Dr. Ann McHugh, Practice Owner
Dr. Ann McHugh is a native of Overland Park, Kansas and her love and respect for animals was kindled early in her childhood. The youngest of eight children, she and her family had dogs, cats, horses, and rabbits while she was growing up. In 1980 her professional training began at the Kansas State University and in 1988 she graduated from the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine. In 1990 she joined the faculty of the University of Florida as a clinical instructor in Preventive Medicine and established a community-based small animal practice for the U of F College of Veterinary Medicine. Her teaching experience reinforced her dedication to high-quality medicine and surgery which is the heart of the LPH practice today. Dr. McHugh established Lionsgate Pet Hospital in 2003 with the goal of bringing thoughtful, caring small animal health to her patients and their families.
Dr. McHugh enjoys hiking, camping, water sports, and traveling with her husband Doug and their little chihuahua, Pico.
Dr. Niki Schadegg
Dr. Schadegg grew up in Johnson, KS, a small town in the southwestern part of the state. She graduated from K-State College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008.
Dr. Schadegg started out as a mixed animal practitioner in Laramie, Wyoming and then moved to Fort Collin, CO and focused on small animal medicine, surgery, and dentistry. She joined Lionsgate Pet Hospital in 2016. She has a special interest in dentistry and surgery.
Dr. Schadegg and her husband Cody have two energetic children. She enjoys hiking, chasing kids and playing sports in her free time.
Dr. Tricia Horton
Dr. Horton grew up in Kansas City, KS. She graduated from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005.
Following her graduation, she completed a one year rotating small animal internship in the greater Chicago area. From there she went into general practice in Michigan. She became certified in veterinary acupuncture in 2015. She enjoys offering an alternative approach in addition to practicing standard medicine.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Matt, and hanging out with their family. She has a Hound Mix named Domino.
Dr. Beth Foster
Dr. Foster is from Clay Center, KS and graduated from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. Following graduation, she completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery in Chesapeake, VA. After two years of practicing small animal medicine in Southern California, she moved back to Kansas in 2006. She continues to practice as a relief veterinarian.
Dr. Foster and her husband Ben have three children: a son Jack and two daughters Finley and Quinn. They also have a Labradoodle named Moose. In her spare time, Dr. Foster enjoys watching her kids play sports, yoga and doing anything outdoors.
Rachel Downtain, Practice Manager
Growing up in Dallas, TX, Rachel began volunteering at a young age for the Texas Humane Society. That is how her family obtained their second family pet! She moved to the Kansas City area to attend college and worked at a vet clinic for five years while attending school. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Therapy from the UMKC-Conservatory of Music and a Master’s of Science in Management. Rachel joined Lionsgate Pet Hospital in March of 2015. After doing rescue work for many years, she is thrilled to be working with animals and their people again. Rachel calls Overland Park home with her son Grayson and their dogs Maple and Syrup. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, taking martial arts, sewing, and working on her house.
Jess Pickens, Veterinary Technician
Jess grew up in Paola, KS. Growing up she lived in the country and had lots of different animals. Following her passion for animals, she started working in the veterinary field when she was a sophomore in high school. Jess then attended college and graduated with her Associate of Science degree. Since then she has been working as a veterinary technician . Jess now resides on some land in Louisburg, KS with her husband, two children, four dogs, three cats and several chickens and ducks. Her family enjoys spending time together, especially outside!
Jorie Franklin, RVT
Jorie has always had a special love for animals and was lucky enough to grow up with dogs, horses, cats, hamsters, rabbits and even ducks. She graduated from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. She is married to her best friend, Chris, and they have 2 boys, Josh and Collin. About 5 years ago, Jorie decided to finally follow her passion for animals and started working at the animal shelter, which opened the door for her to go back to school and get her Associates degree in Veterinary Technology. She became a Registered Veterinary Technician in March 2016 and absolutely loves her job. Jorie and her husband live in Olathe along with their boys, 2 dogs, a cat and a couple of gerbils.
Charlotte Giesler, RVT
Charlotte was born and raised in the great state of Kansas by her French immigrant parents. Growing up she loved taking her family pets to the “vet” and found learning about their health to be fascinating. She followed that passion and worked as a kennel tech through high school and later attended Maple Woods Veterinary Technician Program. In 2008 she graduated with a degree in Animal Science and became a Registered Veterinary Technician. She joined the LionsGate Pet Hospital family in October of 2020 and has really enjoyed being part of this great team.
Charlotte and her husband Ryan alongside their daughter Elise are parents to 3 dogs and two cats. Charlotte loves spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoys recycling furniture and can be found working on a project during her free time.
Deb Bauman, Veterinary Assistant
Deb grew up in Overland Park and graduated from KU with a degree in Journalism. After a 25-year career in Advertising/Marketing that took her to Atlanta, Winston-Salem and Hartford, she returned home and embraced her passion for animals by starting a Pet Care/Dog Walking business in Johnson County & South KC. Deb began working at LPH in October 2014.
She’s proud to be part of such a caring team of professionals and is inspired by how much our clients care about the well being of their pets. Her favorite task is making follow up calls for the doctors in order to chart pets’ progress and health care needs.
Jodi Schwieger, Lead Client Services Representative
Jodi has always been an animal lover and is so fortunate she gets to meet so many great people and their wonderful pets here at Lionsgate Pet Hospital. She has been at Lionsgate Pet Hospital since 2015. She is originally from Nebraska, but has called Overland Park home for almost 20 years. Jodi lives here with her three awesome boys and one spoiled dog. She enjoys spending time outdoors and going to her boys’ sporting events.
Leslie Ratterman, Client Services Representative
Leslie grew up in the Midwest and has lived in the Kansas City area for 30 years. She has been married to her wonderful husband Phil for 25 years, and they have two grown children attending college. Cody is getting his Masters at Utah State and Jade is a student at K-State. They have had pets their whole lives individually and as a family. For Leslie to find a job that incorporates her love for animals and people is such a gift.
Her family enjoys spending time outdoors, everywhere from the mountains to the beach. They have a Field Lab named GusGus (named after Cinderella’s mouse). He is the comic relief, destroyer of worlds and a ball of energy to say the least. The gift of caring for her personal pets and also other family’s fur babies at the clinic is a true blessing.
Carlyene Zinkiewicz, Groomer
Carlyene’s parents told her that when she was a little girl, she was afraid of every animal except for her Aunt’s big fluffy Samoyed named Yo-Yo. Shortly after falling in love with Yo-Yo, her parents gave her her first cat who she named Trouble. From the moment she got Trouble, she has loved every animal she has come across. When Carlyene was a teenager, she volunteered at her local veterinary office. In 2006, she started working as a Grooming Assistant. She became an official Pet Stylist in 2008 and in 2011, she became certified to groom cats as well. Carlyene joined Lionsgate in the Spring of 2017 and has loved everything from the awesome staff to the furry clients!