VSH - Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas

Kevin Concannon

Dr. Concannon graduated from the University of Missouri veterinary school in 1987. He followed this training with an internship at the University of Pennsylvania and then a residency in anesthesia and critical care at the University of California-Davis. He is board certified as a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiology. Since his residency he has held anesthesia faculty positions at the University of California and NCSU schools of veterinary medicine and a research position at Duke University Medical Center. He worked as a full-time emergency clinician for three years after VSH opened and is a founding partner in the hospital. Currently Dr. Concannon serves as the hospital administrator for VSH.

Surgery

Gary Spodnick

Dr. Spodnick is a board certified surgeon who was one of the original veterinarians and founding partners at VSH. He earned his veterinary degree from Oklahoma State University in 1985. His work took him to Massachusetts where he practiced in a large general and specialty practice for three years. He completed a surgical residency program at Tufts University and then joined the faculty at the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, where from 1991 to 1997, he worked first as a clinical instructor and then as an assistant professor of surgery. At VSH, he performs both general and orthopedic surgery and has special interest in oncologic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Spodnick is the Chief of Surgery and oversees doctors in both the surgery and neurology departments at VSH.

James (Buck) Clark

Dr. Clark pursued a career in general practice after graduating from the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He practiced for three years in the Raleigh area before deciding to focus on veterinary surgery. He completed a general internship at Mississippi State University and then a surgical internship at the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center. Competition for surgical residency positions is fierce and it’s not uncommon that veterinarians must show advanced skills and commitment to their goal prior to obtaining a position. His experience enabled him to land a competitive surgery residency at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Clark joined VSH in 2004 and has since brought several new techniques to our surgery department such as the use of stents for treatment of tracheal collapse and a new procedure for repair of cruciate ligament rupture. Dr. Clark finished the final portion of his specialty certification in February of 2006.

David Lee

Dr. Lee, a specialist in surgery, joined VSH in 1999. Dr. Lee graduated from veterinary school at the University of Tennessee and then completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Cornell University. He came to North Carolina to first complete an anesthesia and then surgical residency at the NCSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Lee works with all types of surgical patients including those with orthopedic, intestinal, oncologic, thoracic, and neurologic diseases. One of his primary interests is orthopedic disease and his goals involve expanding the range of techniques offered by VSH in this area.

Cindy Eward

Dr. Cindy Eward is the newest member of our surgical team and we are fortunate to have added an individual with her experience. Cindy graduated in 1996 from the Ontario Veterinary College located in Guelph, Ontario. Her professors thought so well of her that she stayed an additional year to complete an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery. She moved to Auburn, Alabama and to Auburn University for her surgical residency. Once again she stayed an additional year after the training program ended, and this time she filled an assistant professor position at the veterinary school. Most recently she worked in Vermont as a surgeon in private practice. Cindy will be working on a part-time basis during the week and sharing the emergency on-call rotation with the other VSH surgeons.

Oncology

Jerry Waddle

Dr. Waddle is one of a small group of veterinarians who hold board certification in two specialties. His specialties are oncology and internal medicine with greater than 95% of his caseload at VSH being oncology patients. Dr. Waddle graduated from The Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1981 and spent three years in private practice. He completed an internal medicine residency at The University of Pennsylvania in 1986 and then stayed on for seven years as a faculty member in oncology and internal medicine. In 1993 he came to North Carolina for a faculty position in oncology at the NCSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Waddle was in private practice in Durham before becoming one of the founders of VSH in 1997. He is the Chief of Oncology services at VSH.

Dave Ruslander

Dr. Ruslander’s primary specialty is radiation oncology, but he is board certified in medical oncology as well. Prior to joining VSH in 2004, Dr. Ruslander had worked primarily in an academic environment with many publications to his credit. He graduated with a veterinary degree from Cornell University in 1988 and started his career as an intern at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Canada. Dr. Ruslander developed an early interest in oncology and he completed a medical oncology residency at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. He first came to North Carolina in 1992 as a Visiting Assistant Professor at NCSU in the medical oncology department. A desire for continued learning took him to the University of Zurich in Switzerland where he worked as an oncologist and received training in radiation oncology. Dr. Ruslander was on the faculty at Tufts from 1997 to 2000 and then at NCSU from 2000-2004 before joining VSH. Dr. Ruslander is currently president of the Veterinary Cancer Society.

Critical Care

Scott Wells

Dr. Scott Wells joined VSH in October of 2007 to start a weekday critical care service. Scott is a 1999 graduate of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. He spent his first post-graduate year in a general practice before discovering his passion for emergency medicine. Four years of working at emergency hospitals made him realize that he wanted to take his training beyond what he could learn on his own. He decided to move to Boston to take a residency position at the New England Animal Medical Center. This three year residency in emergency and critical care was done under the supervision of critical care specialists and alongside specialists in internal medicine and surgery. The goal of weekday critical care service is to get patients into the hospital quickly and have greater flexibility in responding to the rapidly changing status of very sick animals. Dr. Wells is also the head of the internship program with our first class expected to start in July of 2008.

Emergency/Critical Care Medicine

Kimberly Piner

Dr. Piner is another 2003 graduate of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She traveled to Portland, Oregon after graduation to pursue an internship at the Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital. Dove Lewis is a unique hospital offering 24 hour emergency and critical care services only. The facility is staffed by interns, emergency doctors, and critical care specialists with the specialists responsible for the overall quality of care and training of the interns. Kim joined VSH in July of 2004.

Kimberly LoGuidice

Dr. LoGuidice graduated from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. She then completed a one year internship in emergency and critical care at the Animal Emergency and Critical Care Center in Bridgewater, Mass. where she worked with specialists in the areas of critical care, surgery and internal medicine. Her interest and experience in critical care led to a staff position in emergency medicine at a specialty practice in Charlotte, NC and then to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital. Dr. LoGuidice has been with VSH since January of 2003.

Sarah Leigh

Dr. Brick received her undergraduate degree from Florida State University and followed this with a veterinary degree from Purdue University. Dr. Brick returned to Florida to complete an internship at Florida Veterinary Specialists (FVS) in Tampa. FVS is a large multi-specialty hospital and her internship rotations included emergency, surgery, and internal medicine. The interns at FVS work closely with criticalists and experienced emergency doctors while working in the emergency service. Sarah started working at VSH in December of 2005.

Celeste Cummings

Dr. Celeste Cummings came to VSH in January of 2007. Dr. Cummings is a 2005 graduate of the Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine. VSH searches for emergency doctors who have prior experience in emergency medicine and who also have experience in a specialty practice. Dr. Cummings is no exception as she successfully completed an internship at the Southpaws Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Center outside of Washington, D.C. Prior to working at VSH, Dr. Cummings held a position as an emergency doctor at an emergency only hospital (nights and weekends). She decided to make a change back to a specialty practice due to the varied caseload typical of that type of hospital.

Camille Sherrod

Dr. Camille Sherrod brings a diverse background to her role as an emergency doctor at VSH. After receiving an undergraduate degree in education at UNC-Chapel Hill, Dr. Sherrod pursued a Masters of Divinity degree at Union Theological Seminary. During her seminary studies, Camille discovered a strong sense of calling to veterinary medicine, and subsequently earned her veterinary degree from the NCSU – College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. Since graduation Dr. Sherrod has practiced as an emergency doctor at a specialty practice and directed the Veterinary Technology program at Newberry College, both in South Carolina. In addition to her duties as an emergency doctor, Camille will expand our existing internal training program for veterinary technicians.

Amy Melendy

Dr. Melendy is an experienced emergency doctor who graduated from the University of Illinois in 1994. Her experiences after graduation were varied with time spent at both general, academic, and emergency practices. She gained her emergency experience in Rhode Island working at two different hospitals over four years. She worked closely with veterinary specialists to manage the challenging cases associated with referral medicine. Dr. Melendy came to the Triangle area in 2001 and first worked part-time at VSH while pursuing a Masters degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is currently employed full-time at our Cary location.