Our Staff

Veterinarians

Dr. Steve Lichiello

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Dr. Steve Lichiello is from West Virginia where he attended WVU for undergraduate studies. He then finished his DVM degree at Louisiana State University in 1982. He has practiced dairy, equine, and mixed farm animal medicine as well as small companion animal medicine for the past 27 years. He has owned Ridgewood Animal Hospital since 1985 and the current small animal hospital was built in 1990. Dr Lichiello most enjoys orthopedic and abdominal surgery, but telling or listening to a good story during an office visit is also a favorite.
Dr. Jamie Adkins

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Dr. Jamie Adkins attended Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine before doing her final clinical year at Texas A&M veterinary school. She worked at a mixed animal practice on the eastern shore of Maryland before joining Ridgewood Animal Hospital in January 2006. Dr. Adkins enjoys daily small animal practice in both medicine and surgery, along with an interest in exotics, "pocket pets", and birds. At home she enjoys horseback riding, raising goats, travel and spending time with her family which includes three Cavalier King Charles spaniels and a Standard Poodle.
Dr. Jerry Lane

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Dr. Jerry Lane joined the Ridgewood staff in July 2011. He was born and raised in southern Maine and moved to Virginia in 1998. He worked as a Licensed Vet Tech at various hospitals from Maine to Virginia and graduated from Becker College prior to Vet school. Jerry graduated from the Va Tech Veterinary School in 2008. He and his wife, Gina have two children, a dog and a cat. Jerry's interests are soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, sports and spending time with his family.
Dr. Leslie Hudson

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Dr. Leslie Hudson has been filling in as a relief veterinarian at Ridgewood Animal Hospital for about 10 years. Prior to that she was a staff veterinarian at the Animal Emergency Clinic in Lynchburg for 10 years. Dr. Hudson worked as a mixed animal practioner in Indiana, Missippi, and Harrisonburg, Va. before coming to the Lynchburg area. She graduated from Missippi State University in 1985 and did post-graduate training at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and Perdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. Her special interests are behavior problems and disaster preparedness.

Management Staff

Shawn Long

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Shawn , like many of our employees , came to Ridgewood first as a client with his dog , Josey. In 1996 he began working as a kennel assistant and was then cross- trained in other areas of the hospital such as veterinary assistant and receptionist. When the previous office manager left to pursue another career, Shawn stepped in to fill that position. His experience in all aspects of the hospital means you may see him walking dogs, helping a vet in an appointment, running lab work, or answering phones at the front desk in addition to his behind the scenes management duties. Shawn also updates our website. Having a background in technical services, Shawn handles our in-house equipment maintenance. A life-long friend of animals, Shawn currently has a dog, Woodrow and a cat, Carl at home which were both "projects" brought home from work. A graduate of Heritage High School and National Business College, Shawn makes his home in Lynchburg. He enjoys experiencing the outdoors from the seat of his Honda Motorcycle.

Technician Staff

Heather Staton , LVT

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Heather began working at Ridgewood Animal Hospital in October 2000. She graduated from Jefferson Forest High School in 2001, then received an A.A.S. Degree in Science from Central Virginia Community College in 2005 and graduated with top honors from Blue Ridge Community College's Veterinary Technology program in 2009. She shares her life with three cats and two adorable chihuahuas.
Her interests include veterinary dentistry, nutrition,client education, and disaster planning. She is a member of Bedford County's Animal Response Team and serves on the state Animal Response Team's board of directors. Heather is furthering her education in areas such as nutrition and urinalysis, and is working on a veterinary Dental Technicians Certification.
Mary DeShano

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Mary joined our team in April 2001. She earned her degree as an Animal Care Specialist in April 1997 from the School Of Animal Science in Atlanta, Georgia. She then earned a Veterinary Assistant diploma, graduating with highest honors from Stratford Career Institute in January 2006. Mary is currently working toward her Veterinary Technician License through Penn Foster College. Her areas of interest are nutrition and orthopedics. She shares her home in Lynchburg with six dogs and three cats. She enjoys reading and playing ball with her dogs in her spare time.
Brenda Funk

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Brenda began working as a veterinary / kennel assistant in Fairmont , West Virginia during her senior year of high school. She graduated from Fairmont Senior High in 1998. After meeting her husband, she moved to Virginia and joined the Ridgewood staff in 2003. Brenda and her husband share their home in Monroe with their two cats, Lucky and Mouser. In her spare time , she enjoys going to the beach and to wine festivals across Virginia.

Grooming Staff

Jennifer Brock

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Jennifer has been the pet groomer at Ridgewood Animal Hospital since March 2007. She has over 11 years of experience grooming dogs and cats. She began grooming in 1999 and earned her certification through Petsmart's grooming apprenticeship program in 2000. Jennifer very much enjoys getting to know our clients and their pets. She enjoys spending her free time with her family and her three cats, Celica, Tacoma, and Molly.

Kennel Staff

Morgan Wilmouth

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Sam Kese
Ryan Kling
Travis Beverley
Amanda Smith

Receptionist

Lisa Pitcher

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Sandy Evans

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Sandy grew up in Forest and her family has been bringing their pets to Ridgewood Animal Hospital since the practice opened. She came to work at Ridgewood as a receptionist in May 2005. Sandy has three dogs , Hank,Lady and Abbey. Sandy also has a cat named Missy.

Ridgewood Animal Hospital

Our Staff