Our Veterinary Team

Mrs. Ann Miller has been with the clinic since it opened in 2014. Her history with the clinic however, does not start there as she is actually Dr. Smith’s (the clinic’s owner) mother! Mrs. Ann works in reception at the clinic so if you give us a call it is likely her welcoming voice you will hear. Along with Mrs. Ann, her dog Nigel is likely under the counter at the front desk keeping her feet warm and you may see her husband Mr. Dave (Dr. Smith’s father) helping out as well. They have several dogs at home that they have rescued over the years and are both Ripley natives.

Brittany is a Blue Mountain native that came to the clinic in November of 2014, just after the clinic opened. She is one of our veterinary technicians at the clinic but wears many hats as she also helps in reception and in the kennel. She is currently also working on her degree to become a licensed veterinary technician. She and her partner, Antione, have a little boy named Ayden at home as well as 3 dogs named Sadie, Bella, and Puppy. 

Mekenzie was born and raised in Ripley and helps in our kennel. She cares for dogs that are boarding as well as those that are hospitalized in making sure they all receive the love and attention they deserve while they are here! She plans to one day become a veterinarian herself. She has a dog named Bolo and a cat named Captain at home.

Behind the front desk you may notice our clinic turtle, Skittles. Skittles is 19 years old and originally got his name because he used to be the size of a little green skittle! He was first found by the wildlife rehab department at Mississippi state who nursed his cracked shell back to health. Over 10 years ago, while Dr. Smith was in vet school, she took Skittles home to care for him and they have been together ever since. Skittles is a very friendly turtle and will actually come out of his shell if Dr. Smith calls his name. He used to be a “professor” at Mississippi State School of Veterinary Medicine as he taught vet students what turtle x-rays were supposed to look like. Now he enjoys his retirement at the Animal Clinic of Tippah County and we hope to have him for many years to come.

Harry, the clinic ferret, came to us from a little boy that one day saw the empty ferret cage that was in the clinic. It was empty because the clinic was grieving the loss of Fern, the previous clinic ferret who passed away from cancer. This little boy thought Harry might be able to fill the hole in everyone’s hearts so he gave him to us and he has been a part of the family ever since. He mostly enjoys laying in his hammock all day but sometimes he does like to run around the clinic, visiting the dogs and cats.

Clark was surrendered to our clinic as a kitten after Dr. Smith repaired a large hernia in his abdomen through multiple surgeries. After nursing him back to health not only was everyone in the clinic bonded with him but he became especially fond of our other clinic cat Lois. Lois acted like a mother to little Cark while he recovered and his owner decided that they didn’t want to see them separated so he joined the clinic family permanently.

When we first met Lois she could not walk and the chances of her improving were slim. However, after getting some medical attention and TLC she proved everyone wrong and despite being once paralyzed she began to walk again!  After she did she adopted another sick kitten (who is now our other clinic cat Clark) as her own and made sure he got healthy too!

Kiley, like the other clinic cats, came to us extremely sick. She was found abandoned at a construction site and there was only a slight chance she would make it, but to our delight she made a full recovery! Now she enjoys laying on the copy machine (which we now refer to as our “cat scanner”) or in her box on Mrs. Ann’s desk.

Val came to us to be euthanized because she was found covered in oil and the owner did not think anything could be done to save her. However, after Dr. Smith convinced them to let her try cleaning her up, the owner let us keep her. It turned out that in the end Val was actually a white cat underneath all the black oil!  After several baths she did great and has been with us ever since.

Over the years, multiple chickens have made their way to the backyard of the clinic…it’s almost like they know there are tender hearted ladies there willing to feed almost anything! They have multiplied and formed their own little clan!