Kristin was born and raised in Murphy, NC. She received her Balchelors of Science in Animal Science with a Pre-Veterinary degree from NC State in 2013. After graduation, Kristin was happy to return to Murphy and start working in small animal practices as a Veterinary Assistant. Kristin has over 11 years experience in the field and is now a Registered Veterinary Technician. She has two amazing dogs that are very dedicated to their Mom -an Akita named Ser Jorah Bear, a Norwegian Elkhound mix Ammo, and a tuxedo cat (Jorah's shadow) Geiger aka the Formidable Mr. MooMoo. Kristin also has two horses Dutch and Major.

Hannah was born and raised in Hiawassee, Georgia. She has had cats since a very young age and had 5 Miniature Pinschers growing up. Hannah always knew that she wanted to work with animals and be a voice for them. Hannah comes to NOAH with three years experience in the field and tends to have a soft side for cats. She surprised her family one day when she brought home, Carmen, a sweet, loving Hound mix who needed a forever home. Hannah currently has several cats and two dogs, Gwen, a 15 year old mix, and Kiana, a 1 year old Siberian Husky. She is currently enrolled at San Juan College and plans on getting her degree in Veterinary Technology, specializing in internal medicine. 

Originally from Florida, Jennifer Hower has been working in the veterinary field for approximately 15 years. While she has worked in many hospital roles, being a Veterinary Assistant is her passion. She loves being the voice for those that don’t have one. 

Jennifer lives with her beautiful family in Hayesville, NC including her husband Chris of almost 9 years, their very outgoing and energetic 8 year old son Skyler, 4 dogs and 3 cats.

​

When Jennifer is not at work she enjoys hanging out with the family and going on adventures. She loves reading and binge watching TV shows as well as watching her husband play video games. They are huge NASCAR fans so watching races or camping out at them is a favorite family pastime.

Caroline grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to the west coast for college. She graduated with a bachelors of arts in interdisciplinary humanities with a focus in European studies and a psychology minor. Following graduation she received a grant to help teach English in Germany for two years. After moving back to the U.S., she lived in Pennsylvania and Minnesota before landing in North Carolina.

She began volunteering at a local animal hospital in December 2020 and then began working there full time in February 2021. She joined NOAH in October 2024. In her free time she enjoys reading, baking and spending time outdoors. She lives in Brasstown with her partner Larry and their three dogs: Lobo, Vecino and Ruby.

Paige is a bit of a cat enthusiast. She has harbored a deep love of cats since reading her first issue of CatFancy in 1999. The cat-obsessed seed only grew when TY Beanie Babies released their first calico bean-filled cat, Chip. Paige had to have her hands on each one issued and still proudly owns her collection today. Paige grew up in a tiny town just outside of Kansas City, Missouri where she would routinely come home with stray kittens, rabbits, and dogs that she found roaming around the neighborhood. It wasn't uncommon for her to hold backyard burials for birds her cat mistook for supper. Although Paige has only worked with cats and dogs she has a special place in her heart for reptiles. She especially loves turtles and tortoises. Paige is known to shed actual tears when looking at turtles due to the sincerity of their beady little eyes. Paige began working at NOAH in December of 2022.

Paige’s favorite things outside of work include: Her son Maddox, her other son, a gray long-haired cat named Murph, chips and salsa, drawing, reading and adding things to her online shopping cart but never committing to the check out.

Born and raised in LaGrange, Ga, Tracie moved to Blairsville in Sept 2013 with her husband, Joe. Tracie's first job was at a boarding and grooming facility in 1999 where she continued to work on and off for the next 12 years. In April of 2018, Tracie received her certificate of completion from Penn Foster as a Certified Dog Obedience Instructor/Trainer. Tracie has always had a passion for all living creatures and considers herself truly lucky to have a career doing what she loves.  She says her greatest joy comes from working with the pets that are too shy or afraid and seeing them open up after some love and patience. When Tracie's not working, you can find her spending time with her fur kids and husband. They love being outdoors hiking, kayaking, camping or visiting family back home. Tracie and Joe have 3 dogs, Goose, a 6 year old Lab mix, Vinny, a 1 year old Mix breed, and Opie a 9 year old Hound mix.  They also have 2 cats, Bahc and Punky. 

Deana was raised in Lawrenceville, GA where she graduated from Central Gwinnet High School.  She and her husband have four children who all served in the United States Marine Corps and are Grandparents to four beautiful babies. She is also a “fur mom” to three dogs: Mollie, Artie, and Jarvis. She worked in Corporate America and also owned two businesses of her own.  After 10 years of owning/operating both a dry cleaning business and an online motorcycle parts business she decided to retire from entrepreneurship.  She was a homemaker for three years and started going stir crazy. She was already using Nottely Oaks Animal Hospital to care for her dogs, so one day on a whim asked if they needed any help.  Within the year she was hired as a CSR and she LOVES HER JOB!!!

Heather was raised in Stuart, Florida where she graduated from South Fork High School and attended Medvance Institute where she studied to be a Medical Assistant. Heather has worked in Customer and Patient/Client services for over 30 years. While in South Florida she worked in Restaurant Management and as a Medical Office Supervisor. In 2017 she and her wonderful husband, George, son Orlando, and both of their French Bulldogs, Mammy and Sarducci, decided to take a leap of faith and head to the beautiful mountains of North Georgia where they fell in love with the slower pace and scenery.  Heather has always had a love for all creatures big and small so when the opportunity arose in 2023 for her to join NOAH as a CSR she jumped right on board without hesitation and has been very grateful to be part of such a wonderful team. In Heather's free time she enjoys creating different styles of art, cooking, dancing, going for hikes, photography, listening to music, making people laugh, and spending time with her family, pups and friends.

Ciara was born in Warsaw, NY, but quickly fell in love with Georgia when her parents purchased a home in Blairsville in 1995. In 2005 she permanently put down roots in Blairsville, and she doesn’t ever plan to leave.  The youngest of four children with a large age gap, Ciara learned to find the most joy and companionship in animals.

With four years experience as a Veterinary Assistant, Ciara is our resident cat whisperer and groomer as well.  While cats tend to be first to steal her heart, she's perfectly content to cuddle with the pooches as well. She has several cats that call her Mom.