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Dr. Tom met Dr.
Karen at Michigan State University's Veterinary School. Sharing
a love for animals, they married after graduation in 1981. After
working in separate practices for a year, they established The
Animal Medical Center of Traverse City in 1982. They have two
children, both of which graduated from Traverse City Central High School.
Megan is a graduate of The University of Michigan with a degree
in English and Dance. Ryan is a graduate of Central Michigan
University and is certified to teach both French and Spanish.. Their vast animal family includes a llama:
Phantom. 2 horses: Zonkers and K.C., 3 goats: Frida, Diego and Margarita, 1 sheep: Wallace, 2 Golden
Retrievers: Everest and McKinley, 3 cats: Dharma, Kibo
and Esmeralda, a
cockatiel: Apache, and numerous fish and pet chickens and
roosters. Through the years they have welcomed many other
critters into their home: rabbits, chinchillas, gerbils, rats,
lizards, ducks, geese and parakeets to name a few.
As a couple,
Drs. Tom and Karen also share an interest in organic gardening.
Their critters aid in supplying the wonderful "Organic Gold"
compost that makes their flowers grow so beautifully. As a
family, they enjoy many outdoor activities and recently reached
the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa together.
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Thomas A
Mertaugh, D.V.M
Dr. Tom is an
active member of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society; He is also
the only certified Penn-Hip veterinarian in the area. Many of
the local veterinarians refer their orthopedic cases to him and
MSU has used him for follow-up care on their local orthopedic
cases. He is an avid outdoorsman. He enjoys downhill skiing, ice
climbing, hockey, water-skiing, mountaineering, and
rock-climbing. Along with his son, Ryan, he has competed in many
triathlons.
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Karen
K. Mertaugh, D.V.M.
Dr. Karen has
been actively involved with the Cherryland Humane Society,
having served on their board of directors for five years.
She has sponsored an animal neuter-a-thon to neuter all the male
dogs at the shelter and goes there weekly to neuter all of the
male cats. Although you may not see her in the exam room often, she can be
frequently found in the surgery room and is responsible for the
business end of the practice. She enjoys camping and back
packing with the family, but her true passion is trail riding
with her Quarter Horse, Zonkers. Her other hobbies include
reading and knitting. She uses the wool from her pet sheep and
llamas in her fiber projects. She loves to travel and experience
other cultures and enjoys speaking French when ever possible.
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Dr. Val and her husband, Adam Prettyman, are
thrilled to be living in the Traverse City area and
enjoy many outdoor activities including running,
showshoeing, skiing, and hiking. They are both avid
sailors and spend as much time as possible on the
water. They share their home with four furry "kids":
Keegan, a Black Labrador/Great Dane mix; Luther, a
German Shorthaired Pointer; and two cats, Sprocket
and Little Cat. All of them are rescued animals-some
with very interesting stories!
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LuAnn has been a receptionist for the Animal Medical Center since
1997. LuAnn moved to the Traverse City area from Saginaw. She has
eleven prior years of experience at clinics downstate. She has
always had a passion for animals, particularly dogs and horses.
Working with them has been a life- long dream. LuAnn lives in
Williamsburg near Elk Lake with her husband, Scott, and dogs
Hayley, a yellow Lab, and Kaiser, a German Shepherd. Outside of
work, she enjoys reading, movies, her model horse collection,
Bowling, Detroit Tigers baseball, and spending time with Scott, Hayley,
and Kaiser.
 
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Laura
joined the
team in May of 2005,and has over 8 years of experience as an
Animal Technician. Laura and her husband, Rob were both born and
raised in Traverse City and together have two beautiful
daughters Rachel and Rebecca. Her family shares their home with
a very loyal Humane Society Lab mix Max, a red Siberian Husky
Chewy, "a pretty little Chihuahua Hazel" and Blue
a rescued Chihuahua, and a flame point cat named Walter, Clyde, Dickens and Walter. Laura's strong love
for animals started at an early age with 4-H and showing Quarter
Horses. Laura is very appreciative of being able to spend her
days with your animals.
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Renee
joined The
Animal Medical Center team in June 2008. It was a lifelong dream
of hers to be able to work with animals. Born in Allen Park, Mi.
she moved to Traverse City in January 1976. She spent some time
working at the Cherryland Humane Society and really enjoyed her
time there with the animals. She has been happily married to her
husband Bruce, for 31 years and lives on the Boardman River. She
has always had animals in her life, and her current dog, Cockapoo is named "Willy". She has had many dogs of different
breeds from a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Springer Spaniel, Bull
Mastiff, St. Bernard, Rottweiler and a few mutts. She enjoys
Harley riding, cooking, gardening, reading and spending time
with her family and friends.
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Kelli
has been
with the Animal Medical Center as a Veterinary Assistant since
2003. She was born in Lansing, but was raised in Suttons Bay.
She now lives in Kingsley with her husband, Mike and their two
children, Travis and Anna. Their family includes three dogs, a
Chihuahua, Ruby Sue, a yellow lab, Lewis, a Basset Hound, Lulu, and
three kitties,
Gracie, June, and Gladys, along with a bunny, Henry. She
enjoys working at the clinic because we are such a close group
of animal lovers and we work well together. She says that the
best part is that she can spoil the animals and then send them
home Kelli loves being with her children and participating in
all of their school activities. She also enjoys baking,
gardening, and camping any chance she can get.
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