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ABOUT Town and Country Veterinary Hospital

In 1995,  Dr. Nick Ashford opened Town and Country Veterinary Hospital to provide pet owners in the Apex area with quality animal care. We now have five veterinarians on staff to serve your pet's needs. With a combined 70+ years of veterinary experience, we provide quality and compassionate veterinary care for your pet in a warm, friendly and clean environment. We understand that every pet's needs are different and we strive to prove that €œWE CARE

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Dr. Nick Ashford

Veterinarian/Practice Owner

Dr. Ashford was born and raised in Fayetteville, NC. He attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a B.S. degree in Zoology. He then attended The North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1989.

 

Dr. Ashford co-founded Town and Country Veterinary Hospital and Animal Care Center in 1994. He is a member of the Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society, North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, Who's Who of American Medical Professionals, Cary-MacGregor Rotary Club and Apex United Methodist Church. He lives in Apex with his wife Laura; two children, Hadley and Clay; and his Border Terrier Tipper. His areas of medical interest include dentistry/oral surgery, ophthalmology, and internal medicine. His hobbies and leisure interests include water sports, fishing, boating, and working in the yard.

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Dr. Amanda Groulx

Veterinarian/Practice Owner

Dr. Amanda Groulx is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan.  She attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando for 2 years before transferring to North Carolina State University.  At NC State she earned a bachelor's degree in Animal Science and a master's degree in physiology.  She then entered veterinary school, graduating with honors in 2010.

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Dr. Groulx previously worked as one of our technicians and was thrilled to rejoin our staff as a veterinarian shortly after graduation.  She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine but has a special interest in dentistry, behavior and internal medicine.  She is an active member of the AVMA and the NCVMA.

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Dr. Groulx lives in Cary with her husband, Ryan and their three children, Sonora, Maizy and Owen.  She has four dogs:  Gus, Tupelo, Ike and Leia.  Her hobbies include water sports, working out and baking.  She enjoys being busy and works hard to balance her work schedule with her family life, ensuring that her children roll their eyes at her daily.  She loves her job and is dedicated to making sure that our patients receive excellent medical care while providing support and guidance to our clients.

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Dr. Deana McNamer

Veterinarian

Dr. McNamer was born and raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She received a BA in Biology from Ripon College in Ripon, WI in 1992. She then moved to North Carolina where she attended the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she received a PhD in Pharmacology in 1998. Following graduate school, she entered the North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated with honors in 2002. During her 4th year in veterinary school she was awarded the Companion Animal Faculty Clinical Proficiency Award. She is currently a member of Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society, the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

 

Her major areas of interest include surgery, preventative medicine, and a growing interest in ultrasound. Dr. McNamer lives near Jordan Lake with her husband Michael, and their whippets.  She is a hobby breeder and occasionally breeds a litter of whippets.  When not working she enjoys hiking with her husband and hounds, knitting and participating in lure coursing and conformation dog shows with their whippets.

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Dr. Matthew Merriman

Veterinarian

Dr. Merriman was born and raised in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He attended the University of Oklahoma where he received a B.S. degree In Zoology. He then attended Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine where he earned his Doctor of veterinary Medicine in 2002.

 

He started out his veterinary career in Austin, Texas where he worked in a small animal hospital. He then moved to Dallas for 3 years where he gained extensive experience in emergency and critical care while working at a 24 hour emergency clinic. Dr. Merriman moved to the Raleigh/Cary area in 2006 with his wife, Dr. Julie Merriman.  They have 2 children and 1 dog (Greta) and 1 cat (Stewart).His professional interests include soft tissue surgery and internal medicine. Dr. Merriman is an active member of the AVMA and NCVMA. He has completed his training through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and is now accepting patients for acupuncture therapy. 

 

In his spare time Dr. Merriman loves to watch OU athletics football in particular, traveling, working in the yard and around the house, playing pick up games of basketball, and spending time with friends and family. 

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Dr. Ally James

Veterinarian

Dr. James was born and raised in Marion, Ohio. She received her bachelor's degree in animal science and biology at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio in 2015. She then attended The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 2019 with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Graduate Business Minor in Health Sciences. Upon completing her clinical year, she received the Excellence in Soft Tissue Surgery Award. 

 

Her areas of interest include behavior medicine, soft tissue surgery, and surgical oncology. After graduation, she moved to North Carolina for better weather near the ocean. She lives in Raleigh with her cane corso, Major, Roman and her cat Taz. Dr. James loves to read, cook, bake, and go to the beach with friends. She is so excited to continue her career at Town and Country and can’t wait to meet new clients and patients!

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Sandi Berrie

Practice Manager

Sandi Berrie has been the practice manager at Town and Country Veterinary Hospital since 1998. She graduated from the College of Charleston in 1996.  She began working in the veterinary field after moving to Raleigh.  Due to her warm personality and strong customer service skills, she naturally moved into her role as a practice manager.  She lives in Cary with her three dogs Boo, Leroy, and Jordan and cat Nike. 

 

Sandi's pride and joy are her two children, Tyler and Cameron and her grandchildren, London, Harper, River and Violet. She enjoys watching Duke basketball, Gamecocks football, cooking out and spending time with family and friends.  Her love of animals and people is obvious and she strives for fantastic patient and client care.

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April Nash

Veterinary Technician

April Nash is a Senior Technician and has been at Town and Country since 2003.  She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in elementary education in 1986.  After teaching for several years she got the opportunity to get into veterinary medicine and never looked back.  Her mother tried to talk her into going to vet school due to her great love of animals but she didn't listen.  She moved to Raleigh in 1987. 

 

April currently resides in Raleigh with her husband Steve, 2 horses, 3 border collies, 2 cats and 5 chickens.  When not at work she enjoys traveling, riding horses and Harleys and teaching yoga.

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Jovana Fizovich

Veterinary Technician

Jovana has been a technician at Town and Country Veterinary Hospital since 2006, but has had a love for animals since she was very young.  She truly enjoys helping all of our patients and forming relationships with our clients. 

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She moved to Raleigh in 2002 to attend North Carolina State University, where she earned her B.S. degree in Animal Science. She now resides in Cary, where she enjoys restoring her historic farm house. She shares her home with Rita, a Staffordshire Terrier, Rally, a belgian malinois, and Nena, a DSH. 

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When not at work, she spends her free time participating in dog sports, exploring the outdoors with her dogs, hiking, camping, and traveling.

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Josh Williams

Veterinary Technician

Josh has been at Town and Country since 2011.  He has grown up around the area his whole life.  He has a daughter named Layla and a min pin mix named Gibson.  In his free time he likes to play disc golf, collect vinyl and attend live concerts.

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Chris Baese 

Veterinary Technician

Info to come

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Ashley Jones

Veterinary Technician

Ashley has been working at Town and Country Veterinary Hospital since 2016.  She has 2 dogs named Roscoe and Boomer, both rescues.  Due to previous living conditions, Boomer had to have his leg amputated and is now a happy tripod.  Her strong love for animals makes her a great fit at Town and Country. 

 

When not at work, Ashley enjoys pet sitting and hanging out with her personal dogs.

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Da'Naujah Ford

Veterinary Technician

Da'Naujah has been working in the veterinary field since 2017 and became part of the Town and Country Staff in 2020. She was born in Jacksonville, NC and came to the Raleigh area to attend North Carolina State University. 

When not at work, she enjoys spending her time relaxing with her dog Beauty and four wheeling with her family.

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Sandra Stallings

Veterinary Technician

Info to come...

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Vanessa Grijalva

Kennel Technician/Assistant

Vanessa joined the Town and Country team in 2020. She's had a love for animals since she was little. Her love for them makes her very dedicated to her job and she loves making them feel like they're in their home away from home.

Although she wanted to pursue a career in working with animals for a very long time, she loves learning about different cultures, people and traveling. Her ultimate goal is to become a teacher and to live in many different countries. 

In her free time, she loves listening to music, learning choreography and hanging out with her friends and family.

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Katie Buckman Rodriguez

Receptionist

Katie has worked at Town and Country, both on the boarding and veterinary side, since 2004.  She's been involved in animal rescue and working with animals since she was a teenager and shares her home with 9 pets.  She is the resident cat lover, with 6 of her own and a steady parade of foster kittens.  She has 4 dogs, Sheva a shepherd mix, Moose a cattle dog mix and Artoo and Janet, both Great Pyrenees.  She enjoys spending her time with them both outside and on the couch.  She also does some pet photography on the side and is responsible for the pictures in the lobby.  Her favorite part of her job is the kittens and the old dogs. 

 

Katie is currently in school and plans to pursue a nursing degree.

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Melissa Smith

Receptionist

Melissa has worked in the veterinary field since 2002.  She became a team member of Town and Country in 2017.  Melissa has a genuine compassion for animals. She enjoys being able to make them as happy as they make her. Melissa currently resides in Broadway with her husband Doug and her two poodles, Maverick and Goose.

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Sheila Perry (picture to follow)

Receptionist

Info to come...

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Abbie Howell

Inventory Manager

Abbie is a North Carolina native and was born in Jacksonville North Carolina.  She attended UNCW to pursue Marine Biology, but decided to focus on Zoology, and earned her Bachelors of Science degree from East Carolina University in 1996.  She has been in the veterinary filed since 1997 and came to us in 2012 after working for 14+ years at a 24 hour Emergency practice. 

 

Abbie resides in the area with her husband, Dexter. Her son is a UNCW graduate and her daughter is currently attending NC State University. In her time away from work, she enjoys gardening and visiting Topsail Island, where they have a family home.

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