Team - Caring Hands Animal Hospital

Practice Excellence

Diverse in talents, united in our mission.

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Veterinarians

Dr. Marie Leslie

Veterinarian

Caring Hands Animal Hospital opened its doors in the fall of 2007.

Dr. Dwayne Pearce

Veterinarian

Dr. Pearce is a Lake City Native. He grew up with many animals

Dr. Taylor Alexander

Veterinarian

Dr. Taylor Alexander is originally from North Carolina.

Dr. Annie Choi

Veterinarian

Dr. Annie Choi is originally from Queens, New York.

Ashley Grubbs

Practice Manager

Ashley Grubbs is from Tampa, Fl. She started working in veterinary

Paige Glass

Practice Manager & Certified Veterinary Technician

Paige was born and raised in the Tampa

Brooke Kirkpatrick

Veterinary Technician

Brooke was born and raised in White Springs, Fl.

Megan Hale

Veterinary Technician

Megan is originally from Miami Florida and moved to Live Oak

James Fleming

Veterinary Technician

James is originally from Washington DC. He moved to Lake City in 2022

Laura Stewart

Veterinary Technician

Laura Stewart is from Live Oak, Fl and chose to work in veterinary medicine

Liz Knight

Veterinary Technician

Raised in a small town in Alabama, Liz discovered her love for animals

Michael Najem

Veterinary Technician

Mike is originally from Miami Beach Florida.

Christina Itterley

Veterinary Technician

Christina was born in Miami but remembers most of her childhood

Jennifer Kapusta

Certified Veterinary Technician

Jenn is from Rochester Hills, MI.

Madison Lee

Technician Assistant

Madison Lee, better known as Maddy, was born and raised in White Springs

Elisia Hunter

Technician Assistant

Elisia is originally from Live Oak Florida. She has moved around

Jaden Oneail

Kennel Technician

Jaden was born and raised in Lake City, Florida.

Justin Bannister

Kennel Technician

Justin is originally from Lake City and moved to Live Oak about 3 years ago.

Sara Negron

CSR

Sara began her career in the animal care industry 10 years ago

Jeanne German

CSR

Jeanne was born in Hartford Connecticut and moved to Florida

Sarah Avenancio

CSR

Sarah was born and raised in Gainesville Florida. She grew up

Melanie Bargamain

CSR

Melanie, who is better known as Mel, is from Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Marie Leslie

Caring Hands Animal Hospital opened its doors in the fall of 2007. While working at and managing various animal hospitals in northern Florida, Dr. Leslie saw that pet owners are most concerned about how much veterinarians and staff care about them and their pets. She observed that often veterinary care givers became hurried and even callous towards the needs of the clients and their pets. The name Caring Hands was chosen to help remind us all about why we are really in this profession.

Dr. Marie Leslie

Dr. Annie Choi

Dr. Annie Choi is originally from Queens, New York. She completed her Bachelor's degree at the University of Delaware in 2017. She completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Ross university where she rescued her beloved cat Garfield and graduated in 2022. She completed her clinical year at Lincoln Memorial University where she found Caring Hands during an externship. Dr. Annie fell in love with the technicians and is extremely excited to work alongside a great mentor, Dr. Leslie. Dr. Annie has a passion within vet med for soft tissue surgery and general practice. In her free time she loves going to the beach, and going on special adventures with Garfield.

Dr. Marie Leslie

Veterinarians

Dr. Marie Leslie

Veterinarian

Dr. Dwayne Pearce

Veterinarian

Dr. Taylor Alexander

Veterinarian

Dr. Annie Choi

Veterinarian

Practice Managers

Ashley Grubbs

Practice Manager

Paige Glass

Practice Manager & Certified Veterinary Technician

Veterinary Technicians

Brooke Kirkpatrick

Veterinary Technician

Megan Hale

Veterinary Technician

James Fleming

Veterinary Technician

Laura Stewart

Veterinary Technician

Liz Knight

Veterinary Technician

Michael Najem

Veterinary Technician

Christina Itterley

Veterinary Technician

Jennifer Kapusta

Certified Veterinary Technician

Technician Assistants

Madison Lee

Technician Assistant

Elisia Hunter

Technician Assistant

Kennel Technicians

Jaden Oneail

Kennel Technician

Justin Bannister

Kennel Technician

Customer Service Representatives

Sara Negron

CSR

Jeanne German

CSR

Sarah Avenancio

CSR

Melanie Bargamain

CSR

Dr. Marie Leslie

Dr. Marie Leslie

Dr. Annie Choi

Dr. Marie Leslie

Dr. Marie Leslie

Dr. Dwayne Pearce

Dr. Taylor Alexander

Dr. Annie Choi

Ashley Grubbs

Paige Glass

Brooke Kirkpatrick

Megan Hale

James Fleming

Laura Stewart

Liz Knight

Michael Najem

Christina Itterley

Jennifer Kapusta

Madison Lee

Elisia Hunter

Jaden Oneail

Justin Bannister

Sara Negron

Jeanne German

Sarah Avenancio

Melanie Bargamain