ISLAND PET VETERINARY HOSPITAL - Key Persons
Amanda was born and raised in Onslow County, NC. Growing up she spent a lot of time with her four-legged siblings ensuring they were happy and healthy. Amanda always knew she wanted to work in the veterinary field.
Amanda attended Coastal Carolina Community College in 2010 where she became a Certified Veterinary Assistant. While in school she gained lots of hands-on experience volunteering at Lynnwood Zoo and Possumwood Acres. After graduating she worked at a local veterinary hospital as a receptionist until she joined the Island Pet family in January 2018. She is dedicated to providing quality customer service to clients and their babies.
"It is great to work with people who share the same love of animals and strive to provide compassionate veterinary care" as Amanda puts it.
In her free time, Amanda enjoys spending time with her husband Mike, their sweet pup Daisy, and their 2 cockatiels who love to swoop down and taunt Daisy. She also enjoys doing live videos selling Paparazzi jewelry, sightseeing, shooting at the rifle range, and going to church.
Annette is originally from Michigan. She started school in 1992 at Macomb Community College in Michigan, with hopes of becoming a registered veterinary technician. Annette worked at a Veterinary Hospital in MI, as a veterinary assistant during the time that she was going to school. Shortly after starting the program Annette's husband, Frank, got a promotion that he couldn't refuse. Frank's promotion took them both to Maryland.
Annette was still dedicated to her education and transferred to a Community College in VA. She traveled from her home in Maryland to school in Virginia, then to work in Maryland. That's a lot of time on the road! Over time, the commute between work, school, and home took a toll on Annette and made the difficult decision to put her education on hold.
Fortunately for Annette, she was still able to keep her job in Maryland, where she earned 20+ years of experience.
Annette and Frank loved to travel and would often find themselves on the beaches of Atlantic Beach, NC. They loved the location so much that they decided to move there in 2013. Annette worked at a few local animal hospitals over the years and found Island Pet in May of 2018. Working at Island Pet has allowed Annette to combine both of her passions, caring for animals and living on the beach. In her own words "I enjoy working with all of the wonderful doctors and staff here at Island Pet".
To relax, Annette loves dolphin watching, spending time with her two dogs (Sara & Finn) and 2 cats (Kittery & Sailor), and she will never turn down the chance to spend time sitting on the beach, taking in the smells and sounds of nature.
Christina was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She began her career in the veterinary field at the Pennsylvania SPCA where she was a receptionist for a year and then moved onto a veterinary technician position. Six years later Christina up and moved her family to Havelock NC and worked at a local vet hospital until she joined the Island Pet family in January 2019.
Dr. Michelle Cox loves people almost as much as she loves animals. That is why veterinary medicine was always the perfect job for her. She understands the human-animal bond and wants to enhance that for her clients and patients.
She grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where as a child and teenager she was constantly caring for injured domestic animals, strays, and wildlife. Dr. Cox has never wanted to be anything but a veterinarian. She is a 1994 graduate of the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, Canada. After practicing general and emergency medicine, she attended classes at the Humane Alliance in Asheville, North Carolina where she specialized in surgery for large volume spay and neuter clinics. After practicing in Greenville, N.C. in private practice and Spay Today she moved to Carteret County in 2013 to work in a local practice. Unhappy with the service her clients were offered she took the leap into ownership and in November 2017 she opened Island Pet Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Cox is dedicated to providing the best care possible to all her clients. Since she believes in giving back to her community, through Island Pet Veterinary Hospital she and her team provide care and services at a discounted rate for Island Cat Allies and Protectors of Homeless Pets rescue groups and has been known to sponsor fundraisers for animal and human victims of natural disasters.
For fun, Dr. Cox is an avid athlete. You can see her running or working out in the gym. She is a member of the Eastern Surfing Association and when she is not taking care of animals, you can find her in her happy place - the ocean, or hanging out with her German Shorthaired pointer Finn and Wink the amazing one-eyed surfing cat.
Katie grew up as the typical little girl obsessed with all animals, especially horses. She knew one day she would become a veterinarian. She did everything she needed to do to get into college at Virginia Tech to start her undergrad education as an animal and poultry science major with an interest in equine studies. Life happened, and instead of finishing her degree at Virginia Tech, her path changed to lead her to Martin Community College in Williamston, NC. In 2011, Katie obtained an AAS in Equine Technology, even having to take an extra year when she broke her arm riding at school. While attending MCC, Katie became certified in Equine Sports Massage Therapy and Canine Massage Therapy, combining her love for horses and interest in alternative medicine. After graduating and getting married, Katie returned to her hometown of Stafford, VA and began her dream job (second to being a veterinarian) as an equine technician at a mixed practice in Purcellville, VA. Life happened again, and Katie found out that she was going to be a mother! The drive to Purcellville was no longer reasonable, so she was able to obtain a veterinary assistant position at a local small animal and exotic practice. This is really where Katie started to learn and to grow her veterinary nursing skills. Katie moved back to North Carolina and has worked at two other small animal practices, one being an integrative medicine practice, before finally landing a position at Island Pet. She could not be more proud to work with such an amazing team. Katie now lives in Swansboro with her two children, dog (Mideez) and a cat (Mrs. Wolowitz) that she fosters through Colonial Capital Humane Society. In all the spare time she has as a single mother, she enjoys trips to the beach, reading, and sleeping! Someday soon she hopes to go back to school to become a registered veterinary technician.
Originally from upstate New York, Lisa, otherwise known to us as the "Cat Whisperer", has been working in veterinary medicine for 18+ years. She started her career at the S.P.C.A of Virginia Beach as a Veterinary assistant. She quickly was promoted to Manager of the aggressive animal kennels where she was able to determine and assess their ability to be immediately adopted or to need training before becoming available. Her family, being military, then moved to Onslow County where she continued to pursue her love and affection for animals and veterinary care.
She has vast experience in all aspects of veterinary medicine from working within multiple types of veterinary hospitals and many talented doctors. Lisa is known to have a limitless amount of love for cats and is our go-to person when kitties are in need of comfort.
Desiring to work in a veterinary hospital with a higher passion for animal care, she left her former position and moved over to Island Pet Veterinary Hospital in February of 2017 as an early member of the staff. She now resides in Jacksonville with her five cats (Mama, Charlie, Wee-Wee, Little Man and Gus Gus). She also has two dogs (Bocephus and Joey). All rescues.
In Lisa's spare time she enjoys playing softball with her husband, Adam, crocheting/knitting, and riding ATV's, fishing with her son, Caleb, and playing with her babies (cats). Her husband thinks he has married a version of Snow White! Lisa is also a talented artist.
Miranda was raised in Swansboro, NC. She's been around animals her entire life. Ever since she was little she always had a passion for working in this field. Her senior year of high school she interned at an animal hospital and at a local shelter. Her passion grew much stronger during her senior year. Her goal has always been to help and make a difference in any way that she possibly can in an animal's life. In March of 2018 she started The Vet Tech Program at the International Business College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In college she got a lot of hands on experience. She began her externship at Island Pet Veterinary Hospital in July of 2019. During her externship the welcoming atmosphere and all of the amazing people made her feel right at home. She finished her program and graduated with an Associates Degree in Applied Science of Veterinary Technology. Dr. Cox then hired her in September of 2019 and she has been apart of the Island Pet family since. In November she passed her VTNE and became a registered Veterinary Technician in January. In her spare time she loves to be with family and friends and cuddling with her two Shih Tzu's Maya and Katie.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Island Pet
- Practice Administrator / Veterinary Assistant Team Lead
Travis is the newest member of the Island Pet team. Travis says," My love for animals and veterinary medicine is rivaled only by my love for family and friends. After 18+ years it's hard to imagine myself in any other field."
Travis found himself in veterinary medicine by a twist of fate, as he was in school for graphic design. He needed money for school and had a relative working for a veterinary hospital who got him a job. After his first few months working in veterinary medicine, he was in love.
Travis grew up around animals from rats to horses! Animals have always been a huge part of his life, but he admits "I'm more of a dog person".
In the past, he has held many positions in veterinary medicine. He has a strong interest in the management aspects as well as the medicine and has attended many continuing education events to learn more about both.
He currently has 2 dogs. A 16-year-old miniature poodle named Charlie and a 1-year-old Goldendoodle named Hank Williams. On the human side, he and his wife Jennifer have 3 children (Jake, Riley, and Mylah).
When asked about why he came to work at Island Pet he said, "The best part of working at Island Pet is the willingness to work together and complete tasks as a cohesive group. More like a family than a place of business. The level of compassion and care is astounding and I'm lucky to have found my way here". Island Pet feels the same way about Travis!