About Our Staff
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Dr. Dave graduated from the UW School of Dentistry in 1985, and has practiced in Port Townsend ever since. He no longer surfs and windsurfs--the water’s too cold and he’s too old and decrepit. His new obsession is 84 acres of forest land out in Chimacum. He spends evenings and weekends thinning out the smaller trees, cutting brambles, pulling up Scotch Broom, watering his baby trees, and injuring himself with sharp and/or heavy objects. Besides root canals, he likes setting off fireworks, and puts on the First Night Port Townsend display. His three parrots have employed him as a care giver for the past 20 years. |
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Candace has been around since--well, we’re not sure, but we think she started here before Nixon was president. At least 20 years, anyway. She has a collection of dinosaur teeth which she claims to have personally extracted, although we think she stole them from the Jurassic Park set. She has two kids in college, so she works five days a week, and would work weekends too if she could figure out how to turn off the alarm system. The high point of her day is buying morning coffee, which she reheats ever couple of hours, but never has time to drink. |
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Kris is our senior front office person, and has been with the practice since 1987. Her husband Lee is the Port Hadlock Postmaster, and she has three grown children who still keep her busy. although there are no grand children yet. With the kids out of the house, she and Lee plan to travel one of these days, although we’re hoping she keeps working a few more years yet. |
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Libie joined our dental practice in the spring of 2003, coming over from the dark side (that is, a medical office). She has also worked as an EMT, and is just itching for a patient to code so she can use her EMS skills again--we‘re hoping she doesn‘t get the chance. Outside of the workplace, she keeps very busy with two side businesses, three children, and a Deputy Sheriff husband Brian who does vampire control out at Forks. |
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Dana started working here in the fall of 2002--as she says, everyone’s entitled to one mistake. To those who ask if those brilliant white teeth are really hers, the answer is here revealed--she has dentures. Actually, she uses tooth-whitening bleach by the case, one of the perks of working here. She goes to the gym and works out a lot, but in spite of that has recently been putting on weight and developing a large belly . . . That would be her son Jacob’s new baby brother. She has expressed an interest in working right up until her water breaks, but Dr. Dave says if she does, she has to clean it up before she goes to the hospital. |
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Clarissa Granger (not her real name) is working part time for us while Dana is out on maternity leave (the baby is due around August 1st). We don't have a picture of Clarissa, since she's in the Witness Protection Program, but you may have seen her on the reality TV show, "Growing Up Gotti." She's the blond who testifies against John Gotti in the trial scenes--you can catch the series on A & E. Apparently she was married to an organized crime figure in a previous life, because she still wears a bulletproof vest under her dental assisting gear, and has a concealed weapons permit (don't worry, she checks her gun at the door). At some point she will write her own bio, and we'll get rid of this one . . . |
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Bonnie has been with us at the front desk since 2006, sharing the job with Kris. She seems to have lived pretty much everywhere over the years, although it‘s possible she was run out of town all those places . . . if you can think of a good nickname that reflects that, we want to hear it. We’re still half expecting her to announce she’s quitting and moving to who knows where, but she says that she and her husband Larry have settled down for good this time. |
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Molly is the parrot who comes to the office most Fridays, although occasionally we bring Sweet Sadie, a Sun Conure. She is an African Gray, like the famous Alex, except that she doesn’t talk. She can imitate an amazing variety of sounds, including a dental drill, microwave oven, dog, cat, chickadee. She likes to have you sit close to the cage and talk intently to her--doesn‘t have to be English. Our Amazon, Baby, is now living in Sequim with his buddy Cooper. His new owners include a girl with long blond hair, and he’s very happy there, but we miss him. |
"If any of you are considering purchasing a parrot, please talk to Dr. Dave before you do anything rash. Parrots are actually not good pets, since they are wild animals just a generation or two back. The pamphlet below summarizes why you should think twice about parrot ownership,
http://www.apa.org.uk/pdfs/before-purchase-parrot.pdf
Another good information source is the World Parrot Refuge, specifically the page, http://www.floprs.org/plight.html. This is an organization that is literally being inundated by birds that have outlived their owners, or at least outlasted their interest. Dr. Dave’s parrots are birds that other people for various reasons were unable to take care of, and he has at least one bird that will outlive him. People often call him saying they have or know of a parrot needing a home, can he take one more? It’s a big problem, and the current economic downturn is not helping--the rescue organizations lack funding at the same time that people decide they can’t afford to keep the bird any more.
Having a parrot is similar to having a child--once you’ve got it, you’re responsible for it, and it will probably outlive you. Unlike a child, it’s not going to support you in your old age. In addition, many species of parrots are threatened or endangered, and while most birds in the United States are captive-bred, there is still a tremendous amount of bird smuggling going on to satisfy the pet bird trade.
If you absolutely want to have a parrot, some of the rescue organizations do link up prospective owners and unwanted birds. This is a bit like adopting a juvenile delinquent--many of these birds are behavior problems--but it’s a chance to do some good. Phoenix Landing, www.phoenixlanding.org, can put you in touch with adoption agencies, or you can travel back to North Carolina and pick up your child from them. There are also unwanted parrots in Port Townsend on a regular basis, check at the pet stores, or ask to be put on Dr. Dave’s list of potential care givers.
