Lake Harriet Veterinary is powered by a fantastic and friendly team. Our dedicated and talented group help create a fulfilling work environment for one another, and deliver exceptional care to you and your pet.
Dr. Jen Gallus
Dr. Jen Gallus is a 2012 graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to entering the field of veterinary medicine, she worked as an occupational therapist in metro area hospitals. Dr. Jen enjoys veterinary medicine, and especially appreciates the bond she develops with her clients and their special pets.
Dr. Jen loves living in Minneapolis and currently resides in the Diamond Lake area. She has officially become a basset hound person and currently has the perfect Winter Prudence and the frenetic Phife. In her spare time, you’ll find her spending time at her cabin in Wisconsin, traveling, reading, and doing pretty much anything outside.
Dr. Sarah Wineke
Dr. Sarah Wineke is the Medical Director at Lake Harriet Veterinary. She is a south Minneapolis native and a 2007 graduate of the University of Minnesota Veterinary College. Following graduation Dr. Sarah practiced at a small animal clinic in the south metro for 10 years. She joined the LHV team in the fall of 2017. Her professional interests include dentistry, complex internal medicine management, feline medicine, and animal behavior.
Outside of practice, Dr. Sarah enjoys camping and travel, hiking, biking and rowing with the Minneapolis Rowing Club, and cooking. She resides in Southwest Minneapolis with her husband, Jeff, daughters, Evelyn and Annika, and Cinder, the counter-surfing Silken Windhound.
Dr. Michelle Masselink
Dr. Michelle Masselink grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Minnesota Veterinary School in 2012. After a year-long internship at Blue Pearl Animal Hospital in the metro, Michelle spent the last 7 years at a large practice in St. Paul. Her professional interests include internal medicine and dentistry.
Dr. Masselink lives in Saint Paul with her wife, who is a local Lutheran pastor, their two Shih Tzu mix dogs, Gertrude and Hildegard. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys walking and biking around the many local lakes, visiting family, playing board games, acting as a yoga instructor, and watching documentaries about unusual science and culturally interesting topics.
Dr. Helga Midelfort-Vognar
Dr. Helga Midelfort-Vognar is a St. Paul native. She attended Carleton College and graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013. After a year-long internship at an equine clinic in the metro area, she spent 9 years working at a busy small animal clinic in Saint Paul. Helga enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine, but especially enjoys connecting with her clients and making relationships with her patients to help them live their best lives.
Dr. Helga lives in Inver Grove Heights with her husband and two young daughters who enjoy chasing their golden retriever cross (Treff) and black cat (Banana) around the house. In her spare time, Helga enjoys playing soccer on various teams, watching soccer, riding her horse Ruffian who lives in Cottage Grove, reading fantasy and mysteries and trying new foods, beverages and adventuring with her family and friends.
Dr. Katie LaMotte
Dr. Katie LaMotte grew up in Eagan. She is a third-generation St Catherine University alum and graduated from Iowa State University Veterinary School in 2017. Following graduation, she joined a bustling practice in South St. Paul where she spent 6 years. She is especially drawn to cases that involve dermatology, cardiology, surgery, and hospice care. She enjoys working with dogs, cats, and pocket pets.
Dr. Katie and her husband live in St. Paul with their two cats, Felix and Susan. Dr. Katie also has a half-Arabian horse named Savannah stabled near her family home in Eagan. Outside of work Dr. Katie enjoys working with her horse, watching Disney movies, fostering orphaned kittens, volunteering with local rescues, reading, and visiting local museums.
Dr. Tess Hudson
Dr. Tess Hudson grew up in Ames, Iowa. After a quick jaunt in Northfield, MN for undergrad at Saint Olaf College, she found herself back in Ames, where she graduated from Iowa State with her DVM in 2020. For the first 6 years of her career, Dr. Tess practiced at a large, hybrid hospital in the southeast metro.
Dr. Tess’s favorite part about veterinary medicine is empowering pet parents to make informed decisions about their pet’s care (and the trust and lovely relationships that are built from that). She is always up for a tough internal medicine case, and also adores neonatal kitten medicine and working with local rescues when she’s able.
Outside of work, Dr. Tess lives in South Minneapolis with her two cats (Mabel & Darwin) and her Great Pyrenees mix, Herschel. She loves exploring the Minneapolis/St. Paul food scene, going on therapy dog visits with Herschel, and catching live music whenever she can.
Dr. Lauren Bury
Dr. Lauren Bury grew up in Buffalo, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007. She earned her certification in veterinary acupuncture from the Chi Institute and values the perspective gained from the understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She enjoys providing comprehensive preventative care and building collaborative relationships with pet owners to keep her patients happy and healthy.
Dr. Lauren shares her home with her husband Chris and a very mischievous orange tabby named Hubert. Her free time is spent hiking, biking, birding, seeing live music, reading and perfecting her vegetarian home cooking.
Hannah Smith
Hannah was born and raised in south Minneapolis and became a Certified Veterinary Technician in 2010. She became part of the Lake Harriet Veterinary family in 2011 and joined the management team in 2021. Hannah strives to maintain a wonderful working environment for her team so that they can provide the highest quality care for our patients. She loves knowing that by improving the lives of our patients, she is making their owners’ lives better, too.
Hannah loves gardening, spending time with her family, a good (real paper!) magazine, and a drive or run around the lakes. Hannah lives minutes away from the clinic with her husband and their three sons. They share their home with a trio of cats from the same litter, "owned" and named by each of their three sons: Wonder, Phoenix, and Captain Boots.
