Foster Animal Hospital’s Dedicated Veterinary Staff

Joanna Cagle, Practice Manager

Joanna Cagle joined Foster Animal Hospital in 2001 as practice manager. She obtained her B.A. in business management and history from North Carolina State University in 1977.

Foster Animal Hospital has been a part of Joanna's life since 1958 as her father is Dr. Tom Foster, who founded the hospital in October 1958. Taking care of pets has been a large part of her life personally. She spent many days and summers working in the hospital with her dad. After college she spent 23 years in the banking industry where she loved helping people achieve their goals. When the opportunity arose, she joined her brother, Dr. Steve Foster, in managing the daily operations of the hospital. Her passion for excellence in the care of our patients and their human owners is a priority in her daily responsibilities.

She is married and has two daughters and one granddaughter. She has had many "furry" children over the years and currently has one dog and one cat.

Contact Joanna Cagle.

Melynda Winiarski, Office Manager

Melynda is originally from Middletown, Connecticut and moved to Concord, North Carolina in 2004. Soon after, her childhood love of animals drew her to pursue a career in the veterinary field. Her pursuit and experience brought her to Foster Animal Hospital in 2010 as Office Manager. Melynda's care and concern for animals ensures that exceptional customer service and quality medical care are provided to all of the hospital's clients and patients. Her love of veterinary medicine has grown over the years and Melynda is now pursuing her Associate in Applied Science Degree to become a Licensed Veterinary Technician. She aims to use her skills and knowledge to guarantee that every visit delivers the best veterinary experience possible.

Melynda believes in the importance of community service and mentorship and seizes many opportunities to volunteer. Most recently, she has joined the Cabarrus County Relay for Life event as a committee member. When Melynda is not working or volunteering, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé, Allen, and their Rat Terrier, Amadeus. Some of her hobbies and interests include camping, fishing, singing, painting, reading, writing, cooking and baking.

Contact Melynda Winiarski.

Sharon, Licensed Veterinary Technician

Sharon graduated from Central Carolina Community College in 1992 with an Associate in Applied Science degree. She became a member of the Foster Animal Hospital family that same year and was their first Licensed Veterinary Technician.

Sharon spent some of her childhood years growing up in a rural area. The mindset was different then; pets were kept outside and only received rabies vaccinations. Losing a beloved dog to many preventable issues spurred a desire to learn more about veterinary medicine. She spends her days giving nursing care to hospitalized pets, passing her knowledge on to others, and teaching everyone how to give the best care possible to their furry loved ones. She enjoys surgery with our wonderful doctors, and her favorite part is dental cleanings.

Traveling with her family or friends and having exciting new adventures has become a new passion. She has one very lovable rescued dog named Cassidy. Cassidy enjoys coming to work with her mom and now that she is entering her senior years she is an improved senior thanks to Dr. Steve and his rehabilitation sessions. Her philosophy: A person's life just would not be the same without a beloved pet.

Kenya, Technician Assistant

Kenya has been with Foster Animal Hospital as a full-time technician since July of 2000 and now serves her team as a Technician Team Lead. She is a Kannapolis native and loves this area with its small-town feel but with city life close by when needed.

Growing up Kenya's past time consisted of bringing home the strays she would find in the neighborhood. Enjoying the satisfaction of either mending them back to health, finding them new homes, or adding them to her family is the reason Kenya decided to pursue a career in the veterinary field.

Kenya has a passion for emergency situations, critical care, learning new medical procedures and client education. She knows the more we educate our clients the better outcome we have with our patients. She loves the everyday challenges that come with never knowing what kind of case is going to present itself today.

Kenya currently lives with her "mini me" of a daughter, Ceciley, an Italian Greyhound, Logan, a Yorkshire Terrier, Flynn Rider and two cats, NayNay and Tolee. Kenya believes that a house is not a home without a dog. Life is Good!

Candace, Technician Assistant

Candace graduated high school with honors from First Assembly Christian School in 2004. She received her Veterinary Assistant degree through Penn Foster Career School and is now pursuing her Veterinary Technician associate's degree. Candace joined Foster Animal Hospital in 2008 in the resort area, and has transitioned into working as an exam room and treatment assistant.

Candace strives to work with animals and pet owners towards better care and education, and she eagerly accepts further opportunities to learn and to serve our patients. Seeing the bond between animals and their owners is what makes every day worth it for her. Prolonging that bond brings her happiness as well as happiness to the animals and their owners.

Candace has always lived in a zoo: four dogs, five cats, her mom, sister, and daughter. As a single working mother, she credits family and friends for all their help. Her hobbies are being outdoors, reading a good book, working out, and watching movies.

Keisha, Technician Assistant

Keisha moved to North Carolina from Virginia in 2009 after graduating college with a degree in Surgical Technology. Although her formal education is based in human medicine, she has found a lot of the medical and surgical protocols are the same or similar between humans and animals. She switched from human medicine to working with animals because she feels that being a part of the veterinary field has helped restore her faith in humanity. Too often there are stories of animal cruelty or people harming animals. It's rewarding to help people who genuinely care and love their pets enough to take care of them. She is very passionate about providing top notch medical care to our patients and the best 5-star customer service to their humans.

Keisha is an avid reader and she loves to cook, paint, and complete DIY projects at home in her spare time. She currently lives with her husband, Saœl, daughter, Elena, and Chihuahua, Vico C.

Caleb, Technician Assistant

Caleb has had a lifelong love of animals, especially exotics. Growing up in north Texas, he was privy to an array of indigenous species. From finding tarantulas in the living room to rehabilitating injured armadillos, he learned very early that the veterinary field was exactly the place for him. After high school, Caleb moved with his family to Appalachia. There he studied Biology at East Tennessee State University. While new to Foster Animal Hospital, Caleb has eight years of experience in the field and is ecstatic to work with a team that shares his passion for exemplary patient care.

Caleb now lives in Cornelius with his wife, Tiffany. They have two dogs, Matty and Lakota, one cat, Piper, and three leopard geckos. They are expecting their first child this spring, and neither can wait for parenthood.

Kristina, Receptionist

Kristina became a member of the Foster Animal Hospital team in October 2010 as a receptionist. Her love for animals inspired her to enter the veterinary field. She loves seeing new cases every day and watching as healthy pets walk out the door with their happy owners.

She is a pit bull terrier enthusiast and has frequented many shows in the surrounding states to show in competitions. In addition to her show crew she has a French bulldog, one cat, and four ducks. When she is not at work or spending time with her animals, she loves to cook/bake, be outdoors, and sit down to a good movie.

Leslie, Receptionist

Leslie joined Foster Animal Hospital's reception team in January 2012. She graduated from King's College with a degree in Accounting and recently completed Medical Office Management. Leslie's love for animals led her to volunteer with the North Carolina Zoo and the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for several years, and she also works with local youth on conservation efforts. Leslie feels pets are true in their affections and the best representatives of character, and with each there is an owner with fantastic stories to share.

Her four-footed crew includes two horses, KC and Stormy, a senior 39-year-old pony named Snickers, a lovable sheltie named Bam Bam, and a lemon fire bearded dragon called Rue. When not working or volunteering, she enjoys spending time with her children, Jonathan and Dakota.

Debbie, Resort Housekeeper

Debbie joined the Foster Animal Hospital team in August 2005. She is our Housekeeper. Debbie feels that providing an exceptionally clean veterinary hospital experience allows our clients and patients to enjoy their visit and focus on the quality medical care they receive. She loves to hear clients say how good things smell in the hospital and "can I take you home with me?"

Housekeeper is not her only role here. She loves working with animals and does so by assisting in the Resort and SPAw providing care for our resort guests. She enjoys being able to bathe the dogs to make them look their best when owners pick them up.

Debbie has several pets of her own. She has six dogs, Keesha, Buddy, Snowball, Kala, Rowdy, and Dixie. She also has a cat named Kela and a rabbit named Jack.

Heather, Resort Assistant

Heather Medlin has worked with animals in a kennel setting for a year and a half. From her first day working in a kennel, she fell in love with working with animals and found that she has a way with helping make them feel comfortable and loved while they are away from their family. She treats each and every one like they are her own. Her favorite aspect of her job is creating bonds with your pets. She just loves to see the cat's meow and dogs' tails wag when they see her!

Heather loves her family, friends, and her pet dog, Heavy, a 3 year old bull mastiff/pit bull mix. Her parents have always had big dogs around her growing up. She has helped raise a pit bull and a lab/shepherd mix as well as helped with the litters of puppies they had.

Heather is very outgoing, loyal, trustworthy, and hard working. In her spare time she likes to play guitar, sing, draw and fish. She loves a good story, whether it is a novel, movie, or TV show. She loves taking Heavy to her Mom and Dad's to run and play with their dog, Jesse!

Lesley, Pharmacy Technician

Lesley joined Foster Animal Hospital in July 2003. She has always shared a love for animals which was helpful in her new position in our Resort and SPAw. Never working in the animal field before, she gained useful knowledge working closely with our Resort guests. Some years later a pharmacy was added to the hospital, and Lesley began dividing her work time between the two areas. In 2008, Lesley was selected for the full-time Inventory Clerk position, where she now manages the day-to-day operations in our pharmacy. Even though she enjoyed working closely with the Resort guests, she has found another love. She enjoys being able to provide the best service to your pets by ensuring that Foster Animal Hospital dispenses only the safest, highest quality medications to your furry friends.

Lesley decided to expand her education so she took a class for pharmacy technicians through Rowan Cabarrus Community College. In November 2008, she passed the national test and became a Certified Pharmacy Technician.

Lesley lives with her husband and son. She has a dog named Kota and 4 cats, Merlin, Neelix, Lucky, and Tatum. In her spare time she enjoys reading.