Dr. Michael Lynch
Dr. Lynch graduated from the University of Georgia in 1968. Shortly thereafter, in April of 1970 he purchased Jacksonville Veterinary Hospital on Sweet Air Road, in Phoenix, MD. In 2004, the practice was moved to its present location on Jarrettsville Pike. Dr. Lynch is well known in this community.His kind and gentle manner has served pets and people for more than 50 years. Dogs, cats, rabbits and pocket-pets have all found comfort in his caring hands. He enjoys spending time with his wife and family, music, gardening, splitting wood, and being outdoors.
Dr. Michele Burk
Dr. Burk has been with Jacksonville Vet since 1995 and has a dedicated and loyal following who appreciate her meticulous attention to detail and her caring and kind touch. Dr. Burk graduated from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994 and also holds a BA in Animal Science and a Degree with Distinction in Immunology. Dr. Burk is married and has two children who share her love of animals. She enjoys spending time with her family, outdoor activities like hiking and running as well as gardening and cooking.
Dr. Melissa Thai
Since she joined Jacksonville Veterinary Hospital in 2002, Dr. Thai's warmth and cheerful demeanor, combined with her expertise, have made her invaluable to the practice. Dr. Thai is a native of Maryland and grew up in Gaithersburg. She received her degree in veterinary medicine from Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, VA in 2001. Dr. Thai likes spending time with her husband and children, and loves being by the water. Pictured with Melissa is one of her kittens, Cinnamon.
Dr. Mary Schmitt Kablis
Dr. Kablis graduated from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of
Veterinary Medicine in 2005 and has been practicing small animal medicine
in Maryland. She joined our team in 2014 and thoroughly enjoys caring fr
your beloved furry family members. When Dr. Kablis is not treating animals,
she enjoys spending time with her husband, her two girls who keep her very
busy, and their Alaskan Malamute, Glazer (pictured). She enjoys camping and
vacationing at the beach with her family. Dr. Kablis also enjoys going to
Disneyworld and spending time crafting.
Dr. Britta Larsson
Dr. Larsson was born in Sweden and came to the United States with her family at a young age. She graduated with her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Oklahoma State University in 2015 and started with our practice in 2017. She regularly sees appointments Monday through Saturday, performs surgeries on Wednesdays and specializes in holistic medication, herbal remedies and acupuncture. We are so excited to be able to offer our clients a new treatment option! Dr. Larsson is pictured here with her pet, Zoey. Zoey has been benefitting greatly from acupuncture treatment for incontinence and arthritis.
Holly
Hospital Manager
Holly started her career as a veterinary technician in 2003 and first joined the JVH team in 2008. After earning her B.S. in Biology in 2013, she left JVH to pursue an opportunity at the National Aquarium. She worked full time caring for the animals in both the Rainforest and Australian exhibits and taught the public about the importance of Biodiversity and conservation. In January of 2014, she was invited to join JVH as the Hospital’s new Practice Manager. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family her family, hiking, kayaking, photography, and snowboarding. Pictured with Holly are her dogs Roxy, a Siberian Husky, and Jager, a lab mix.
Stacey
Veterinary Technician
Stacey has been a vet tech for 7 years. She studied biology & forensic science, and graduated from University of Maryland in 2017. She is currently pursuing courses focusing on private investigation, and aspires to do investigations relating to animals. Outside of work, she is a car enthusiast along with her husband. She likes to travel, play video games and hang out with her cat, Godiva.
Madison
Veterinary Technician
Madison joined our team in June of 2021. She is currently pursuing her degree as an animal diagnostic sonographer, and has been a Veterinary Technician for 5 years. She has a cat named Darla (pictured) and a rat named Bugsy.
Sabina
Veterinary Technician
Sabina started at JVH in 2020 after graduating from the Penn Foster Program for Veterinary Technicians in 2019. She has worked in the veterinary field for 15 years and is an asset to our surgical team and is always comforting to patients and clients. She is a busy mom of 3 kids, has a Presa Canario named Beyla and a cat named Pepper. In her spare time she likes to go camping, hiking, play sports, and hang out with family and friends.
Morgan
Veterinary Assistant
Morgan has been at JVH since October of 2021. She earned her A.A. at CCBC in Essex and plans to go to Vet Tech school. In her spare time she likes to hang out with family, friends, go hiking, crafting, and wants to travel. She keeps our hospital workflow moving, and our staff smiling. She enjoys learning new things. Morgan has 3 Labrador retrievers Murphy, Sophie and Sadie (pictured).
April
Receptionist
April Ratajczak has been at Jacksonville Vet Hospital since July 2021, and has been working in the animal field for 11 years. She LOVES her job. And it shows! April has a hamster named Teddy who is wild. She also recently got married and is a busy mom of 2 kids. She has a daughter, age 9 and a stepson, age 16. In her spare time she enjoys diamond puzzles, writing poetry, drawing and volunteering at her church. She just moved to our area and is happy to answer any calls or questions with a smile.
Jen
Receptionist
Jen started her journey with JVH as a receptionist and veterinary assistant in 1993 upon graduating high school. She volunteers with rescue organizations taking in orphaned newborn kittens. Jen has four daughters and a variety of animals, including dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, geckos and an axolotl. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and pets, photography, crafting, hiking, camping and cooking, Jen is pictured with her dog, daisy.
Karen
Receptionist
Karen is our sweet and dedicated receptionist for over 3 years. She earned her bachelor's degree in sports science and absolutely loves greeting new pets and clients, pet sitting, comforting our patients, and spends her free time teaching yoga and enjoying nature.
Gabby
Receptionist
Gabby joined the JVH team in December of 2022. She loves working with the
compassionate client care staff and enjoys meeting all of the incredibly
kind clients that come in every day. One of her favorite parts of working
at Jacksonville Vet is that there is always something new to learn. In her
free time, Gabby likes to read and spend time with family and friends. She
also loves going on walks with her two dogs, Finn and Bailey.
Laura
Receptionist
Laura has been with us since 2006 and is a familiar face to most of our clients when they greet us at the front desk. She knows most of clients and their pets by name. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and kayaking with her dogs and her husband, taking the polar bear plunge every year for charity, and watching the Ravens games during football season. Pictured with Laura is her rescued pit bull, Lugnut.
Mary
Receptionist
Mary joined our receptionist team in 2013 after working as a technician in the veterinary field since 1986. She earned a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Maryland in 1986 and has an interest in dog behavior and training. Mary is an excellent educator and demonstrates empathy and compassion with the animals and their family members here in our hospital, as well as at home. She is involved in dog rescue as well as competing her dogs in conformation, obedience, rally and tracking. She has four dogs, three cats and lots of poultry on her farm. Pictured with Mary is her Doberman Pinscher, Viktor.
Rita
Receptionist
Rita joined our team in 2012 after gaining her experience in the equine veterinary field as a surgery technician for 25 years. She helped rescue, rehabilitate and find new homes for racehorses. Having rescued three dogs Rita knows how important pets are to their families. Here at JVH, she is a friendly face to each client and pet as they enter our hospital and helps ensure that each visit runs smoothly and effectively. When Rita is away from work, she enjoys gardening, riding her horse “Indio”, fox hunting and playing polo with her husband. Pictured with Rita is her Jack Russel terrier mix, Ruffian.
Angela
Receptionist
Angela joined the Jacksonville Veterinary Hospital team in 2022 and absolutely loves greeting and getting to know our clients. She is happily married with two daughters, a dog named Murphy and a cat named Charlie. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, tackling home projects, listening to audiobooks and camping.
Allyson
Animal Caretaker
Allyson joined our team in August of 2021 and will always greet you with a
smile. She knows each pet by name and gives extra attention to detail. In
her free time she enjoys painting, being together with friends and spending
time with her many animals. She enjoys learning new things and hopes to
learn more in the future.
Steven
Animal Caretaker
Steven began as a volunteer helping around the building from a young age and started as a member of our animal caretaker team in 2013. He is currently majoring in Health at Harford Community College and enjoys learning about all the various dog species that come into our pet hotel to vacation with us. Outside of work and his college courses, he enjoys spending time with friends, family, pets and playing bass guitar. Pictured with Steven is his rescue LeeLa.
Katy
Animal Caretaker
Katy has been working at Jacksonville since the beginning of her senior year of high school in 2021. She is currently in school to become a certified dog trainer. Katy has 2 German Shepherds named little Bear and Mack, a lizard named Mr. Lick, and a frog named Cheech. Katy's favorite part of working at JVH is the friendships she has made along the way and the people she has met.
Brooke
Animal Caretaker
Brooke started at Jacksonville in October of 2022. She is currently a senior in high school and has always loved all types of animals, so loves everything she gets to do at Jacksonville! She has a yellow lab named Roxy, a cat named Oscar (both pictured), and a German Shepherd named Ellie.
Abby
Animal Caretaker
Abby joined our animal caretaker team in 2022 and enjoys spending time with pets while their families are away. She has grown up with cats her whole life. "Animal care has been a passion of mine since I was a kid, you can ask my mom how many little creatures I would find and take home. My cat Sabrina is the goofiest cat you will ever meet, she always tries to get in my way when I’m crafting." Abby is great at spending quality time with each individual animal and making sure they get plenty of specialized care.
Brady
Animal Caretaker
A member of the animal caretaker staff since 2018, Brady enjoys playing and spending time with the animals that stay at our pet hotel. He is currently a student at Stevenson University studying business communication and sports journalism. Set to graduate in the Spring of ’23, Brady is also a member of the Stevenson Baseball Team. Pictured with Brady is his Australian Shepherd, Willoughby.