Our veterinary clinic is owned and operated by Dr. Amy DeFries. Our team consists of four veterinarians, three receptionists, and a large backup crew of assistants and LVT's. Our team is commited to educating our clients on how to keep your pet healthy year round. Lake Forest Animal Hospital stays on top of the latest advances in veterinary technology and above all remembers that all pets need to be treated with loving care at every check up, procedure, and or surgery.

Dr. Amy graduated from Auburn University. She has two great kids which are actually young adults now. Her Bull Mastiffs are the furry loves of her life. Dr. Amy loves to see exotics, including reptiles. She also loves a good challenge and a complicated surgery.

Dr. Angela has been with the practice from the beginning. She started working one day a week to give Dr. Amy some time off. As the practice began to grow, we were blessed to have Dr Angela work more hours. Dr. Angela graduated from Va Tech, and has three great kids, one cat, and two new puppies.

We are happy to have added Dr. Bray to our team. She is an awesome doctor who loves surgery. She likes to spend her time hiking with her dogs, and curled up reading with her cats. Her husband is also an important part of her life.

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Van Scoik to our practice. She just recently moved to our area from PA. where she worked in a mixed practice. We are so pleased that she has joined our team, and can't wait for her to meet all of our great clients.

Dr. Kitti is a relief veterinarian who has been filling in for us on ocassion. She is a very straight forward person, and quite good at dog and cat impressions.

Leo came in via animal control. At the time he was looking pretty rough, but as you can see, that is no longer the case. He keeps us on our toes and makes sure everything gets done like it's supposed to.

Cathy has been with us since '99. She attended Blue Ridge Comm College and obtained her technicians license in '03. Cathy has a 3 dogs, two of which are her favorite breed, the Papillion. She has learned recently that she really enjoys doing agility with her dogs and is working to further train herself and her dogs in this new venture.

Mandy has been at the clinic since opening day. That's somewhere around April of '98. She graduated with an associates in Animal Science at NVCC. She has two daughters, 4 dogs, 1 cat, a chinchilla, and a ferret. Mandy loves to raise babies, especially wildlife. 

Sharon has been an assistant since 2006 and really wishes she had retired from her previous career much earlier than she did.  She and her husband, David, are owned by 4 dogs (a Doberman, 1 shelties, a dachshund and a mixed breed) and 3 loving kitties.  Sharon is a volunteer with Northern Va Sheltie Rescue and frequently has a foster dog, or two.  You may have seen her bringing foster shelties to the clinic, some in not so good shape, so don't worry!  They are on the road to recovery!

Suzanne is one of our 3 great receptionist. She has completely joined the family by adopting multiple furry children from us. We are happy to have her finish out our receptionist team.

Amanda is a wonderful part of our reception team. She started in April 2015 and has fit in so well that it feels as if she has always been a part of our family. We truly feel blessed to have her.

Morgan started with us in 2018. She started out as an assistant but quickly started to do a lot more. Most days you'll find her running lab work and doing technician appointments. She also adopted that adorable dog(Elliot) in the picture from us. 

Lizzie always has great attitude and is willing to try new stuff. 

Maggie started with us in the beginning of 2020 when all the COVID issues began. With that she got thrown in the deep end, but did so great that we aren't sure what we would do without her. She has the ability to learn fast and now does a little bit of everything here. One day she may be helping the doctor and the next she is filling in at reception. I can not say how thankful we are that she joined our team.

 Sarah graduated from Fort Sam Houston's School of Veterinary Technology in 2009 and worked as a veterinary technician in the Army for four years. She is in her final semesters at San Juan College earning her associate's degree in veterinary technology as well. She is living her dream on her very own farm and animal rescue in Bedford, Virginia.            

Graduated from Virginia Tech with my Bachelors in Animal Science in 2018, and have been working as an assistant ever since. I just recently started the vet tech program with blue ridge community college and am expected to graduate in 2023. I have 2 Labrador retrievers named Annie and Bella that I adore, along with a small herd of angus cattle that I hope to expand in the future!  

Tess is a military spouse that landed in Lynchburg March of 2019.  She has a Bachelors in Music Education, but is switching her love of working with students to working with animals! She hopes to start school within the veterinary technician field soon. She and her husband have 4 fur children; 2 cats named Gus and Boo Kitty, and 2 dogs named Lily and Sam. Tess is excited to be part of the Lake Forest team! 

Give some background on this staff member, such as how long they've been in this field and what they love about their job. Also provide some personal info about hobbies, pets, family, and more.