Animal Care Technicians
Jacqui Desjean
Jacqui began working at the Gardner Animal Care Center in Aug of 2006. She started caring for animals at the age of 10, taking in stray cats and spending her allowance on examinations and vaccinations and finding good homes for them. Working with animals has always been her dream and she loves taking care of all the dogs and cats who board at our facility. She is currently working on achieving a Veterinary Technician degree and really enjoys her classes. Jacqui lives with her fiancé (who is very accepting of the many foster animals she brings home), their 1 year old orange tabby, Kung-Fu, and her wrinkle-faced dog, Gertie, a 3 year old Golden Retriever/ Shar-pei mix they adopted from the Humane Society.
Michelle Art
Michelle grew up in Newton with her mom and dad and three sisters. Growing up, she always had dogs and cats and one very special horse. When she bought a house in Winchendon about 7 years ago, one of the first things she did was bring pets Mandy and Beau into her home. They are the best dogs ever. Michelle has two sons. Her oldest son is a very talented guitarist and her youngest is an awesome artist. Before joining the Gardner Animal Care Center team, she worked in the telecommunications field for 10 years. She started off pulling cables through the ceilings and worked her way up to the position of office manager. Outside of work, she loves being with friends and family. Her favorite pastime is riding her Harley. She also loves to travel, and especially likes going to Maine every summer. Michelle loves all kinds of music and loves to cook.
Emily Sumner
Emily has been with the Gardner Animal Care Center since 2007. Emily has a love for all animals which began when she was only a few months old. She would spend time playing with her animals, which included rabbits, chickens, a ferret, dogs, and cats along with exploring the wilderness which surrounded her country home. She also developed a love for science and graduated from Saint Joseph's College of Maine in 2009 with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology with a minor in Philosophy.
Emily spent three years working for the Animal Refuge League in Westbrook, Maine. At the shelter she specialized in felines, handling and caring for sick, abused, and feral cats. She has also opened her home to Ahimsa Haven to foster animals waiting for their future forever homes.
Emily plans to continue onto graduate school to earn her DVM degree. Emily enjoys spending time outdoors running, hiking, mountain biking, and skiing. Emily shares a home with her spry 11 year old German shepherd/Rottweiler mix Maggie.