What's special about Liberty Animal Hospital?
Liberty Animal Hospital is a full-service veterinary hospital staffed by highly qualified and skilled professionals who are dedicated to providing excellent, compassionate patient care. We use the latest advances in diagnostics to make educated decisions regarding your pets' specific needs.
At Liberty Animal Hospital, we value compassion, self-motivation, excellence, integrity and respect. Client satisfaction and education along with staff personal and professional development are very important to us. Liberty Animal Hospital is committed to inspiring people individually to make a difference in their lives!
Learn a Little About Our Staff
Aris Atakem,
Dr Atakem was 1 of 2 to win a nation-wide contest in Chad for a scholarship to go to veterinary school. He graduated from the Inter-States School of Science and Veterinary Medicine in Dakar, Senegal in 2006. He moved to Colorado the same year and attended Kansas State University School of Veterinary Medicine from 2008 to 2010. He has worked in private practice since 2011 as an associate veterinarian, a mobile vet but also an emergency veterinarian in the Denver Metro Area and Littleton.
Dr Atakem founded Liberty Animal Hospital in 2016. He is a well-rounded veterinarian with a particular interest in Orthopedic and Soft Tissue surgeries, but also, Laparoscopic Surgery, Arthritis and Obesity.
Dr Atakem loves to build long-lasting relationships with people. He treats every pet he cares for as his own and is driven by the desire to contribute to human and animal well-being. Away from the hospital, he is a dance instructor and Martial artist. He also enjoys sports and most outdoors activities.
Nicole Peyton,
Nicole born and raised in Colorado. Her first job during high school, was a Veterinary Assistant. A year later, she decided since she enjoyed being around animals so much, that she wanted to make a career out of it and became a Veterinarian Technician. She continued to worked at the same place until she was 24 years old. While working she attended college, and after a lot of changed majors, she finally obtained a Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration. She grew out of being a Vet Tech and started her career in Healthcare. After college, she started as a full time Certified Nursing Assistant and part time phlebotomist. Then life changed when her beautiful daughter, Mia, was born in January 2013. A few months later she started to work at an Assisted Living that was expanding quickly and due to expansion, had the option to move to California to pursue her career/dream job as a Program Director, running a Memory Care facility. She enjoyed it, but after a few years realized, she rather just go to a memory care facility to be a volunteer, and help in her spare time. Now, she is here at, Liberty Animal Hospital to enjoy and love on all the animals, and she wouldn’t want it any other way!
Tina Phillips,
Tina moved here from California in 2000. After life’s up and downs decided to pursue her love and passion for animals. She then attended Bel-Rea and graduated as a Vet Tech in 2007 all while raising a teenager. After working at a few clinics, started working at an all Cat Clinic for 7 years which developed her love for the frisky felines. As her Friends and Family refer to her as “The Crazy Cat Lady”, a term she wears proudly. Since working 11 years as a technician she wanted to stay in the Veterinary field and so turned her expertise to becoming a Client Care Specialist.
She currently has 5 Cats (Gus Gus, Love Bug, Jean Claude aka Mister, Gemma and Fleetwood) and one dog a sheltie (Dakota)who thinks she is a cat.
In her spare time she has a passion for Photography especially when nature or animals are her focal point, Cooking, Baking, Crafts and Mountain Drives.
Sam Maxik,
Samantha (aka. Sam) graduated from University of Kentucky with a Bachelor’s in Biology in 2015. Following graduation Sam did an internship at a wildlife rehabilitation facility which sparked her interest in exotic animals. This led her to pursue Certification in Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation and to eventually work at The Indianapolis Zoo as a Seasonal Zookeeper. Sam has moved 8 times with her dog, Bandit and 2 cats, Lillith and Oreo before moving to Colorado in November ’19. Sam had worked as a Veterinary Technician for 5 years before going back to school to become a Certified Veterinary Assistant and joined the Liberty team in February ‘20. In her minimal free time, Sam enjoys baking/cooking, disappearing into the mountains, and dedicating way too much time to telling Bandit that he’s cute.
Sam Thomas,
Samantha has grown up most of her life in Colorado. She attended Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology in Denver and graduated in 2009 as a Certified Veterinary Technician. She worked off and on over the next 3 years, in a few veterinary clinics while raising her two daughters and spending some time living in New Jersey and Florida. Ultimately, her love for Colorado brought her back here and she has been working for the last 5 years as a vet tech in the Westminster area. Sam’s most favorite patients to see are kittens, she has definitely been referred to as the “crazy kitten lady” on multiple occasions!
In her time not spent at work, Sam enjoys spending time with her two daughters and her boyfriend, hanging out with her dog, Kali, and three cats, Alani, Jeter and Sierra. She enjoys spending time outside during the summer hiking, doing family barbecues and playing in the backyard with her dog and cats.
Cheyenne Mosqueda-Bustamante,
Cheyenne grew up in an all-military family eventually ending up in Colorado where she finished high school in 2013. Throughout high school She worked as a Vet Assistant and ran the Max Fund No Kill Shelter’s Adoption events. That’s where she truly started to love working with animals. In 2013 after graduation, she enlisted in the United States Air Force serving as a Security Forces Member. She served and was stationed overseas for her entire enlistment from Countries like Turkey, Italy, and South Korea. After serving 7 amazing years and unfortunately sustaining an injury she was retired from the United States Air Force in 2020. After returning back to Colorado after her retirement She knew She wanted to advance her new Career working with animals and continuation of school. She's now at Liberty Animal hospital and loving every second and learning as much as she moves forward in a new career!
