Current Veterinarians:

Dr. Tim Boelts

Dr. Boelts is currently working at APE performing spays and neuters. He is also the primary veterinarian for Furry Friends Refuge located in West Des Moines where he provides care to shelter animals as well as community pets.

Dr. Janessa Butterfield

Dr. Butterfield is a returning veterinarian to our organization who not only performs spays and neuters, but also works our vaccine clinics. She also currently works with Vetco to provide general wellness to their patients.

Patsy Larson -Treasurer/President

Patsy Harris-Larson serves APE as the Treasurer and President of the Board.  She graduated from Buena Vista College with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is currently employed as Chief Financial Officer of DeCoster Enterprises.  In 2004, she returned to live in her childhood home in Boone, Iowa. She then started to use the services provided by APE to support the growing number of barn cats she continued to accumulate. 

Patsy loves all animals, but has a soft spot for cats. She has a colony of outdoor cats she spoils and even some that have found their home inside.

Hannah Slifer – Veterinary Assistant

Hannah Slifer has been working with Animal Protection and Education since December 2020. She is currently enrolled at Iowa State University to receive her Bachelors of Science Degree in Genetics, and hopes to attend Medical School in the future.

She loves spending time with her cat Deke and dog Rizzo, as well as her skinny pigs (Hairless Guinea Pigs)!

Amy Laube – Receptionist

Amy has been with Animal Protection and Education since 2022. Amy has worked with several shelters and rescues in the past. She also works at her family business Coe Transfer.

Amy has a heart for small dogs, the weirder and scruffier the better. Her gang of little ones include Oliver, Ginger, Poppy, and Gerdie, as well as a chihuahua looking for her forever home. The saying “A face only a mother could love” typically applies to the dogs that pull Amy’s heartstrings most, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Linn Clipperley-Price

Linn Cipperley-Price, has been with Animal Protection and Education since the beginning.  She is one of the three original founders of the organization.

Linn is a Veterinary Technician, and has held licensing previously, in both Alaska, and Iowa.  Her Bachelors of Science in Biology, is from Iowa State University.   When she is not volunteering at A.P.E. she teaches dog obedience classes in Jefferson, IA.  Linn has also earned certification from Purdue University’s Veterinary School, in “The Principle and Techniques of Dog Behavior.”

In Memory Of:

Dr. Chelsea A. Iennarella, DVM, MS

Dr. Iennarella began working as APE’s primary Veterinarian in October 2023, but she had been a part of the organization much longer as she was a technician for APE starting at the age of 18. She not only had completed her DVM at Iowa State university, but was nearly finished with her PhD as well at the time of her passing in February 2024. Chelsea was extremely passionate about research and education but also had a strong love for art, Diet Coke, and most of all her two Dobermans Virgil and Paul. Doctor Iennarella is and will continue to be greatly missed by our staff and the patients and clients she impacted. Her dedication to APE and its mission encourages us to continue to provide care for the patients entrusted with us, and educate the owners who look to us for assistance.