Meet Our Team

Becky Prior, DVM

Veterinarian/Owner

Becky Prior received her Doctorate of Veterinary medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1997. Over the past 25 years Dr. Prior has practiced small animal medicine, surgery, and emergency and critical care in practices in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Dr. Prior assumed ownership of Lifetime Animal Hospital August 1, 2013. She is the lead DVM of the practice and serves as the Veterinary Medical Director of the Lifetime Veterinary Medical Staff and Technicians who care for the patients of Cody and the surrounding communities in NW Wyoming. She also provides Small Animal Emergency Veterinary care for the community of Cody in partnership with other Cody Veterinarians.

Dr. Prior and her husband, Jim, have been married for over 20 years and have two adult children attending the University of Wyoming, Laura and Brendan.

Britt Whitt, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Britt Whitt joined the Lifetime Animal Hospital team in 2025 and has been a veterinarian for over 13 years for both Large and Small Animals. Born in Cody, Wyoming, Dr. Whitt has lived in the NW region of Wyoming her entire life, and now resides in Cody, WY with her four children, Bandie, Cort, Della, and Eila. An outgoing and sincere person, Dr. Whitt enjoys serving her community and has a great love for animals of all sizes. She is happy to call Cody and the surrounding area as her home. A graduate of Meeteetse High School, after graduation she attended Northwest Community College in Powell where she earned an associate degree of science. She then attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY, where she earned her Bachelors of Science Degree and then she went on to earn a Doctorate’s degree in Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, CO.

Dr. Whitt works alongside Dr. Prior in Small Animal, Exotics, and Avian medicine and surgery and also provides Small Animal Emergency Veterinary Care for the community of Cody in partnership with other Cody Veterinarians.

Tessa Baker, CVT

Veterinary Clinic Manager/Lead Veterinary Technician

Tessa graduated from Hot Springs County High School in 2006 and went right into the United States Marine Corps, where she served 4 years and received an Honorable Discharge in 2010. After serving her country she became passionate about taking on a career as a Veterinary Technician. Tessa joined us in September 2014 while on her externship for her degree. She graduated from Pima Medical institute, Mesa, AZ in October 2014 with an Associates of Applied Science degree in Veterinary Technology. She became a full time employee with us in November 2014 and in April 2015 she became a Certified Veterinary Technician in the state of Wyoming. She has a strong passion for horses and in 2015 she became certified as an Equine Veterinary Technician as well.

She has been around animals her entire life, mostly livestock and horses. Growing up on a ranch in Thermopolis, WY she had to learn at a young age how to care for sick and injured animals. The fact that she can help an animal that can’t help itself gives Tessa a strong sense of purpose. She has had the pleasure and opportunity to assist in major orthopedic and prosthetic surgeries in horses with Dr. Ted Vlahos a local equine specialist and owner of Yellowstone Equine Hospital.

Tessa shares her life with her husband Joe and together they have 3 children. Their family also consists of 3 dogs and 4 horses. When Tessa isn’t working she is hunting, camping, riding horses, and practicing cowboy mounted shooting in her home arena.

Mary Klein

Front Desk/Boarding Supervisor

Mary joined the hospital in 2009 as our morning kennel attendant. She has expanded her duties to being receptionist and the Office Manager. She is a friendly voice on the other end of the line when you call our hospital. Her duties also include being the kennel supervisor and assisting the technicians and doctors when the need arises.

She keeps our days busy always making sure we have work to do. Mary keeps the technicians on their toes and is always willing to help whenever and wherever it is needed. When she isn’t at work Mary enjoys riding horses, reading, doing photography, and most importantly spending time with her grandchildren.

Lydia

Veterinary Assistant

Lydia joined Lifetime Animal Hospital in 2023 as a Kennel Assistant at the Lifetime Animal Hospital Boarding facility but quickly became relied upon by the Veterinary Medical Staff in the hospital as she learned and became more adept at Veterinary Assisting and helping at the front desk. Lydia hopes to become a Certified Veterinary Technician in the future and counts on learning more and more skills every day as she works alongside the veterinary medical staff and the DVM’s.

Lydia on her off time works on her school studies and is interested in Medieval History and enjoys practicing and playing the Cello. Lydia grew up very close to Cheyenne, WY, just over the border in Nebraska and moved to Cody with her family back in 2022. Lydia has two pets who are unique! Laiken, who is a Mini Rex Bunny and Luna, who is a Lionhead Bunny. Laiken, as a Mini Rex is a small but a very lovable bunny that Lydia shares a strong bond with as they are known to be a very sociable pet. And Luna, as a Lionhead is a bunny with lots of character. Also small, it has a furry head like a lion’s mane and long ears. Lydia loves taking care of them both as part of her pet family!

Sally

Veterinary Assistant

Sally joined Lifetime Animal Hospital in 2024. While Sally is not a Wyoming native, she might as well be! She has been spending summers working on a ranch here since she was 13 years old. Spending so much time on the ranch in her youth, she developed a passion and love for animals, specifically horses and dogs. She received a bachelors of science from Colorado State University in December of 2023 and promptly moved to Cody to make Wyoming her permanent home. Because of her love of animals, while at CSU she decided to join the animal research and nutrition team. She spent time with various research projects but spent most of her time with a project that studied gestation in sheep. During her time at CSU, Sally was an avid foster for a local shelter, focusing on dogs with behavioral and medical issues. She dedicated herself to rehabilitating animals with anxiety or fear-based aggression, using patience and specialized training. Additionally, she cared for dogs with medical needs, managing medications and ensuring they received proper veterinary attention. Sally’s experience deeply shaped her passion for animal welfare and her commitment to improving the lives of animals in need.

Sally spends her time outside of the clinic with her three dogs, Sadie, Alphie, and Liddy and two cats. With Sadie, she regularly competes in dock diving and has received various titles. Her dog Alphie is a certified therapy dog and once a month she takes him to visit an assisted living facility. Any time left over she spends on the ranch!

Shelby

Veterinary Assistant

Shelby joined Lifetime Animal Hospital in 2024. She graduated from Riverside high school in Basin Wyoming in 2021. After graduation she took a year off. She started attending Northwest Community College in Powell WY in August of 2022 and Graduated in 2024 with an Associates of Applied Science in Veterinary medicine. Shelby plans to return to school and work towards a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, and is working on gaining valuable experiences toward that goal with Lifetime Animal Hospital.

Shelby is passionate about working with animals and has always wanted to be in the Veterinary field. Shelby has been around livestock her entire life, mostly sheep and horses. Growing up and raising sheep on a farm outside of Riverton WY, Shelby learned at a young age that sick and injured animals cannot fend for themselves. Being able to assist in helping animals get better and be the best they can be gives Shelby a sense of hope that she is making a difference in their lives.

Shelby shares her life with her two dogs, Zip a black Labrador retriever, and Oakley a Labrador retriever Border Collie mix. Two cats, Smokey, and Nova. As well as her two horses, King a Polish Arabian and Pretty lady, a Quarter horse. When she is not working, Shelby enjoys hiking, camping, hunting, and training her dogs and horses.

Kennel Assistants

Lifetime Animal Hospital has a great team of Kennel Assistants who not only take care of our Boarding Dogs and Cats, and some exotics and birds, but who also spend valuable time with them each day making sure they are well fed, comfortable and clean every day. This great team of employees also helps to keep the hospital tidy and clean seven days per week and on holidays. As a Veterinary Medical Team, we all pitch in to care not only for our Boarded pets, but our hospitalized pets and those pets who just need to be loved on during the daytime hours when their parents are at work. Loving pets is what these folks do each day!!

Jim Prior

Co-owner / Controller

Jim and Dr. Prior have had animal hospitals in other parts of the country. We are happy that they settled in Cody, WY and created a wonderful place to work and care for animals. Jim majored in music and is also a student of foreign languages. In addition to overseeing Hospital Operations he is very involved in the Community of Cody where he serves as a worship pastor for a local church and where he lends his time to direct the Cody Chamber Ensemble. When he isn’t working, he enjoys listening to music and spending time with family and friends.

Tammy Satterthwaite, MBA, CMPE

Hospital Administrator

Tammy joined Lifetime Animal Hospital as the Hospital Administrator in 2024. Tammy received her Masters of Business Administration from John Brown University in 2009 and has worked as a Certified Medical Practice Executive in Clinical Practice for over 20 years. Tammy began her career as a Veterinary Hospital Administrator in 1998 changing careers in 2002 to Healthcare Executive leadership for OU Physicians in Oklahoma City, a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center in Casper, and as a Clinic Director and Executive in Cody and Sheridan, WY. Most recently Tammy and her family lived in Medford, WI where she served as a Regional Clinic Director for a large healthcare system. While in WI they spent time with kids and grandchildren. Making the decision to return to Cody, WY, Tammy as renewed her work in Veterinary Medical Leadership. Tammy is joined by her husband Rick, who is a Licensed Behavioral Counselor and her two children, Olivia a student at the University of Wyoming and Zachary a student at Cody High School.

When she is not working, Tammy enjoys singing at her church and spending time outdoors, walking and camping. Rick and Tammy are avid dog lovers and call Tucker, a Giant Schnoodle and frequent blood donor for critically ill canines, and Timber, an energetic English Springer Spaniel, as members of their family.