Dr. Judith Funk:

Dr. Judi is the oldest of the 9 Funk Daughters. Her father, Dr. William Funk, started Funk Animal Hospital in 1957. Dr. Judi, along with all of her sisters, were very much a part of the practice from the age of 5 when she received a nickle a day for helping to clean exam tables.

She grew up learning to clean kennels, answer the phone for appointments and frequently helping her father and the other Veterinarians in the practice during exams and surgery. She looked into other careers initially but found herself repeatedly drawn back to Veterinary Medicine. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1982. She joined her father's practice as it was celebrating it's 25th year caring for pets.

In 2003 she left to start her own practice, Compassionate Care Animal Hospital. In 2007 she purchased her father's practice and in November 2009 the two practices were combined under Compassionate Care Animal Hospital.

She has 2 birth sons,2 adopted daughters and 6 grandchildren. Raising 3 of the grandchildren keeps her very busy and active when not at the hospital. Her oldest granddaughter, Nicole, is already following the family tradition of working at the hospital.

Dr. Sara Williams:

Dr. Sara has worked with Compassionate Care Animal Hospital since the spring of 2008.  Prior to that, she was working as a relief veterinarian in dozens of different veterinary hospitals throughout the Twin Cities area.  After working in so many different hospitals, Dr. Sara was so impressed with the staff and clients at Compassionate Care that she decided to stay on full time.

Dr. Sara grew up in a small town in western Minnesota.  She graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in Microbiology and from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.  Dr. Sara's main interest in vet school was infectious disease, particularly zoonotic diseases (those spread from animals to people).  She pursued a Master's degree in Public Health.  In 2007, she received an MPH in infectious disease epidemiology.  Dr. Sara discovered the first crow with West Nile Virus in Minnesota.  She also worked for the government studying avian influenza, rabies and histoplasmosis.

Dr. Sara and her family live in Hanover.  Her husband, 3 yr old daughter and 1 yr old son are active in the community.  They coordinate the annual river cleanup and do weekly water quality monitoring on the Crow River.  They are also part of the Hanover Harvest Festival committee.  In her free time, Dr. Sara enjoys trips to the cabin, taking the vintage Airstream camping, knitting and chasing her children, 3 cats and a dog around the yard.