Three Lavonia Animal Hospital Vet Techs Attending UGA Vet School

While Lavonia Animal Hospital is not necessarily known as a teaching veterinary practice, three vet techs who work there will tell you differently.

They are all choosing careers in veterinary medicine, thanks they say to the inspiration and help they received from Drs. Pat Hitchcock and Jason Macomson.

Tyler Vaughn, Tyler Poole, and Savannah Thomas-Grizzle have worked at Lavonia Animal Hospital for years and all three are now in various stages of their vet school education.

Tyler Vaughn graduated from Franklin County High School in 2006 and will graduate from UGA School of Veterinary Medicine in May.

Vaughn said his passion for veterinary medicine started ten years ago when he took a life class in his freshman year of high school.

“My mother had worked with one of the husbands of one of the employees up here,” Vaughn said. “And they had given me the opportunity to come.  That day was a complete turning point for me. I was here for two hours and I knew this is what I wanted to do.”

Vaughn said since working at Lavonia Animal Hospital, he’s had the opportunity to get a lot of hands-on experience.

“They’ve given me the opportunity to do things others in my class have not been able to do. I couldn’t have asked for better mentors and I’m so thankful and grateful that they’ve given me this chance,” he said.

Once he graduates this spring, Vaughn said he would like to come back to Franklin County and work at Lavonia Animal Hospital and eventually specialize in animal cardiac medicine.

Tyler Poole, meantime, is also a vet tech at Lavonia Animal Hospital where he credits his former biology teacher at Franklin County High School, Dr. Macomson with piquing his interest in a career in veterinary medicine.

“He was offering extra credit for the honors class so I came up here to get the extra credit and I fell in love with it,” Poole said. “I’ve lived on a farm my whole life. We’ve had cattle and I raised dogs. I love it.”

Poole started at Lavonia Animal Hospital volunteering and then working part-time.  He was hired full-time after he completed his undergraduate work at UGA.

Poole will start his first year in veterinary school in the fall, one of just 100 who got in out of 1,200 applicants. Poole said he wants to specialize in the study and research of animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as rabies, encephalitis and mad cow disease.  He hopes to one day work for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta as a researcher. 

Savannah Thomas-Grizzle is in her first year of veterinary school at UGA.  Grizzle has been a fixture at Lavonia Animal Hospital since the 9^th grade at Franklin County High School.  Grizzle says she plans to specialize in poultry medicine.

“We’ve always raised exotic breeds of poultry,” she said. “I’ve also done poultry judging and I’ve worked at broiler-breeder chicken houses.  When we get any kind of avian wildlife here I love it.  Birds are so unique.  Their anatomy is just amazing.”

Thomas-Grizzle says she hopes to come back to Franklin County and work for a poultry company alongside her husband.

Dr. Hitchcock said he, Dr. Macomson, and the entire staff are proud of the three’s academic achievements.

“Between Dr. Macomson and their experience here at Lavonia Animal Hospital, they have proven to be outstanding young students,” Hitchcock said. “We’re all excited that they’re going to be veterinarians one day and we’re all super proud of them.”

According to Dr. Hitchcock, seven former employees at Lavonia Animal Hospital have gone on to become veterinarians and several others are now medical doctors or work in the medical field.