Jennifer Bethke - Veterinary Receptionist and Certified Veterinary Technician

Jennifer has been a member of the KBAH staff on and off since 1997; first as a veterinary assistant and now as both a veterinary receptionist and a Certified Veterinary Technician. Jennifer's life took a minor side track into the English and Graphic Arts fields for a few years, but after some soul searching and a diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythmatosis, she is now back here doing what she loves best. Her specialties include baby bird hand feeding, bird behavior and husbandry, and specifically anything dealing with cockatiels.

Her interests include knitting and other needle arts, drawing and designing, creative writing, watching movies, and generally hanging out at the local Starbucks with a Venti Peppermint Hot Chocolate (HINT: this is a good way to bribe her into giving out free advice on animal issues).

Jennifer is currently owned by Squeekers, Murray, and Shandy Grace (the Cockatiel Clan), Jessie (an overly hormonal umbrella cockatoo), and Witch Hazel & Nuala, her two cats.

Tom Hynes - Veterinary Receptionist

Tom is a graduate of Asnuntuck Community College with an education in Biology and Allied Health Services. He joined KBAH in the summer of 2005 as a veterinary receptionist. His hobbies include marine aquariums, astronomy, photography (both digital and traditional 35 mm film). He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Area Reef Society.

Tom currently owns an African Grey named James, a cockatiel named Angel, two parrotlets, two sugar gliders named Papa and Bindi, two cats named Phyllis and Diller, and a 55 gallon marine aquarium with a 3 gallon nano fresh water tank.

Michelle Napolitano - Veterinary Technician

Michelle has been a veterinary technician at Kensington Bird and Animal Hospital since July of 2000. Before coming to KBAH, she was a CNA for six years. She also proudly served in the Army National Guard for over four years as a military police officer stationed in Hartford, CT. She now spends all of her spare time with her children: Morgan, her beautiful one year old daughter, Abby and Zena, her two dogs, Gabby and Whiskey, her two ferrets, and Spike, her cat. She also tries to find time for her husband Adam, too.

Jenn Labbe - Veterinary Technician

Jenn started working at KBAH November 2005. She started off volunteering at a veterinary hospital when she was 14 while she was attending Southington High for the vo-ag small animal course. After graduating from Southington High, Jenn enrolled at Northwestern Connecticut Community College for the veterinary technician program. Jenn enjoys being the "comic relief" of the clinic by keeping all of her co-workers entertained.

Her interests include knitting (thank you Jennifer Bethke), exotic pets, chasing after her zoo of animals, and entertaining friends. Her home is currently owned by a yellow lab, Cindy; a black lab, Daphne; an Italian greyhound, Luigi; the four cats: Pudge, Grandma, Pinkerton and Percy; two button quails; a bearded dragon; a cage full of parakeets; and, her new addition, a baby girl named Melissa.

Ellen Howell - Veterinary Technician

Ellen is new to the field of veterinary technology and is very happy to be a part of the KBAH team. She says: "I get to learn something new every day and enjoy doing it. This is a wonderful place to work, the animals keep me smiling and the people aren't bad either!"

In her spare time she enjoys flower gardening, scrap booking, curling up with a good novel, watching movies, and spending time with friends and family. She loves animals, summertime and the characters from Winnie the Pooh.

She shares her home with her husband Tim, her children Stephanie and Christopher, a cat named Hobbes, and a lovable golden retriever named Samson. She hopes to add a bird or two to the family in the near future and has become very partial to cockatoos.

Karen Miceli - Veterinary Technician

Karen is the newest member of Kensington Bird and Animal Hospital, having started in the summer of 2006 as a veterinary technician. She is currently going to school part time to finish her degree in veterinary technology. Along with work and school, she enjoys drawing, painting, and reading fantasy novels. Her love for scaly, crawly, cold-blooded creatures has made her a kind of reptile enthusiast (and accidental bearded dragon breeder). The only living creature that really gives her the creeps would be turkeys (except on Thanksgiving!).

Her non-human family consists of Chico (Severe Macaw), Wacko (Double Yellow-headed Amazon), Bart (mommy bearded dragon), Bowser (daddy bearded dragon), Bodey (baby bearded dragon, 1 out of 85), Sparky (three-legged cat), and Piccolo (ball python).

Kaitlin Danielecki - Veterinary Assistant

Kaitlin started volunteering at Kensington Bird and Animal Hospital her freshman year of high school, after which she completed four years of animal sciences at Lyman Hall. Not too long afterward, she was hired and working full time during summer vacations. She attended the University of New Haven briefly, majored in biology, and even made the Dean's list her first semester. Now, she is a veterinary assistant in training to become a full time veterinary technician. When she's not busy working at KBAH, she enjoys target shooting (never animals!), drawing, and studying to become a technician. She is the proud mother of a beautiful male Solomon Island Eclectus (Dallas) who will be turning 4 this September, 4 budgies (Cocinella, Diane and her two children, Cheeks and Dolce), and Shadow, her chocolate lab. She likes to think of herself as a "glass is half full" kind of girl and thanks God every day for the great job she has doing what she loves and all of the opportunities she has had and will have along the way.

Jessica Thomas - Practice Manager

Having a lifelong passion for animals, Jessica attended the University of Connecticut and graduated in 1996 with a B.S. in Animal Science. After nearly nine years' experience as a veterinary technician, she joined Kensington Bird and Animal Hospital as the practice manager in November of 2005. Jessica is thrilled to work with such dedicated and experienced staff and is committed to continually increasing the level of customer care offered at the practice. She always welcomes feedback from clients regarding suggestions for improvements. She shares her home with her partner Theresa, her son Ethan, and their many creatures including five dogs, six cats, two parrots, four outdoor chickens and one indoor "house" chicken named Phoebe.