Catherine Arruda, Certified Veterinary Technician & Inventory Manager
Catherine Arruda, a Plymouth Massachusetts native, was introduced to horses at the age of ten. Before learning how to ride she took vaulting lessons. It did not take long for Catherine to discover her passion for horses. Shortly after she began vaulting she began to take riding lesson at a local barn. After working at local barns throughout high school Catherine attended Mount Ida College where she earned her Bachelors of Science in Veterinary Technology. While at Mount Ida College Catherine made the Dean’s list for eight consecutive semesters and was inducted into the Massachusetts Zeta Chapter Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. During her last year at Mount Ida College she completed six externships. In the spring of 2014 Catherine graduated from Mount Ida College as a Veterinary Technologist with summa cum laude.
In 2012 Catherine received her Massachusetts riding instructor license and taught lessons at a local barn during her spare time between semesters. After completing her degree, Catherine’s love and passion for horses lead her to South Shore Equine Clinic. At South Shore Equine Clinic Catherine is able to use all of the technical skills she learned at Mount Ida College. She is able to monitor and care for hospitalized patients, attend farm calls, assist in numerous surgical procedures, and assess blood work.
In her spare time Catherine enjoys riding her fourteen year old Arabian mare named “Ducky” and her fourteen her old Paint mare named “Callie”. She enjoys riding both English and western and can be found competing in team penning, team sorting, and barrel racing.
Cherie Bell, Laboratory Technician
Cherie Bell is a lifelong resident of Brockton, Massachusetts. She has a love of animals and always wanted to work with them. Working at SSEC is her first hands-on experience with working in the Equine industry. She has owned cats and dogs all her life, currently she owns 5 cats; Mocha, Cookie, Muffin, Lucy, and Simba!
Cherie graduated from Brockton High School in 2001, then went on to attend Massasoit Community College for Early Childhood Education. However, her eldest niece came into this world unexpectedly in 2003, which caused her to make a selfless decision to leave college to help raise her with her parents.
Cherie has worked more than 15 years in the retail/customer service industry, and decided in 2014 to return to college. In 2018, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice along with a Certificate in Criminal Law and Procedure in 2019 from Ashworth College. In 2015 during college, Cherie moved into the clinical laboratory field with US Laboratories. This is where she grew a passion for medical labs, and later worked at the pathology laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.
During the 2020 pandemic, Cherie returned to college to continue her educational passion for the Justice and Law fields, and in 2021 she earned a Juris Masters in American Legal Studies from Liberty University. She still has a dream of obtaining a position in the Justice and or Law field, yet she is thankful to be working at SSEC because of her love of animals and the laboratory field!
Outside of work, Cherie enjoys spending time with my family; specifically, her three nieces and spending time with her “partner in crime.” She also enjoys traveling, concerts, events, and spending time with her pets… simply enjoying life to its fullest.
Emma Darling, Veterinary Technician
Emma Darling grew up in Lakeville Massachusetts, where she was introduced to horses at the age of 5. After graduating from the Large Animal Science program at Bristol Aggie, Emma received her Massachusetts riding instructors license and began teaching lessons.
Along with running her own business, Emma gained experience working as an Assistant Trainer at a reining and cow-horse barn. She enjoys spending time with her personal horses and is excited to further her horse knowledge and experience with SSEC!
Olivia Fontaine, Lead Client Service Representative
Olivia Fontaine grew up in Plymouth Massachusetts, where she discovered the horse world at a young age. She began working with horses at around age 13, and is constantly striving to learn more.
Olivia worked previously in the customer service and pharmaceutical field, switching occupation to better suit her passion; horses. She works additionally at a local stable, and is also a full time student pursuing a degree in fire sciences on a journey to become a firefighter in her future.
In her free time, Olivia enjoys working or playing with young/green horses and taking lessons to improve her skills. Despite years of riding she never had any interest in showing, until very recently when she entered the show world and currently shows hunter/jumper. She is very excited and dedicated to being a part of the SSEC team!
Maureen Keating, Client Service Representative/ Accounts Receivable
Maureen Keating grew up in the South Shore area of Massachusetts and has lived here all of her life. She is brand new to the horse world but has had a love for all animals since she could barely walk. She only recently started working with horses when she began to work for a local farm in Marshfield, MA. It was there, where she found her love for horses.
Maureen has worked in the customer service industry for more than 20 years. She currently manages a well-established restaurant in the South Shore area. She also teaches dance lessons to all ages which she has been doing for 25 years. She studied at Massasoit Community College where she received her certification as a Veterinary Assistant for small animals.
In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, kickboxing and volunteering at local animal shelters. She considers herself a bit of a risk taker and recently went skydiving. She also sees riding lessons in her near future. Her ideal day would be anything adventurous with the right amount of risk involved.
Maya Monahan, Veterinary Technician
Maya Monahan grew up and continues to reside on Cape Cod. As a young girl, Maya took after her grandmother who was a natural equestrian and began working with and riding horses. In her early teens her riding discipline took her to dressage, training under and building an incredibly special relationship as a working student. Maya spent many long hours at the barn and learned the depth of responsibility and drive it took to be a proficient working student. While she continued her work as a working student, she graduated high school and almost immediately transitioned into being barn manager, living on-site for two different large equestrian facilities on Cape Cod with-in a four year time span.
Moving on after managing, Maya became a veterinary technician at a small animal emergency hospital while also continuing her working student functions under her trainer. Knowing she preferred horses to small animal veterinary, Maya found her way to SSEC where she is continuing her education to become a CVT.
In her free time, Maya enjoys spending time with her mare Phoebe and her Great Dane Moose. Maya and Phoebe travel to clinics and competitions, continually striving to be better in their seat and stride! Maya feels nothing short of honored to be a part of the team at SSEC!
Molly Magner, Client Service Representative, Social Media Manager, & Event Coordinator
Molly Magner is a Massachusetts native & spent her childhood riding horses on Cape Cod.
Tammy Mello, Veterinary Technician & Barn Nurse
Tammy Mello graduated from Salve Regina University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Administration of Justice. She worked as a police officer in Rhode Island for 20 years. During that time she was the first police officer to be certified in animal cruelty investigations. She was also trained by the FBI as a hostage negotiator.
Tammy fell in love with horses when her daughter began to take riding lessons. Tammy and her daughter both share a passion to ride and care for their horses (Lucy and Serena).
Since retiring from the Police department, Tammy enjoys running her own small farm focusing on unwanted/stray animals.
Vicki Roza, Client Service Representative
Vicki Roza has been a resident of Middleboro for most of her life. She worked for the Middleboro School district for 9 1/2 years, and now looks forward to a change of pace working in the equine industry at South Shore Equine Clinic.
Vicki is a married, mother of two and owns four horses, four dogs and many chickens. She has had a love for animals, especially horses all of her life. Aside from having her own horses, she has also rescued, fostered and rehomed ponies in the past.
Melissa Ruscio, Client Service Representative & Veterinary Technician
Melissa Ruscio grew up in Pembroke Massachusetts, living in many different towns throughout her teenage years. She had discovered her love for horses at the young age of 3. She started working with horses at the age of 14, working to ride at different barns on the south shore.
While starting at SSEC, she also continues her other job as well. Melissa works as a veterinary technician for mostly cats and dogs at an animal hospital in Weymouth. She loves taking care of our small four-legged friends but wanted to switch to an occupation that included her love for horses as well. Melissa shares with us her ability to work under pressure, adoration for all animals, and knowledge of working at a 24/7 emergency animal hospital.
In her free time, Melissa enjoys hanging out and riding her 20-year-old Morgan horse “Thor”. She also enjoys reading, camping, and going to the movies. She is very enthusiastic and motivated about being a part of the SSEC team!
Sarah Wojtyto, Practice Manager
Sarah Wojtyto graduated from Rhode Island College with a Bachelor’s degree in Management. Sarah worked for South Shore Equine Clinic from 2006 through 2013. During that time she was the operations supervisor and office manager, she managed the day-to-day business at the hospital. In 2019, Sarah returned to South Shore Equine Clinic as the Strategic Assistant and Bookkeeper and in March 2022 Sarah was promoted to Practice Manager. Sarah is the problem-solver across the business. Her position involves a variety of departments such as project management, bookkeeping, human resources, and marketing.
Sarah spent 2016-2019 as the Farm Manager at a fast-paced boarding, training, and show horse facility with 49 horses. She was responsible for the care and management of all the horses at the facility. This involved managing, communicating, and coordinating with all the clients, veterinarians, farriers, staff, and trainers.
Sarah was the Equine & Barn Manager at the BINA Farm Center, a therapeutic riding facility in Norfolk, MA from 2014-2016. There she was responsible for the care, management, and exercise of the therapy horses at the farm and managed the 40-stall boarding facility.
Sarah’s involvement with horses began over 30 years ago. Her riding background is primarily with hunter/jumpers and dressage. During her college career she worked for a standardbred racing stable in Plainville, MA. While working with racehorses she obtained vast knowledge in caring for and managing performance horses.
In her spare time, she enjoys the beach, indoor horticulture, mycology, horseback riding, attending concerts, and spending time with her family, friends, and two dogs (Frank & Brady).