Meet Our Team

Dr. Jacob Lucas grew up helping out around the clinic with his dad and our founder Dr. Mark Lucas. He graduated from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture in 2012, with a B.S. degree in Animal Science and then graduated from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

His interests include dentistry, ultrasound, nutrition, and surgery. Dr. Jake and his wife Amanda purchased the practice from his father in 2018. You can hear Dr. Jake on KWRE 73AM for a live call in radio show on the 4th Monday of each month. He will cover relevant topics in veterinary medicine and answer any questions from callers. 

Dr. Lucas has two Great Pyrenees, a Newfoundland and two cats: Louie, Kimber, Lilly, Margo and Karmel. His hobbies/interests include woodworking, camping, fishing, kayaking, and spending time with his wife, Amanda and son, Nathan.

Amanda Lucas has been with Animal Talk since May 2009 and is our practice manager. In 2012 she graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Animal Science. In 2014 she graduated from Columbia College with a B.S in Business Administration Management and Marketing.

 Amanda has  two Great Pyrenees, a Newfoundland and two cats: Louie, Kimber, Lilly, Margo, and Karmel. Her hobbies/interests include cooking, camping, fishing, hiking, and spending time with her husband Dr Lucas and son, Nathan.

Dr. Sarno joined the Animal Talk team in May 2022. He was born and raised in Southeast Missouri and found a love for Animals at a young age. It was during his time at the University of Missouri that he met Dr. Jacob Lucas and Amanda. Dr Sarno graduated in 2015 along with Dr Lucas from the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He decided to take a job in Las Vegas, NV. Shortly after moving there, he met his future wife Jessica. Prior to moving back to Missouri he spent a year in Wisconsin in a small animal emergency and critical care internship. Dr. Sarno had a standing offer for a position here at Animal Talk, so when Dr. Sarno and his wife decided they wanted to raise their children in the Midwest, the St. Charles area made perfect sense. 

Dr. Sarno’s professional areas of interest include ultrasound, emergency, oncology, and neurology. Outside of work he enjoys playing the keyboard for the worship team at church, golfing, cooking, and spending time with his family. His family includes his wife Jessica and their two daughters, Hadalynn and Emeri. His four legged children include Luka a Siberian Husky, Rue a Chihuahua and Mr. Edgar the cat

Brittany is happily married and has 2 cats Luna and Moka. Brittany and her husband enjoy gaming, watching anime, and anything fantasy related. She also enjoys thrifting and going on adventures with friends.

Jaclyn started with us while in school for interior design. She has remained with us as a weekend receptionist since her graduation. Jaclyn enjoys spending time with family and friends. She has 2 dogs, Franklin and Willow and a cat named Ellie. 

Tana has only been with Animal Talk for a short time but in that time she has made a huge difference in reception. Tana loves watching the birds on her feeders and loves the outdoors. She would love to be a grandma but for the time being she is happy with her surrogate grandchild, Nathan, the son of Amanda and Dr. Lucas. 

Tana has two beautiful daughters that also work at Animal Talk. She has been with her amazing husband Todd for 26 years. They have 2 dogs, Oshie and Macklin and 3 cats, Bitty, Pumpkin and Meep.

Alsiah graduated from HIckey Vet tech instituted in 2016 and joined a small practice in Troy Missouri upon graduation. Feeling like she needed to find a practice that could advance her skills, she started exploring options of other local clinics when she found Dr Lucas and Animal Talk. Alisha has also waited tables for the past 10 years at Stefaninas in Wentzville. She is known around the clinic for being easy going and spontaneous. Alisha loves last minute road trips, camping, hiking, and being with family and friends. 

Alisha has one younger sister, Shelby. She also has 3 rescues, 2 cats and 1 dog. Mr. Kitty and Turtle are two very loving cats that are always ready to curl up. Drew, her young pit mix is always ready to be her companion for those last minute adventures. You can find Alisha all over the clinic but she loves being in surgery. 

Hannah is currently working part time as she is currently in veterinary technician school. That being said makes sure to learn anything and everything that she can around the clinic. She really enjoys surgery and is the main orthopedic surgery technician for Dr. Lucas. She is also a volunteer and foster for Stray Paws and serves as our main coordinator for their patients. She enjoys cooking, float trips, taking the boat to the river, and spending time with family and friends. She has 3 dogs, Ryley a chocolate lab, Squid a mixed rescue, and Aurora a mixed rescue.

Katie came to us via No Time To Spare Animal Rescue, fear not she is still a very active volunteer for the rescue. She started like many of our employees in reception but made it clear she wanted to learn more and eventually moved to veterinary technician. While family is number one for Katie she enjoys rescue work and is our main coordinator for No Time To Spare patients. Her hobbies and interests include crafting, and spending time with her family. She has 3 little girls all 2 years apart that keep her and her husband very busy. She also has 1 dog named Lucy  and 2 cats, Mac and Kevin. 

After high school Ava considered a career in Veterinary Medicine and applied at Animal Talk. She was haired as a receptionist and has worked her way to being a technician. She can still be found filling in in reception from time to time. Ava comes from a large family, she has 5 brothers and 1 sister. The family has 1 dog, a Great Pyrenees named Queenie. Ava enjoys anything outside, playing sports, and spending time with family and friends.

Bailey came to us after going through tech assisting school. She started as an assistant but it was clear she was capable of more and she started training for technician. Bailey has 3 dogs and 1 cat. She is the middle child and has 2 brothers. Bailey enjoys reading, traveling, and going on walks.

Gabbi started with Animal Talk as a receptionist but it was clear she was eager to learn and wanted to be working with patients. After learning the ropes in reception, she moved to a technician in training. She has always found dentistry interesting and is our main dental technician. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her dogs, hiking, camping, and building legos. 

Gabbi has two dogs and ask anyone here and they will tell you that they are her babies. Halsey is a Golden Retriever and Kimber is a black Labrador Retriever. 

Jada started here part time after school as a kennel attendant/ tech assistant.  After going full time she moved from tech assistant to veterinary technician in training.  She has 2 cats, Bones who is 12 and Sushi who is almost 1. Sushi came into the clinic through rescue and Jada could not resist taking her home. She loves being outdoors and going hiking or spending time at the park with her girlfriend. When it gets cold out she loves to read and solve puzzles. She is obsessed with food and is always up for trying new food or restaurants. 

Krissy was a technician for Dr. Pratt at Lake St Louis Pet Care till he retired and closed the practice. She then joined Animal Talk and has been a wonderful addition. She volunteers as a foster for both of the rescues we work with,  No Time To Spare and Stray Paws Rescue. She has 2 German Shorthair Pointers named Remi and Oakley. Krissy also has a long term foster name Ryder who is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. She enjoys spending her free time outside or down at the farm with her animals. 

Yvonne Sullivan has been with Animal Talk since 2013. She can either be found in reception or working as a technician. She has an English Bulldog, a Miniature Poodle and 3 cats. Her hobbies/interests include cooking, baking, fishing, and spending time with her 3 daughters and husband. 

Courtney joined Animal Talk as a receptionist but has since become a technician assistant. Courtney has a background in dog training that comes in handy while working with our patients.  Her hobbies and interests include dog training, hiking, trail riding, floating, painting, and spending time with family. Courtney currently has 3 dogs and 2 cats but has had a variety of pets over the years. 

 Shelby is our main boarding attendant and in her short time here has become very popular with our regular boarding patients. Since we do not have a large boarding area, she can be found helping technicians with patient care. You may think she resembles our receptionist Tana or our technician Alisha and you would be correct. Tana is her mother and Alisha is her sister. Shelby has 3 cats and 2 dogs: Bitty, Pumpkin, Meep, Oshie, and Macklin. She enjoys going on walks and baking. 

Amanda Wisnisewski has been with Animal Talk since 2015 and can be found in our grooming salon. She has over 17 years experience as a pet groomer/stylist. She attended St. Charles Community College. She has 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 rabbit. Outside of work Amanda likes to spend time with her kids and also enjoys scrap booking. 

Katie can be found either helping our groomer, Amanda, or helping with patient care. She is currently in school for physical therapy and is considering additional training for canine physical therapy. Outside of work Katie enjoys spending time with her dogs and her family. She also enjoys coaching youth softball in the summer. Her dogs include Cali and her family dog Willow. The family also has 1 cat named Tippy.

Lori retired early from Francis Howell School District but thought she needed a part time job. A mutual friend suggested she apply and the rest is history. Her main job is helping with managing wellness plans but she can be found helping out in reception when needed. Lori and her husband have a daughter. Lori has a grand dog named moose and recently became a grandma to a beautiful little girl. Lori enjoys traveling with family and friends. 

 Matt started as a tech in training in 2017, however since this was always a part time job, he moved to boarding assistant. He worked in our boarding facility on the weekends for several years as well as doing some office work. Currently Matt works in the office and can also be found helping in reception on the weekends. Matt likes to joke around and is known as the king of dad jokes around the clinic. Outside of work, Matt likes going to and watching Cardinals games and going to concerts. He has 6 dogs, Wallen, Lyric, Paisley, Melody, Mozzie, and Jersey.

Chris has been with Animal Talk since 2009. She primarily worked as a receptionist but with needing more time for family Chris now works on the weekends as a kennel attendant. Chris has 8 dogs, 5 cats, and 3 horses. Her hobbies/interests include horse back riding and ATV riding.