Our Board
Kelly Pitts
Founder
From a young age, I have always had a strong love for animals. At the age of 5 my dad got me a German Shepard. She was my best friend. I would lay down with her and help her eat, not that she needed it, but she happily obliged. At some point I moved to a very rural area where stray dogs were everywhere! We played a guessing game in our home about how many strays would I bring home. The list was very long at our local vet clinic. I would take the animal in, put fliers out (this was before social media) and most times I would find the original owner or find a loving home for the seemingly unwanted pet. This went on for years. I felt it was my calling.
As I got older, I went to college and worked full time as a dog groomer while in school. I loved it and still do to this day. I graduated college with a degree in Criminology. I did an internship with Greene County’s Juvenile department, working with kids detained in detention. I worked one on one with juveniles and their families in the probation department. I then applied to the Police Cadet Academy and successfully graduated and as the only female. It was a blast! After all of this, I still wanted to work with animals. One thing that was an almost constant while working with the juveniles during my internship, they loved their pets, if they were fortunate enough to have them. Their pet was almost always their emotional support animal.
My husband and I have our own fur babies. We do not have children as I am not able to due to a battle with Breast Cancer. When people ask if we have kids, we always say yes, we have our loving fur babies that are our children, and we wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you for taking the time to check out our website and hopefully you can help us in this wonderful journey of helping families in need.
Dr. Ryan Pitts
Treasurer
Dr. Ryan Pitts serves as the president at Orthopedic Associates. He is board-certified in orthopedic surgery and is one of the few surgeons in St. Louis subspecialty board certified in Sports Medicine through the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is fellowship trained in Sports Medicine from the Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Pitts specializes in Sports Medicine, arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder, knee, and hip, total joint replacements including outpatient joint replacements, and treatment of work-related injuries.
Dr. Pitts graduated from medical school at St. Louis University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. He completed his fellowship training at Washington University School of Medicine.
Ryan is the loving husband of the founder, Kelly Pitts. Ryan has always been an animal lover from a young age. He is excited to be a part of this organization to see all the good work it will do.
Lori
Secretary
Lori met the founder of Zoey’s Four Legged Friends back in 2000 as Kelly’s manager as a dog groomer. After a short time, they realized they were neighbors, became fast friends and have been best friends since. Lori is a loving mother to two grown children and is happily married to her husband John, of 25 years!
Lori started her career as a dog groomer in the 90’s. After working for a corporation, she went on to open her own groom shop. She was very successful for over 15 years, making long lasting friendships along the way. She decided she wanted something different, so she went on to work as a groomer at the Fair Grove Vet clinic. She couldn’t be happier! Another reason she loves working at the clinic is she gets to see and learn about the exotic animals that come in. Who wouldn’t want to work there! Lori has her beloved dogs and the newest member of her family rescue, a pony named Timmy.
Lori’s dedication to her career has led her to help others in need in the community. She has served on animal abuse cases trying to bring the monsters to justice. She has done rescue and foster work including currently caring for 5 stray kittens. Lori's passion for animals' shines through in everything she does, whether it's grooming dogs, caring for her own pets, or helping animals in need in the community. Her kindness and compassion are evident in the way she treats both people and animals, and her dedication to Zoey's Four Legged Friends is truly inspiring. Lori is a true animal lover and a valuable asset to the foundation. Her friendship, loyalty, and love for animals make her an amazing person inside and out.
Dr. Casey Talbot
Owner of Fair Grove Vet Clinic & Voter
Dr. Casey Talbot received his bachelor's degree in biology from Missouri Valley College in 2007. He received his Master of Public Health and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Missouri. He has been with Fair Grove Veterinary Service since graduation from vet school in 2012. Dr. Talbot enjoys both large animal and small animal medicine and surgery.
Dr. Talbot spent most of his childhood in the Snake River Valley in Southeast Idaho on a small dairy farm. Just prior to graduating high school, he and his family moved to Southwest Missouri, and he has enjoyed being in Missouri since. Dr. Talbot started working at the Fair Grove Vet clinic when he moved, and he is now part owner of the clinic. Dr. Talbot has a variety of pets including 3 dogs, a cat, 4 horses and several chickens. He spends most of his free time enjoying time with his family, which includes his wife Elizabeth and six young children. When he can escape for some free time of his own, he greatly enjoys hunting and fishing.
Dr. Talbot is thrilled to be involved with Zoey’s Four Legged Friends. He knows firsthand being a vet in a rural area, comes with euthanizing animals that could be saved if only the pet owner could afford it. He can’t wait to see all the great work that Zoey’s Four Legged Friends will do.
Dr. Zachery Whitehead, DVM
Owner of Ellisville Vet Clinic & Voter
Dr. Whitehead grew up in the Washington, Missouri area where he attended Saint Francis Borgia Regional High School. He then attended the University of Missouri where he completed his undergraduate studies and received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree in 2008. After receiving his D.V.M. degree, he completed an intensive small animal internship at Central Texas Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Austin Texas. There, he received additional training in such fields as surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology, dermatology, and emergency and critical care.
Dr. Whitehead, his wife Melissa, and their daughter Brynlee live with their three dogs: Weller - a rottweiler; Wendy - a pomeranian; Payton - a beagle, and their 4 cats, Deja, Palmer, Pearl, and Daphne. They also have two morgan horses: Boo and Strawberry. He is a diehard St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis City SC, and Missouri Tiger fan. Dr. Whitehead became owner of Ellisville Veterinary Hospital in September of 2019.
When approached about the foundation, he was immediately on board. He truly believes in Zoey’s Four Legged Friends mission and wants to help as many families and pet’s as possible.
Julia McGill
Voter
Julia has 23 years of experience working in veterinary medicine. She started shadowing Dr. Parnell at Animal Care Clinic at 12 years old. Julia started out working in the kennels, cleaning, assisting staff, eventually working her way up to a veterinarian assistant from 2001-2008. She graduated from High School early from Branson High School. While in high school, she was dual enrolled at Southwest Missouri State. She graduated with a degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She applied to Missouri, Kansas State and Virginia-Maryland colleges for Vet school and was accepted to all of them. She started out at Mizzou and was there for a short period before transferring to Virginia State. She dropped out to care for her sick mother and in 2012 moved back to the U.S.A. and found her way back to veterinary medicine at Banfield in CA before returning to Missouri.
She got a job at Wilson’s Creek Animal Hospital in Springfield, MO in 2015, and while employed with them, enrolled in the Veterinary Technology degree program at Crowder College. She graduated in 2020 with her Associates degree in Veterinary Technology and moved on to Fair Grove Vet Clinic for a more challenging environment, in Fair Grove, Mo. She was hired as the Lead Technician initially before rapidly moving into a Hospital Manager role. She treasures the ability to maintain a personal relationship with Fair Grove Vet clinic clients and her patients. Everyday, for her, is a fresh slate to make a difference with someone’s cherished companion. Her ability to positively impact their clients and provide personalized, gold-standard care to her patients is her ultimate day-to-day goal.
When she learned about this Charity, she immediately knew she wanted to be involved. Unfortunately, working in a vet clinic in a rural area, she sees countless euthanasias due to animals being admitted in a crisis state and owners struggling to meet the financial demands of necessary emergency care. She is excited to be able to let her patients know that they do not have to lose their beloved pet, because of the support of Zoey’s Four Legged Friends.