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Top Row:Dawn Reisinger DVM, Tina Armstrong, Jimmy Moore, Pam Brown, Bruce Armstrong DVM, Carla Fuller DVM, Alex Ketchum
Bottom row: Christina Gabriel w/ "Duke" & "Jasmine", Zach Allgood, Sasha Reid, Dani Auck, "Sprocket", "Rupert", "Jane", Jennifer Borske
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 Dr. Armstrong began working as a kennel boy in
the sixties, which sparked his interest in veterinary medicine. He began
college in 1970 and continued working for a local veterinarian in Lompoc, CA
until he moved to Montana in June of 1972. Once in Montana he began work with a
veterinary service in Conrad. Then for a short time he did ranch work in the
Conrad and Choteau area until he entered MSU at Bozeman in the fall of 1972.
While in the school at MSU he worked at their State Diagnostic Lab part-time,
then in the following summer he was employed by a multi-doctor hospital in
Omaha, Nebraska. After spending the summer in Nebraska, he was back in Montana
again in the fall of 1973. At that time he met Debbie Buck whom he married in
April of 1974. A decision was made to move to Omaha, where Debbie entered and
successfully completed her registered nursing degree while Dr. Armstrong worked
full-time at a hospital and attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha and
Lincoln until obtaining a Bachelor's of Science in Biology in 1978. He was
accepted to veterinary school at the University of Minnesota College of
Veterinary Medicine and entered in the fall of 1978.
Dr. Armstrong graduated in 1982 with several scholarships and the Upjohn award
for proficiency in Small Animal Clinics.
Dr. Armstrong, his wife Debbie, and their 1 year old daughter, Carissa moved to
California shortly thereafter. Dr. Armstrong was a staff veterinarian in Yucca
Valley, Redding, and Palo Cedro, CA. until they moved to Visalia, CA where Dr.
Armstrong ran the small animal emergency clinic for over 2 years. A move to San
Diego followed this, where Dr. Armstrong did relief work (filling in for other
doctors or watching over their clinic) until 1989.
In 1989 Dr. Armstrong took a position at the Wildlife Rehabilitation and
research facility in Taif, Saudia Arabia. His family went with him and were
even able to help with the rearing, husbandry and veterinary medical care of
species such as Arabian oryx, Nubian ibex, sand cats, karakuls, bustard birds
to gazelles, ostrich, and baboons. The whole project was for reintroduction of
many of those species and for captive breeding since they were endangered
species.
Back to the states in 1989, Dr. Armstrong purchased Hastings Animal Hospital in
Pasadena, CA. This small animal hospital was very progressive and grew to new
heights as a solo doctor practice over the next years. At that time the family
decided they wanted to move back to Montana, so Dr. Armstrong sold the practice
in December of 1997. While still searching for the right place in Montana, Dr.
Armstrong again worked as a relief veterinarian, at Emergency Services, and
even managed a large practice, until an acceptable practice was found.
In March of 2000, Dr. Armstrong purchased Helena Veterinary Service and assumed
the ownership. The goals at present are to increase the availability and
convenience to obtain some of the best small animal medicine, surgery and
diagnostics to better serve our clients and animal friends while maintaining
the highest standards.
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 Dr. Carla Fuller was born and raised in
Caldwell, Idaho. She attended the College of Idaho, where she was an Honors
Scholar and double majored in biology and psychology. During her undergraduate
training she spent three months in Queensland, Australia studying biology,
ecology and natural history. She graduated Cum Laude in 1987.
She married Stuart Fuller in 1988. They moved to Eugene, Oregon where Stuart
finished his undergraduate degree in geology. After Stuart graduated, they
moved to Missoula where Stuart worked towards his Master's degree in geology.
While in Missoula, Carla worked at Missoula Humane Society and Missoula
Veterinary Clinic, gaining valuable experience with animals and their owners.
In 1991 she began veterinary school at Washington State University in Pullman,
Washington. At WSU, Carla was involved in the Pet-People-Partnership Program,
which embraced the human animal bond and involved visiting local nursing homes
with pets to brighten spirits. She graduated in 1995 and moved with Stewart to
Montana. She began working at Helena Veterinary Service in October 1995.
She enjoys backpacking, camping, knitting, and reading. In 1999 she and Stewart
had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Nepal and became entranced with
the SHerpa communities, Mount Everest and the Himalayas. She was a volunteer
firefighter and first responder for the West Valley Volunteer Fire Department
for three years. Steward continues to be very active in the fire department as
a fireman, EMT, member of the board of directors and a regional vice president
of Montana's Volunteer Fireman's Association. They live in the north Valley
with their dogs and cats.
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 Dr. Dawn Reisinger was born and raised in the Mid-West, then moved to California with her family in 1983. She decided at a young age she wanted to work with animals even though her family had no pets of their own. After graduating from high school she enrolled in the University of California, San Diego where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Physiology and Neuroanatomy. During school, she worked as an animal health technician at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego and as a lab technician at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine. While she had a lot of fun working with marine mammals and birds doing open water research studies at Scripps, it was her experience working with the veterinarians that solidified her decision to become a veterinarian.
She enrolled at the University of California, Davis veterinary school and graduated in 1998. Immediately following graduation, she entered an intensive 1 year internship program in small animal medicine and surgery at Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic, in the Sacramento area. After the internship, she was asked to stay on as an associate veterinarian and remained there for the following 7 years, practicing general and emergency medicine.
During veterinary school, she married her husband, Lonnie Robinson and began a fulfilling relationship as a part-time mom to his three teenage children, who live in Texas. They welcomed a daughter of their own, Caitlin, in 2001 who keeps them on their toes. Dawn and Lonnie also have 3 dogs, 2 cats, and have recently added 2 horses and a pony to their menagerie.
In her spare time, Dawn enjoys horseback riding, photography, and reading.
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