Doctors and Staff

VETERINARIANS

Dr. Ann Stuart

Ann Stuart, DVM 
​Dr. Ann Stuart moved to the Asheville area soon after graduating with honors from the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, and spending a year of clinical internship at the University of Georgia almost 30 years ago.  She grew up in Chapel Hill and attended the University of North Carolina.  A horsewoman all of her life,  Ann is involved with endurance racing from the local and national levels to international championship competitions as a 4 star FEI judge.  She  has competed in endurance herself and has served as an official and support staff at multiple international competitions, but more recently pleasure riding is how she prefers to spend her time in the saddle. Working with your companion animals is just as rewarding to Ann as working up lameness and maximizing performance in sport horses.  She loves spending her spare time at her home in the mountains of Barnardsville with her many horses, dogs and cats.

Dr. Aaron Langley

Aaron Langley, DVM
Dr. Aaron Langley grew up in Parker, Colorado just southeast of Denver. He received a B.S. in Animal Science in 2005 and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University in 2009. He completed a mixed animal internship at Neuse River Veterinary Hospital and continued working as an Associate Veterinarian with the practice. He then spent two years back in Colorado working as a mixed animal veterinarian prior to moving to Johnson City, Tennessee. Dr. Langley spent the past three years providing integrated therapies for horses and small animals in northeast TN. He received his Chiropractic training at Options for Animals College of Animal Chiropractic and his acupuncture training at Medical Acupuncture for Veterinarians.
Dr. Langley specializes in chiropractic care and acupuncture for all types of animals.

Dr. Sarah Dunnigan

​Sarah Dunnigan, DVM​
Dr. Sarah Dunnigan's passion for animals started when she was growing up in Eastern North Carolina. During high school she began showing livestock at the state fair and fell in love with agriculture. This led her to pursue a degree in Animal Science and then unto NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine where she graduated in 2016. 
Since graduation, Dr. Dunnigan has treated animals ranging from dogs to cattle to guinea pigs.  She enjoys the excitement of mixed animal medicine and looks forward to meeting any and all creatures you have!  
In her free time you can usually catch her playing bluegrass guitar, fly fishing, or hiking around with her two dogs, Ziggy Stardust and Pepperoni. 

Dr. Lauren Streifel

Lauren Streifel, DVM
Dr. Lauren Streifel is our newest addition here at Appalachian Animal Hospital, having joined at the start of 2019.
Dr. Streifel began her veterinary education at the University of Florida, graduated with honors, receiving a Bachelor’s of Science in Animal Science and Zoology (May 2010). Dr. Streifel was later accepted to the UF College of Veterinary Medicine. She graduated with her doctorate in veterinary medicine with the class of 2015 (Go Gators!).
While enjoying all aspects of veterinary medicine, Dr. Streifel has a drive for surgery (soft tissue and orthopedic) and preventative medicine. She is passionate about nurturing the human-animal bond, which includes low stress handling of every patient, in an effort reduce fear and increase patient comfort while in the veterinary office.
She is looking forward to a proactive, productive experience here at AAH with her patients and their “family members”. Dr. Streifel’s love for helping animals is rivaled only by her passion for outdoor adventure. On her days off she can be found enjoying the great landscapes of NC mountains with her dog, Deedee. Her talents include mountain biking and rock climbing as she loves a good challenge!
Dr. Streifel is excited to develop a caring relationship with our community here in Weaverville, and in NC.

Support Staff

​Jill Anderson/ Practice Manager
Jill is our office manager and has been with us since July 2012.  Jill comes from a teaching background and decided to switch from two-legged children to four-legged animals and loves it! She is devoted to making each client feel as though they are part of our family.  
Outside of work Jill enjoys traveling and spending time with her wonderful husband and 3 children and their friends. It has been said many times over again that she is the glue that holds the practice together and its true! 

Kelly Smith/ Inventory Manager
​Kelly is our tech guru holding a heavy hand in equine. She originally hails from the Virgin Islands (born and raised) and has been riding horses since she was five years old. Kelly is a member of the US Pony Club and is a certified instructor, clinician and HM Judge. She lives with her crazy dog Scruffy and the sweetest cat Ali; she loves to hike and makes sure to avoid snakes at all costs.

Norit Dvir Elliott/ Front End Manager
Norit joins us with a background heavy in animal rights and welfare. She was a Campaign Coordinator for Animals in Entertainment with PETA and spent many years volunteering with shelters and sanctuaries, including a rescue for farm animals. Norit loves all animals but holds a special place for rodents and the tiny guys of this world, like spiders, frogs and ants. Norit loves to write, read, lay on the hammock and hang out with her dogs Soup, Shya Mia and Norton (and her main men, husband Nick and cat Henry).

Heather Gooding/ Pharmaceuticals and Specialty Client Care
Heather was born and raised in Florida, and spent many years volunteering at Gainesville Pet Rescue. She graduated with her Masters degree in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida and loves to venture out into nature. She and her husband live with their two cats and beautiful puppy, Luna. Heather loves a good laugh, a good brewery and a good day packed with animal love!

Kelsey Fuller/ Receptionist
​Kelsey is originally from Columbus, Georgia and came to Asheville in 2017. Besides having a love for the outdoors she has always had a love for animals which lead her to volunteering at animal shelters. This eventually led to working here as a receptionist. Kelsey is always ready to meet and greet the animals with a huge smile. She is full of Southern charm and adores her dogs Tundra and Maverick! Kelsey considers herself lucky to be able to work with other people's pets on a daily basis, especially when puppy kisses are involved! ​

Jenny "Ginger" Kern/ Head Technician
Jenny is a registered veterinary technician joining us from Minnesota. She has been working with animals since she was a young girl, rescuing all manners of critters. Jenny loves plants, nature and has a spectacular green thumb! She shares her time and space with her two cats, horse and dog.

Colby King/ Technician
​Colby has many companions, primarily the scaly kind. He is truly the ‘King’ of all things reptile. His love for snakes has him with 11 of his own and even his little Chihuahua, Bruiser, doesn’t mind. Colby is always ready to take on a challenge, whether in field or in the surgery room and is a great help when things get a little too creepy crawly for the rest of us. Colby is full of compassion and humor, with a strong sense of understanding for the needs of all those around him. We appreciate having Mr. King on board and always look forward to a joke match or pun contest with him!

Charlotte ‘Charly’ White/ Technician
Charly was born and raised here in North Carolina and holds an MFA in painting and woodworking from WCU. Charly is one of our technicians and has a gentle touch with all our animal companions. She has a special place in her heart for all things feline and makes sure that petting kittens is part of her daily routine. With two cats of her own, Charly manages her time between working at Appalachian Animal Hospital, taking care of her cats, making homemade kombucha, gardening and sleeping.

​Liza McTech/ Technician
Liza, also known as a roller derby queen, is our official 'hailed from Philly' tech. Liza is the proud mom of two fantastically energetic dogs, Bryson and Ollie. 

She comes to us with a changeover from human medicine to animal medicine and enjoys the benefits of pup kisses daily. Her favorite color is black and her passion for animals shines each day as she develops and hones her tech talents!

​Sharyn Groh/ Equine and main office team member
Sharyn helped us out one day about fifteen years ago and she’s been with us ever since! She coordinates field appointments and is a tremendous support to both the doctors and our clients. Sharyn is a classical dressage rider and endurance rider. She lives in the mountains of Barnardsville with her horses and dogs.

Lauren Saunby/ Equine Coordinator
Lauren is our Equine Specialist with a twist! She rides endurance; however, her riding partner is her mule, Miss Maggie Mae. Sometimes Maggie Mae is the only mule in a gang of horse riders but neither gals mind. Lauren lives on a mule farm which includes her companion chickens, cats and dogs. She is fluent in Spanish and holds a Masters in Hispanic Cultural Studies from the University of Madrid. She also has a degree in Adult Education from Penn State University. Although riding throughout her life, she still gets excited when competing all over the Southeast region. Lauren is an exciting, positive force on our team and we are just as thrilled as she is to have her take care of our large animal and equine clients.

Anna Thompson/ Equine Coordinator
Anna is a North Carolina native, born and raised in Asheville and now residing in Black Mountain. With a diverse background, Anna has at one point designed custom handbags; and was a trail guide for horseback rides at Biltmore (for four years).
Her love of animals brings her to us, and her home has no shortage of animal companions. Anna and her husband have three dogs and a Tennessee Walking Horse named Belle. They have a 'growing way to fast' son named Raylan, and in her down time, Anna enjoys a good read and of course, a trail ride with her horse!

Laurie Cammarata/ Equine Coordinator
A US Navy veteran, Laurie began her career with driving ships and as an Intelligence Officer, analyzing the capabilities of foreign submarines.
She holds a BS in economics (and weapons systems engineering from the US Naval Academy), a BA in studio art (Univ MD) and a Masters in public health (Creighton Univ). Even with all this time and effort devoted to such incredible projects, Laurie also managed time to raise two wonderful sons, Anthony and Dominick, on a 100 acre humanely raised food production animal farm; as well as host many horsemanship clinics at Red-tail Ridge.
She loves exploring her creativity and even more, loves cooking with locally produced, healthy ingredients.
Laurie has been residing in Asheville for 20 years and now enjoys her time on a small, quiet farm in Alexander with two horses, Topper and Eragon, and her sweet, tail always wagging no-matter-what dog, Tito.