Paulina Burgess
Hospital Administrator
Hi, my name is Paulina Burgess, and I am the Hospital Administrator at Knoll Animal Hospital. I am passionate about providing high-quality care and helping my patients feel comfortable and confident in their treatment.
Personal Hobbies and Interests
Outside of work, I love gardening — I have kept a veggie garden for years and have recently started growing flowers, which is going well. I also enjoy cooking, cleaning, deep organization, and projects like making sourdough and churning my own butter. At home I have three dogs: Daisy, a geriatric cattle dog mix who is blind, deaf, and somehow the most vibrant of them all; Meaty, my precious senior Staffordshire Bull Terrier who appears in some of our social media and training videos; and Macaroni, a senior American Bulldog mix with three brain cells and a heart of gold who loves me more than anything.
Favorite Part of My Job
Being around animals and helping them is huge for me, but I also love my team and helping to build something together. Watching Knoll Animal Hospital grow from a tiny clinic in 2015 into what it is today has been a labor of love — tough at times, but I have cherished every stage and never want to get off this rollercoaster.
Why I Chose This Profession
I have always wanted to work with animals, though I never wanted to become a vet. In high school I considered degrees in social work and psychology, drawn to people and their well-being, but I decided life was too short to settle. So I took a chance, applied to vet tech college, and started an accelerated program to earn my degree.
Education
I earned my AAS in Veterinary Technology from Fox College's Vet Tech Institute and passed the VTNE in 2012.
Professional Background
I am a Fear Free professional, certified since 2020, and I am currently working toward my CVPM. While I am less involved in the medicine side these days, I have always loved the direct nursing care of animals, and I am drawn to General Practice for its variety of cases and the long-term bonds I get to build with owners.
Work History
I began working with a then-Dr. Pecoraro who was recently out of vet school, and we had wonderful work chemistry. When she decided to purchase her own practice in Carol Stream, I went along for the ride, becoming the first employee hired at "Countryside Animal Clinic." Over time, Dr. Pecoraro became Dr. Knoll, and Countryside Animal Clinic became Knoll Animal Hospital.
