The Best Care
We’re passionate about delivering the best patient care to the pets you love.
Our skills are diverse but our focus is singular: the well-being of your dog or cat.
Our Doctors
Patty Pruitt, DVM, CVA
About Dr. Pruitt
Dr. Patty Pruitt has filled in for us since the 1990s but joined us at Bristol Animal Hospital as a full-time staff member in 2006. She graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1982 and is a self-proclaimed Midwesterner turned Vermont devotee. Along with dogs and cats, Patty loves rabbits. Another of her special interests is surgery. You could say her “special” particular interest is bunny surgery. Patty also brings another excellent service – she is certified in veterinary acupuncture and manual manipulation. When Patty isn’t at Bristol Animal Hospital, one can find her on her skis at Mad River Glen when it’s snowy and on her mountain bike with her Chesapeake Bay Retriever when it’s not.
Karen DeMoy, DVM
About Dr. DeMoy
We welcomed Dr. DeMoy into our practice in 2016. She graduated from the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. Dr. DeMoy practiced mixed animal medicine, focusing on small animals, for three years in central New York before moving back to Vermont in 2002. Karen lives in Orwell with her husband, Dave, a large animal veterinarian, and their son and two daughters. When not shuttling her children to their various activities, she also enjoys gardening, needlework, crochet, felting and is an avid reader of all topics. At home, Karen’s extended family includes a border collie mix named Moxie, a Havanese named Dottie, two miniature poodles named Harre and Heddi, and Melon the cat. They also have a leopard gecko, turtle, guinea pig, rat, and many chickens.
Rebecca Healey, DVM
About Dr. Healey
Jocelyn Selim, DVM
About Dr. Selim
Kristen Guldbech, DVM
About Dr. Guldbech
Dr. Kristen Guldbech grew up in New Jersey. Before attending veterinary school, she got her Masters in Animal and Dairy Science at the University of Georgia. She then attended St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. During her time in Grenada, she was part of a program that would travel around the island and help provide spaying, neutering, and veterinary care to the local pets most in need. After Grenada, she did her clinical year at Iowa State University. After a year in the Midwest, she missed the mountains and decided to move back to the East Coast.
Since beginning in private practice, she has made several trips with volunteer organizations dedicated to providing population control and rabies vaccinations to endemic countries to help in trying to reduce rabies cases worldwide.
Her special veterinary interests include internal medicine, theriogenology, and worldwide rabies prevention. In her spare time, Dr. Guldbech likes making pottery, knitting, traveling, hiking, camping, and cooking, especially baking. Kristen lives in Williston with her dog Squirrel.
Leadership
Tammy Lavalette, Practice Manager
About Tammy
Tammy brilliantly takes care of all things behind the scenes for our practice and has been with us since 2011. She has been involved with both large and small animal veterinary medicine since 1979, first working as a technician and then evolving into management. Tammy loves labs – she has been raising Labrador Retrievers since 1984. She also is an avid beekeeper and breeds rare varieties of chickens and quail as well. Tammy also loves spending time outdoors fishing, gardening, hunting, hiking, and spending time on Maine’s property.
Rachel Manikian, CVT
About Rachel
Rachel graduated from Vermont Technical College in 2005 with a degree in veterinary technology and joined the team at the Animal Hospital of Hinesburg as a technician shortly after that. Along with her regular technical duties, Rachel became the hospital’s Technician Supervisor/Assistant Manager in 2013. Rachel has a special interest (and skills) in emergency and critical patient care. When not on the clock, she can be found heading up a mountain with her lab-mix “Dexter,” taking a Zumba class, or just hanging out with her husband, daughter, cat, and flock of chickens.
Care Team
Kathy LaRose
About Kathy
Kathy began her career working for the Animal Hospital of Hinesburg in 1988. Shortly after that, she transferred to Bristol Animal Hospital, where she has been one of our primary technicians for over 30 years. Her advocacy for animal well-being, experience, and patience instills a sense of calm in the animals she cares for. Kathy is proud to be a Vermont native. She feels fortunate to live in this beautiful state and spends her free time outdoors enjoying it. She especially loves spending time with her pet and human family exploring the Northeast kingdom’s clean lakes and trails, traveling, or spending time at home in Hinesburg.
Mercedee Rougier
About Mercedee
Mercedee joined Bristol Animal Hospital in 2016. She is an Addison County native. In her free time, Mercedee enjoys hiking with her labradors, four-wheeling, and boating in the summer.