Meet The Staff

Dr. Craig Welbourne

Dr. Craig Welbourne grew up on a farm in Southwest Iowa. His late Uncle Dale Welbourne, who had a large animal veterinary practice in his hometown of Neola, inspired him to enter the profession. He graduated from Tri-Center High School in 1967, and received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University in 1973. Dr. Welbourne practiced small animal medicine in Nashville, TN and Sioux City, IA until 1977. He has been at Oak Forest Animal Clinic since 1978. Dr. Welbourne's special interests include using natural and homeopathic remedies to compliment traditional veterinary treatments, and in encouraging preventative medicine. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking and hiking with his wife Sue. He is thrilled to be a grandfather and loves spending time with his four grandchildren!

Dr. Ben Welbourne

Dr. Ben Welbourne grew up in Western Springs, IL and attended Lyons Township High School in La Grange. He developed his passion for veterinary medicine by working at Oak Forest Animal Clinic and other clinics in the area during that time. After high school, Dr. Ben went on to Iowa State University for his undergraduate degree. After three years in Iowa, Dr. Ben received early admittance to the University of Illinois Veterinary School in 1998 and started there that Fall. Graduating with honors in 2002, Dr. Ben went on to do a rotating internship in medicine and surgery at Florida Veterinary Specialists in Tampa, Florida. In 2003, he returned to Illinois and began practicing at Oak Forest Animal Clinic. Dr. Ben's special interests include orthopedic and soft tissue surgery as well as ultrasound. Ultrasound has developed into a valuable diagnostic tool and Dr. Ben continues to train in the latest advances in this field. Dr. Ben is also a sitting member on the board for the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association. He aims to help make the veterinary profession in the Chicago area the best it can be. Apart from veterinary medicine, his other interests include hiking, biking and golf. Most importantly, he likes to spend quality time with his wife and two kids.

Dr. Megan Welbourne

Dr. Megan was born and raised in St. Croix, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands. She left the island in 1993 to attend undergraduate school at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine after working with several veterinarians during college. After graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology in 1997, she attended University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon receiving her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2001, Dr. Megan practiced for a year in the Western suburbs of Chicago, then moved down to Tampa, FL and spent a year practicing there. In 2003, she moved back to Chicago and joined Oak Forest Animal Clinic. Dr. Megan's special interests include dermatology and internal medicine. When not at work, she enjoys time with her daughter Sydney, her son Reed, her dog Mojo. She also likes to hike in the woods, read and cook.

Dr. Kyle Huizinga

Dr. Kyle J. Huizinga grew up in Homewood, Illinois where he graduated from HF High School. While attending the University of Illinois as a biology major he began to truly develop his interest in veterinary medicine by working as an assistant for his father at Homewood Animal Hospital during breaks from school. After graduating with honors from University of Illinois Veterinary School in 2002, he went back to work with his father until the practice was sold in 2011 upon his father’s retirement. Dr. Huizinga then moved on to Archer Veterinary Clinic in Lemont for 5 plus years before joining the team at Oak Forest Animal Clinic. Dr. Huizinga has special interests in dentistry and soft tissue surgery. Outside of work he enjoys traveling with his wife Courtney and their dogs Raven, Halas and Ollie, as well as golfing and writing/performing/recording music.

Sharon Wheeler

Sharon has been an Oak Forest Animal Clinic employee since 1989. She grew up in Midlothian and lives in Orland Park with her husband Brian and her very spoiled Chinese Crested named Annie. 2017 is an exciting year for Sharon as her son Brett and daughter-in-law Natalie will be welcoming her first grandchild.  She also has a cute Grand-Dog named Bailey! When not at work, Sharon enjoys reading, surfing the web and taking long walks with Annie.

Terri P.

Terri is a 2001 graduate of the Joliet Junior College Veterinary Technician program. She has been working with us ever since. Terri grew up in New Lenox and now lives in Mokena with her husband Rich. Terri has two amazing adult children Kristin and Rick. She has a spitfire of a cat named Grace and a super cute dog named T.J. When not working, Terri loves to entertain friends.

Debbie T.

Debbie has been working at Oak Forest Animal Clinic since 1991. She grew up in Markham and now lives in Plainfield with her husband Dan, her son Cody and her daughter Ava. They have two canine children as well, Coleman and Hanna. In her free time, Debbie enjoys reading and working out.

Kaitlin Burns

Kaitlin has been an Oak Forest employee since 2008. She graduated Tinley Park High School in 2011 and has been with us full time ever since.  Kaitlin has had a lot of excitement in her life lately as she got married to her wonderful husband DJ, welcomed her son Deegan and purchased her first house!  When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family. 

Stacy P.

Stacy came to OFAC in July 2012. She grew up in the Orland area and now lives in Tinley Park with her husband Mike and her identical twin girls. Stacy received a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Governors State University in 2009. She has a cat Bear that she adopted after she was hit by a car and had a leg amputation. When not busy working or taking care of her girls, Stacy enjoys spending time with her family and enjoying the outdoors.

Julie Penrod

Julie started with us in the summer of 2015. She enjoys reception and technician work at OFAC because she loves the interaction with clients and patients. She lives in Tinley Park and enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, family and friends. Julie has a Mastiff mix named Rory.

Linda R.

Linda graduated from Joliet Junior College in 2009 with a Veterinary Technician degree and started working at OFAC in March of 2015. She works with us part time while also working a full-time sales job in the recycling business. When not working, Linda loves spending time with her two cats Sammie, a domestic shorthair kitty and Kylie, a domestic longhair kitty.

Sara Pretto

Sara is an Oak Forest native who has brought her pets to the Oak Forest Animal Clinic since she was 12. She joined our staff in February of 2016. Sarah is a Certified Veterinary Technician who graduated from Fox College in 2011. Outside of work, Sara enjoys spending time with her two dogs Bella, a Chihuahua and Maggie Mae, a Rat Terrier Mix that she adopted from Fox College and her boyfriend Mario.

McKinley O.

McKinley started working in our kennels in the Summer of 2015. She currently attends Moraine Valley and hopes to get into the Joliet Junior College Veterinary Technician Program to become a certified veterinary technician. McKinley enjoys working at OFAC and she has 3 dogs, Wilson – an English Bulldog, Rocky – a German Shephard, a border Collie named Stella and a bunny named Glen.

Karen Cloona

Karen started working in our kennels in early 2016. Karen grew up in Clonmel in County Tipperary, Ireland and had numerous dogs and guinea pigs growing up. She also worked at an equestrian center before moving to the USA to marry her spouse. Karen has a cat named Kaz. When not working, she enjoys gaming, arts and crafts, cycling and cooking.

Megan Crusing

Megan has worked in our kennels since 2013 while attending Lincoln Way North and through college. She is now a full time dental assistant but loves animals so much that she couldn’t leave us so she works here part time. Megan has two dogs Tank, a Pit mix and Bow, a Hound mix and Jack, a yellow tabby cat. When not working, Megan enjoys spending time with family and friends, running and doing gymnastics.