TNT Equine

About TNT Equine

Veterinarians

Deme M. Erickson, DVM

Dr. Erickson did her undergraduate studies at Michigan State University. She spent four years as a licensed veterinary technician at Thomas Monfort & Associates in Illinois, where she was encouraged to continue her education at Mississippi State University.

After an internship at Rochester Equine Clinic in 1990, Dr. Erickson joined the practice and later became a partner as well as director of ambulatory services. She is the founder of TNT Equine and has built an exceptional reputation over the last 15 years for patient care, power-assisted dentistry and has established herself as the area's leading reproduction specialist.

In the wee hours of the morning Dr. Erickson can be found reading up on the latest in children’s literature with her daughter Olivia and her twin girls.

Elizabeth Xavier, DVM

Dr. Elizabeth Xavier split her childhood between the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in the Lakes Region and the seacoast of Rhode Island. She was obsessed with horses as far back as anyone in her family can remember and spent most summers working to ride in northern New Hampshire. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and went on to attend vet school at the Atlantic Veterinary College on Prince Edward Island. Dr. Xavier has spent the last few years in western Pennsylvannia and southern Ontario working closely with both sport and race horses alike. Dr. Xavier has a special interest in lameness and equine sports medicine. She is elated about joining TNT and being close to her friends and family once again.

Staff

Lauri Fudge, Practice Manager

Lauri’s love of horses began with a couple of riding lessons for her 9th birthday. Her family caught the horse bug and actually purchased that very lesson horse that later became her partner on the Morgan show circuit in both Western and Hunt Pleasure. After pursuing her love of the arts in college, Lauri went to work for one of the top morgan trainers on the east coast. She later worked part-time with Dr. Erickson and became the practice manager at the inception of TNT Equine. She has been excited to see the practice grow and enjoys getting to know the clients, their horses and families. She is proud of the team that TNT Equine has assembled and is honored to work with such a dedicated group. When she’s not on the other end of your phone call, Lauri is busy with her 3 girls who have also caught the “horse bug”.

Dorothea Peters, Office Assistant

Dorothea joined our office team in 2007. Most days, she can be found answering the phone and scheduling appointments. She also tries to ensure that your experience at TNT Equine is productive and enjoyable. Dorothea was raised in Chelsea MA and moved to Berwick ME in 2003, with her husband Brian, 2 sons BJ and Dennis and their 4 dogs. Besides her family and horses she would say her first priority is her relationship with God. She's very involved in her church and has been for over 20 years. Dorothea also has had 20+ years experience of working with inner city “At Risk Youth”. Dorothea and Brian have been foster parents and opened their homes to many teens in need of care and guidance. Through the years Dorothea has also developed a love and respect for horses. She is presently working with her 2 horses, “Eagle” and “Serenity Belle” as well as her hackney pony “Jenny”. On weekends you can usually find Dorothea, her sister and trainer riding and developing their relationship naturally with their horses.

Karen Zachow, Senior Technician

Karen Zachow moved east from California with her then two horses, two dogs, and two person family. She began working for Dr. Erickson in 2004 as a technician. In her time on the road she’s managed to have grown her current collection of animals to 4 horses, 4 dogs, 2 birds, and 3 cats. At TNT Equine she works closely with Dr. Erickson in the reproduction aspect of the practice and focuses much of her time on Frozen Semen processing. Occasionally she will be on the other end of the phone when you call for an appointment and you might even see her on a farm call from time to time. At home you can find Karen working on a multitude of house/barn projects, kayaking, adding to her menagerie of animals or working on the newest math problem with her adopted son, Jeffrey.

Erin Hutchinson: Veterinary Technician

Erin has been involved with horses and riding since she was 6 years old. She has always loved working with animals. Erin worked in a small animal hospital in Amherst, NH throughout high school. Erin worked for two summers during college for another equine veterinarian in Marlborough NH. Erin completed an externship at TNT Equine Spring of 2007 and then joined the TNT team as a veterinarian technician in the fall of 2007. Erin attended University of New Hampshire and earned her Bachelor of Equine Science in May 2008. Erin enjoys helping with the dental and reproduction aspects of TNT. When not working Erin likes to travel to her parent’s house in Keene, NH and go trail riding with her horse and spend time with her 4 dogs.

Vanessa Coleman: Technician

Vanessa folks said she was horse crazy by the time she could walk. She grew up around the horse farms of New Jersey and then moved to Exeter New Hampshire. Vanessa finally acquired her first horse at the age of 11. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1981 with a degree in Animal Science. She has worked for large animal veterinary clinics since including Rochester Equine Clinic and two clinics in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Vanessa has a particular interest in horse behavior and horsemanship. In her free time she participates in horsemanship clinics, trail rides, tends to her garden and roams the woods with her three corgi’s.

Cassandra Ball: Student Technician

For the past 6 years Cassie has been home-schooled. She recently graduated high school a year early and will pursue schooling to become a licensed Veterinary Technician. She has been volunteering at TNT Equine for the past year and half as a student technician gaining credit towards her internship and has learned a great deal from everyone on staff at TNT. Cassie’s great passion is horseback riding. She has been riding horses for the past 9 years. She also was a Girl Scout for 11 years and loves to dance. She played basketball on a travel team and did some acting for a few years. She loves hanging out with her collie dog, Cody. Cassie loves to travel and has been to many states and Island’s and loves to vacation at the beach. Someday Cassie wants to be on the Young Riders Team and become a Veterinarian. She has a real passion for animals especially horses and loves being a part of the TNT Equine team.

Sue Smith, Barn Manager

Sue Smith began working at Rochester Equine Clinic in 1979. She started part time working in the barn and advanced to both technician duties and running the 22 stall barn. During her time there she participated in foal research projects and worked with orphan foals. After leaving REC in 1996 she spent the next 2 ? years riding at Chinquapin Hill Farm handling foals, show horses and the breeding operation while also campaigning her own paint horses. In 2005 Sue joined the team at TNT Equine where she runs the barn and handles many of the stallions for collections. When she’s not busy caring for the horses at TNT Equine, Sue and her husband Ken own and operate a 100 acre boarding facility in Farmington, New Hampshire.