DR. ERICA HANSEN, DVM  
     
  Veterinary medicine was always my calling; I was an animal lover from birth bringing home all sorts of pets and wildlife to nurse to health.  I was very fortunate to have wonderfully patient parents that encouraged my love and dedication to animals, no matter what strange critter I dragged home.  I grew up in Colorado Springs, and I am a mountain girl at heart.  I love everything outdoors; camping, hiking, climbing and biking.  I am not really sure how I ended up in Illinois hundreds of miles from mountains but I am enjoying my life here very much with my fiancé Dave.   I currently have a chocolate Labrador and German Short Hair Pointer mix named Scooby.  I also have a long haired calico named Culpepper who is an evil genius and loves to torment Scooby. My greatest love in this field is exotic animals and I even think about getting into zoo medicine some day.