, friends, and dogs.

Megan, Head Receptionist & Manager

Megan has been with BFVC since April of 2003. Megan works mostly from home but you will see her in the clinic, too. Along with answering the phone, she takes care of client reminders, marketing tasks, maintenance of our online store, and receptionist training and mentoring. She is very passionate about animal behavior and rescue work. She has a mixed-breed dog named Shandy, rescued from a shelter in Illinois.

Andi, Hospital Manager

Andi spent 6 years as a veterinary assistant in Illinois before relocating to WI. She has been with Best Friends since 2013, as a receptionist, assistant, then bookkeeper/office manager, and she is now hospital manager. Whatever needs doing, Andi can do it! In her free time, she loves spending time with her husband, kids, and her great Danes Ripley & Nova.

Kim, VT

Kim H. is actually a veterinarian, who graduated from the University of Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine a year after Dr. Boss did. After not practicing for many years, she came back into the profession working part-time as a technician. Kim has two grown children and two Australian shepherds, Aspen and Sawyer. She loves to garden and can sometimes be found helping Dr. Boss in the clinic flowerbeds.

Hope, CVT

Hope has been with Best Friends Veterinary Center since January 2022. She graduated from Madison Area Technical College with an Associate of Applied Science – Veterinary Technician in May of 2023. Hope chose to go into the field of veterinary medicine because she knew she would learn something new every day and become the voice of her patients to give them the best care possible. Her professional interests include surgery and dentistry, behavior, nursing care, and client education. Outside of the clinic, Hope enjoys spending time with her dog, Tank, and her chinchilla, Onyx, boating, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, and spending time with family and friends!

Kimberly, CVT

Kimberly is a Certified Veterinary Technician who has worked in the veterinary field for over 20 years. Her professional interests include canine behavior, canine rehabilitation, nutrition, and client education. Outside of work she’s a proud mother of a daughter and enjoys hiking, taking her dogs to the beach, and spending time with her two horses. She shares her home with 7 dogs, 3 cats, 2 birds, and a bearded dragon.

Danielle, CVT

Danielle graduated from Milwaukee Career College in 2016 with her Associates in Veterinary Technology. She is known for her free-spirited personality. While most happy in surgery, Danielle is also interested in nursing care and seeing exotic patients. Outside of Best Friends, Danielle is a proud mother to two daughters. She also has two feline fur babies, Tyr & Priscilla.

Cindy, CVT

Cindy is a Certified Veterinary Technician who has worked in the veterinary field for over 40 years, over 25 of them here at Best Friends. Her professional interests include inventory management, nursing care, surgery, physical therapy, and rehabilitation. She also has experience in wildlife rehabilitation. In her time off, she enjoys biking, hiking bird watching, gardening, and spending time with her Australian Shepherd, Trina.

Pamela, CVT

Pamela has worked for Best Friends Veterinary Center since 1999. She works part-time at Best Friends as a Certified Veterinary Technician and also has a pet-sitting business. Pamela is our house call technician, so if your pet needs a blood pressure reading at home where he is less stressed, you will probably see her. She also prepares the files for your appointments, making sure services aren’t missed and educational materials are ready for your appointment. Her professional interests include feline and canine behavior, nutrition, canine rehabilitation, and community outreach.

Pamela and her husband, Andy, enjoy hiking and traveling with their dogs, Sirius (Siberian Husky), Yuri (Siberian Husky), and Stephan (standard poodle). They also have two cats, Cian and Dexter. They have had previous pets in the blood donor program and Animal Assisted Therapy. Pamela is working with Yuri to become her new therapy partner.

Dr. Delaney, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Welcome our new DVM to Best Friends! Dr Delaney Hinz.

Dr. Delany Hinz graduated in 2023 from the University of Wisconsin Madison as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Public Health. In pursuit of great mentorship, she joined Best Friends Veterinary Center in 2023 because of the high-quality medicine and the care with which they practice it.

Dr. Hinz was born and raised on a hobby farm in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin with dogs, cats, horses, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits, oh my! Having loved animals all her life, she was inspired to be a veterinarian when her own pets needed veterinary care. She remembers wanting what is best for her pets, wishing she had all the information to make the best decision, and depending on her veterinarian to provide her with it. She wants to provide that service to her own clients – empowering them with the information to make the best decision for their pets and family. Just as every patient is different, so are their families and their goals. Dr. Hinz looks forward to meeting everyone “where they are” and being there for you and your pets however she can. She also speaks Spanish and can assist any Spanish-speaking families.

Dr. Hinz’s personal interests include biking, swimming, puzzles, eating home-cooked meals (made by her husband, Sergio), and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Alexandra, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

It was clear early on to Dr. Ripperger’s family her career path was set when her elementary school teachers commented that all she wrote about was animals. Dr. Ripperger grew up on the East Coast and spent her childhood riding horses and caring for goats on a friend’s farm before her family moved to Wisconsin. Dr. Ripperger is a proud Cedarburg High School graduate! She received her degree in biology from St. Olaf College in Minnesota where she played on the volleyball team, was the President of the Pre-Vet Club, and wrote for the college newspaper. She attended the University of Minnesota for her DVM degree. In vet school, she had amazing opportunities to learn about and work with animals of all kinds- everything from sled dogs to sea lions! Her clinical interests include dentistry and ophthalmology. Dr. Ripperger is also Fear-Free Certified and takes pride in working to ensure her patients have a positive experience during their appointments

After graduation, Dr. Ripperger took a position at a busy clinic in the West Loop of downtown Chicago. Living and working in Chicago was a wonderful experience, but she decided she was a cheesehead at heart, and came back to Ozaukee County to work at Best Friends. You might see her walking her dog, Koosa the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, to the Cedarburg Coffee Roastery on the Interurban Trail or playing sand volleyball in a local league. When not caring for her patients, Dr. Ripperger also enjoys reading and traveling. Dr. Ripperger is currently serving as the secretary on the board of the Milwaukee Veterinary Medical Association. She also is a mentor for students interested in veterinary medicine at John Long Middle School in Grafton

Dr. Paige, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Wilder, who usually goes by Dr. Paige, graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Veterinary Medicine in 2014. She joined the BFVC team in March of 2015. Her special Interests are client education, behavior, internal medicine and preventative care.

Paige’s personal interests include vegetable and perennial gardening, sports and exercise (roller derby, kettlebell workouts), reading historical fiction and thrillers, traveling overseas (future destinations include New Zealand and Iceland), and geeking out over geology and social/cultural criticism. (The rest of us aren’t really sure what that is.) She and her long-time partner, Markus, split their time between her home in Port Washington and his in Madison.

Dr. Nan, DVM

Owner, Veterinarian

Dr. Nan Boss graduated from the University of Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine in 1985, and has owned Best Friends Veterinary Center since 1993. At that time it was called Grafton Small Animal Hospital and it was in a different building than the one we are in now. We moved into our current building in 2003.

Dr. Boss started writing handouts and newsletters shortly after graduating from veterinary school. She eventually put them together into sets for puppies, kittens, adult dogs and cats and senior pets. Her notebook system is now used by practices all over the United States, Canada, and Europe. Her strong interest in client education also led to her writing her book for veterinary staff members, “Educating Your Clients from A to Z: What to Say and How to Say it.” This book is currently in its second edition and is a top seller for the American Animal Hospital Association. It is also required reading for AVMA-accredited technician training programs. Her breed-specific wellness materials are also published, as are the training materials used to train the BFVC team. The training program here at Best Friends Veterinary Center is the envy of clinics across the U.S. and results in staff members who are willing and able to answer just about any question a pet owner may have.

Dr. Boss is actively involved in several veterinary organizations and also does a lot of writing and speaking for the veterinary profession, on topics such as client education, team training, and medical record keeping. She is the author of four veterinary books, as well as several volumes of handouts on wellness and medical topics for clients, which are used in practices all over the U.S. and in several other countries. She believes that these extracurricular activities help keep her, and everyone else in the practice, up to date in the medical care we offer.

Dr. Boss has served on numerous boards and committees at local, state, and national levels. She has done consulting for veterinary-related corporations and has worked with the veterinary students at UWM in Madison for both AAHA and Vet Partners, a veterinary professional organization.

One of Dr. Boss’s special interests is canine rehabilitation. She attended the first training program in the country for rehabilitation in pets, through the veterinary college at the University of Tennessee. Her training makes her one of the first veterinarians in the state to provide this special care.

Throughout her career, Dr. Boss has maintained a strong focus on customer service and excellence in patient care. Always willing to go the extra mile for her patients, she’ll consult with a specialist or research difficult cases and likes to do second opinion consultations, work up challenging medical cases, and tackle new surgical techniques. She works very hard to continuously improve the quality of care delivered to both clients and patients in the hospital.

Dr. Boss also enjoys gardening both at home and at the practice, working on her retirement property near Baraboo and spending time with her dog, Shea. She and her husband, Bob, also have three cats.

Best Friends Veterinary Clinic accepts new patients from Grafton, Saukville, Port Washington, Cedarburg, and Thiensville, WI including all surrounding communities.