Meet Our Staff

_{Photo Courtesy of Pierce County Leader - Randee Falter}

Dr. Shane Pedersen
Dr. Shane Pedersen has been in the Pierce area as a veterinarian since 1999.  Originally from a small farm in Hoskins, he went to Northwest Missouri State University for 3 years of undergraduate college and was accepted to Kansas State University where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in the spring of 1999.  Although Dr. Pedersen enjoys being outside and working with the large animals, he also gets a lot of enjoyment from the challenges that are presented with small animal medicine and especially small animal orthopedics.  

Dr. Pedersen married his high school sweetheart Linda Feyerherm in the spring of 1996.  She previously worked at the Pierce Telephone and Telecommunications office and has recently resigned to stay at home.  They have 3 children, 1 boy and 2 girls, and live on a little acreage just southwest of town.  Ashley is the oldest, Noah is the middle child and Madalyn is the youngest.  They have 2 house cats, Taz and Dodger, a yellow lab named Angie and 3 horses.

In his spare time, Dr. Pedersen spends most of his time with his family.  He also likes to get out for a round of golf here and there and traveling when he can find the opportunity.

Our Technician Staff

Nicole Koehler
Nicole Koehler is one of our Veterinary Assistants. Her parents are Jeff and Paula Koehler of Pierce and her brothers are Scott and Cody and their cat "Reeces Pieces".  Her boyfriend of 3 years is Jason Schwarting also from Pierce.  She is currently studying Veterinary Technology at Northeast Community College and plans to graduate in May of 2008.

Nicole has been with the Willow Creek Veterinary Service since 2003. She helps with the kennels duties including coming in on the weekends to take care of our boarding animals.  She also assists with large and small animal appointments when she can.   She started here by job shadowing/volunteering on Saturdays to having a part-time job at the clinic. Her favorite thing to do at the clinic is of course playing with the cats and dogs.  Her favorite past times include scrap booking, biking, going to the movies, and being outside.

Kris Nelsen
Kris Nelsen has been employed by the veterinary clinic in the Pierce area since 1997. She helps the doctors with most of the large animal appointments and some of the small animal appointments.  Kris has recently been put on inventory control; her goal here is to maintain an adequate supply on hand.

Kris grew up on a farm near Wayne, where they raised pigs.  Currently she is living on a farm near Carroll with her husband Andy and her new bundle of joy Seth.  On the Nelsen Farm, you will find cattle, 5 horses, 2 dogs, 1 goose and a number of barn cats.  When Kris is done helping with all the things you do with farming, she enjoys cuddle time with Seth the most.  Other past times that she enjoys is spending time with friends and family, trail riding or team penning on one of her many horses, fishing (as long as someone else puts the worm on the hook) or just sitting on the deck watching Andy work.

What Kris enjoys most about her career here as a Veterinary Technician is helping the pets/animals stay healthy or get better, and of course she enjoys visiting with the clients.

Our Office Staff
Sylvia Furstenau
Sylvia Furstenau has been with our clinic since 2002 and has been working in the veterinary profession since 1987.  She began working for Dr Ray Anderson as a veterinary/office assistant.  Sylvia has worked in different roles throughout the years and is currently the office manager.  Her duties include paying bills, overseeing invoicing and billing, monitoring promotions for clients, and other clerical duties.

Sylvia is a Pierce native, having grown up on a farm near Pierce.  She is married to Wayne, formerly from the Plainview area.  They live on an acreage near Pierce.  Wayne is self-employed with his business,  Wayne’s Mobile Home Repair Services.  

They have three children.  Nathan married to Tammy, live in Stanton, and have two boys. Tiffany is married to Ryan and they live in Omaha.  They are the parents of two boys and a girl.  The youngest son, Kevin and his wife Cathy live in Pierce and have a daughter.

Wayne and Sylvia attend Zion Lutheran Church in Pierce.  They enjoy spending time with the grandchildren and taking care of the yard and garden.  Sylvia also enjoys sewing quilts, doing needlework, and reading.  She is a mentor for a student at Pierce High School.  

FOXY
As you all know Foxy is the nosey one around here always having to know exactly what everyone is doing.
Foxy’s story starts when one of our local breeders brought her in because she wasn’t eating or drinking and was very depressed.  The person they were to sell her to said that she had a heart murmur and she wouldn’t live long.  Both of our doctors listened for a murmur and did not hear anything abnormal.  Doc offered to keep her, get her better and, if she lived, he would get to keep her.  Well low and behold after a few force-fed meals, she started to eat and drink and began acting like a puppy.

In Foxy’'s spare time she enjoys running around like a wild animal, sleep standing up and hunting.  She is also a great guard dog letting us know when someone is using the back door.  Foxy is also a great help at cleaning up whatever Doc throws away outside. She is well known for doing tricks for treats, pushing doors (that are closed) open to see what she is missing out on, jumping up in the windows, scaring clients outside by her surprise appearances and puts up with the staff dressing her up. You can’t help but not notice Foxy, for she is usually the first one to race up to the lobby when the doorbell rings, or any other door opens.

We use her as a “model” dog to show client’s how to give medicine, apply flea control, and she has been a blood donor more than once.  Foxy is a real asset to the clinic and we feel lucky to have her as part of our team.

FRANKIE
It was a cold and rainy day, about 5 years ago, when our office cat, Frankie was found in an alley in Pierce.  Her rescuer was unable to keep her and brought her to the office.  Frankie was around six weeks old and a very sick kitty, with a fever, runny nose, and very mattered eyes. She was wearing a collar that said, “Jesus loves me.”  As she was nursed back to health everyone became very attached to her and she found a place to stay.

She has a typical cat personality and likes attention.  Her favorite is sitting on the counter in front of clients to be sure she gets noticed.  She thinks she is pretty important when she can pace in front of the dog kennels and make the dogs bark at her.

The move to the country has given her more freedom to roam outdoors on nice days.  We like to keep her in overnight and it seems she knows when 5:00 comes around, as she likes to slip out the door. However with cold weather on its way she can be found in one of her favorites spots napping or greeting our clients.