About Companion Animal Clinic - Blacksburg, Virginia
Meet the staff of Companion Animal Clinic, and learn more about how we serve Blacksburg, Virginia.More About Our Veterinary Practice
Serving Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford Since 1974 AAHA Accredited Animal Hospital
Companion Animal Clinic has served the Blacksburg community since 1974. Our founder, Dr. Jim Shuler, graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Animal Husbandry in 1966. Originally located on Landsdowne Street, and subsequently South Main, the practice has been at 201 South Hill Drive since 1997. With accreditation from the American Animal Hospital Association, our facilities and services meet a standard of quality matched by fewer than 15 percent of veterinary practices in the US or Canada.
Most of our clients are cats and dogs, but we also see hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, and the occasional fish, goat, or marmoset. As a full-service clinic, we offer checkups, vaccines, surgery, and dental care. Our hospital is spacious, with four exam rooms, a complete in-house laboratory, and pharmacy. We have separate suites for surgery, dental exams, and radiology. Animals in need of longer-term observation, or boarding, stay in our expansive kennel—which includes three indoor runs so large animals get exercise.
Companion Animal Clinic is active in the Blacksburg community. We are the primary veterinarian for a local shelter, Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center. We regularly host veterinary students as interns from Virginia Tech, and have even hired quite a few!
You can also spot Companion Animal Clinic at community events such as Blacksburg’s annual Festival of the Dog, and its Winter Lights holiday festival.
We’ve been a proud supporter of the Blacksburg Sports Club, raising funds for Virginia Tech and Blacksburg High School athletic programs. Go Hokies!
Our Veterinarians
Matt McCormick, DVM, Medical Director
Dr. Matt McCormick has been with Companion Animal Clinic since 1989—he joined just a year after receiving his DVM from Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. An accomplished local veterinarian, he was the past president of both the Southwest Virginia Veterinary Medical Association and Mid-Atlantic Association of Avian Veterinarians, a member of the AVMA and the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians. Dr. McCormick’s experience also includes being a participant in the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study and a member of the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium.
He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Small Mammal Medicine & Surgery at his alma mater, teaching ferret medicine, pocket pet medicine and the exotic companion mammal critical care and procedures lab.
Dr. McCormick’s favorite animals to work with are bunnies, cats, chickens, ducks and rats (yes, rats!). He especially loves to caring for kittens and other tiny creatures. His specialties include small mammal medicine and surgery; chicken and duck medicine and teaching.
When not at work, he likes to make gourmet desserts (Dr. McCormick has a weakness for chocolate). He also enjoys hiking, reading and woodworking. He and his wife Liz have one daughter, who helps care for all the critters he brings home. Speaking of critters: The McCormick family cares for a small zoo including cats (Baxter, Luci, Jasper, Princess Butterface, Flerken), two dogs (Aladar and Finnick), two adult guinea pigs (Winnie and Speckles) a blind hamster (Henry), three elder rats, a house chicken (Karhen), a duck (Pip) and bee hives!
Vanessa Mitchell, DVM
Originally from Boston, Dr. Vanessa Mitchell graduated with a BA in Biology from Colby-Sawyer College. She then received her DVM from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. She joined Companion Animal Clinic in 2015 and has special interests in internal medicine and dentistry.
Dr. Mitchell lives in Christiansburg with her husband James and her two children. They have two cats (Ella and Baxter) two dogs (Clive the Boxer and Edgar the Boston Terrier) and a guinea pig named Cheeto. You can find her in surgery singing loudly to pop music from the 90s and early 2000s, but her absolute favorite is Adele.
Melanie Walters, DVM
Dr. Melanie Walters graduated from Virginia Tech in 2012 and Virginia Tech College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016. Dr. Walters is a remarkable veterinarian, who is also a devoted wife and mother of four children, a breeder of Bernese Mountain Dogs, and a resident of a beautiful farm in Blacksburg, VA. Having a wealth of experience in animal care, this dedicated veterinarian will provide high-quality veterinary services with love and compassion. As a mother and wife, she understands the importance of family and will treat your pets with the same care and attention as she would her own. Being a breeder of Bernese mountain dogs, she has a passion for raising healthy and happy pups that become beloved members of your family. Dr. Walters loves living on a farm, where she is intimately connected with the land and the animals she cares for.
Whether you are in need of routine check-ups, surgical procedures, or emergency care, she will strive to do the best for your pet. With a warm and welcoming demeanor, Dr. Walters is sure to make both you and your furry friend feel right at home.
Kelly Lemkul, DVM
Dr. Lemkul has been an associate veterinarian with Companion Animal Clinic since February of 2018. Originally from Florida, Dr. Lemkul grew up with dogs and has always loved animals. She knew that she wanted to be a veterinarian ever since she could remember.
A graduate of Virgina Tech, Dr. Lemkul has special interests in veterinary neurology, cardiology and wound management. She is particularly passionate about helping pets feel more at ease at the vet clinic and feeling healthy and well overall. She especially loves seeing pets grow from little pups to old friends.
When she isn’t caring for pets at the clinic, Dr. Lemkul enjoys playing with her human (and dog) kids, spending time in or on the water, crafting and listening to music. She has two boys named Liam and Luke and two corgis who go by Chicken and Waffles.
Joe Fabrizi, DVM
Dr. Joe Fabrizi earned his DVM from Virginia Tech and has recently returned to the New River Valley with his wife and children. Passionate about the relational side of veterinary medicine, Dr. Fabrizi is dedicated to fostering open communication and transparency with clients as they create personalized treatment plans tailored to each individual case. Dr. Fabrizi values the veterinarian-client-patient relationship and believes in the crucial role that clients play in their pets’ care.
Dr. Fabrizi has a particular interest in internal medicine and soft tissue surgery. He is dedicated to continuous learning and actively collaborates with his colleagues at Companion, as well as within the broader veterinary community, to provide the highest standard of care for his patients.
Outside of his professional life, Dr. Fabrizi is an avid baseball enthusiast and plays pickleball several times a week! He enjoys spending quality time with his wife and two boys and is excited to call the NRV home.
Madison Gravitte, DVM
Dr. Madison Gravitte graduated in 2017 from Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. A Virginia native, she moved to Utah for several years after graduation to enjoy skiing and mountain biking in bigger mountains. After returning home to Virginia, Dr. Gravitte joined Companion Animal Clinic in May of 2023.
Dr. Gravitte has always wanted to be a veterinarian, and cherishes the human-animal bond. She loves seeing pets grow from puppies and kittens to adult animals and is passionate about keeping them healthy every step of the way. Dr. Gravitte has a particular interest in surgery and has received extensive training in soft tissue and orthopedic surgical procedures for your pets. She is pleased to offer high-level surgical care at Companion Animal Clinic.
When not in the clinic, you’ll find Dr. Gravitte enjoying the great outdoors and spending time with her family and their two dogs, Kona (mixed breed) and Kye (boxer).
Rebecca Moore, DVM
Dr. Rebecca Moore is originally from Richmond and fell in love with the NRV during her undergraduate studies at VT in Animal and Poultry Sciences. She then remained in Blacksburg for vet school and graduated in 2019. She was lucky enough to stay in the area post-graduation and practiced in the Roanoke area until joining CAC in 2024. Her special interests include dermatology, soft tissue surgery, and preventative medicine. She is passionate about fostering and caring for the human-animal bond.
Dr. Moore and her husband Trey, a VT campus minister, live in Riner with their young daughter, Gracie, and Miniature Schnauzer, Mae. Outside of veterinary medicine, she loves being active, enjoying the outdoors, movies, and game nights.
Our Licensed Veterinary Technicians
Anne Marie Hutchens, LVT
Anne Marie H. grew up in nearby Giles County, and attended Blue Ridge Community College. In 2004, she graduated as a Licensed Veterinary Technician. She joined Companion Animal Clinic in 2010. Anne Marie has experience working with small, large, and exotic animals, and she raises and shows purebred LaMancha dairy goats. Her interests include making soap and cheese from her goat milk, and spending time with family and friends. She also loves her miniature pinschers!
Rista White, LVT
Rista W. is a New Englander whose heart found a home in Southwestern Virginia. Originally from Augusta, Maine, she went to school at Becker College in Massachusetts. She received her degree in Veterinary Technology in 2013. She has been with Companion Animal Clinic since 2015. Her two dogs are Savannah and Tipsy, and her cat is named Rigby. She also has a hedgehog named Moxxi. In her free time she likes to learn more about positive reinforcement animal training and see what kinds of fun behaviors she can teach her animals next.
Our Practice Manager
Taylor Spencer
Taylor Spencer has been part of the Companion Animal Clinic team since September 2017. After working as a Certified Nursing Assistant for about two years at a nursing home, the Christiansburg native found her true passion in the veterinary industry helping both people and animals.
Taylor’s five years of experience as a Service Coordinator at CAC have given her a strong understanding of the clinic’s inner workings and the importance of efficient and effective communication between staff and clients. She loves interacting with people and animals on a daily basis. Taylor appreciates the close-knit team at CAC, which makes her role as Practice Manager even more enjoyable.
In her free time, Taylor enjoys hiking, crocheting, gardening, and taking care of her house plants. She is also a proud pet owner, with three furry and scaly friends: Tink, a domestic longhair cat, Cleo, a domestic shorthair cat, and Norbert, a bearded dragon.
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