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Dr. Karen Holmes
Karen has been practicing general veterinary medicine in Walpole, MA for most of her veterinary career. She has a particular interest in avian medicine and surgery. Dr. Holmes is a graduate of Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association, and is on the Advisory Board of the Association of Avian Veterinarians.
As the "other" family doctor, Dr. Holmes loves to work with people and their animal companions. She is interested in all aspects of human and non-human interaction. With dedication and compassion, she strives to practice preventative medicine in an environment that promotes client education. She firmly believes that the best approach to patient care requires the active participation of many people including family members, veterinary team members and specialists when necessary.
Dr. Holmes is committed to providing you and your companion with the best possible care in a gentle and supportive environment.
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Dr. Melissa Fiske
Dr. Fiske received her Bachelors' degree from Northeastern University. As part of her undergraduate education and training, she did a co-operative education experience at a canine rehabilitation center where she first met Dr. Holmes. They have known each other and worked together since those early days.
Dr. Fiske began her veterinary training at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where she studied for two years before returning to the United States and completing her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Fiske enjoys veterinary dentistry and dental radiology (x-ray). She also has a special interest in exotic companion mammal medicine and surgery. Dr. Fiske has combined these interests by leading our dentistry initiative and providing advanced dentals for our dog, cat and small mammal patients.
When she isn't working, Dr. Fiske enjoys horseback riding, gardening and traveling with her husband, Trevor. She and her husband also share their life with a cat named Banksy and a dog named Jackson.
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Dr. Kate Smolka
Dr. Kate Smolka grew up in the great state of Maryland, and has been steadily working her way up the east coast. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Pathobiology at the University of Connecticut (Go Huskies!), and is a graduate of the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Association of Feline Practitioners.
Dr. Smolka's favorite disciplines are soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, and pain management and anesthesia. Although Dr. Smolka enjoys all facets of veterinary general practice, she is particularly passionate about fear-free handling, and feline medicine and surgery. She loves working together with clients to help take the best care possible of their pets.
In her free time, Dr. Smolka enjoys reading, running and going on adventures with her husband and 2 coonhounds. As a self-proclaimed "cat lady", she naturally has 3 cats at home, as well.
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Dr. Martha Carter
Dr. Martha Carter is originally from near Scranton, PA, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Scranton. Dr. Carter recently graduated from Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and was inducted into the Phi Zeta Honor Society. She is very excited to start her career with the team at Holmes Family Veterinary Clinic! Martha is now a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association, and the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians. She is also Fear Free certified.
Dr. Carter enjoys working with dogs and cats, but she always had a special passion for small exotic mammals. Her love for rats, in particular, was a driving force behind her goal to become a veterinarian. Within the broad field of small animal medicine, Martha is especially interested in ophthalmology, soft tissue surgery, clinical pathology, and animal behavior.
In her free time, Dr. Carter enjoys singing along to show tunes, exploring nature, binge-watching Netflix, or visiting local restaurants with friends and family. Dr. Carter currently shares her life with a long-haired cat named Cozy (who prefers to be called Trash Cat), and two rats, Fontina and Brie.
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Morgan Smith, Certified Veterinary Technician
*also Avian Fear Free Certified
Morgan is a graduate of the Veterinary Technician program at the University of New Hampshire. She attended Norfolk Agricultural High School where she built a strong foundation in animal science and husbandry. She has a special interest in the care and handling of birds and exotic small mammals.
Morgan enjoys all aspects of patient care and client education and outreach. She especially enjoys surgery days when she gets to utilize her expertise in anesthetic monitoring to provide the highest level of care for our patients while under anesthesia and throughout their recovery.
At home, Morgan and her family share their life with 4 parrots, 3 dogs and 2 cats. Outside of the clinic, Morgan enjoys gardening (with a special interest in succulents), cooking and reading.
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Lauren Barbo, Certified Veterinary Technician (Lead Tech)
*also Avian Fear Free Certified
Lauren joined the HFVC team as a full time veterinary technician in April of 2017. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2012 with an Associated in Animal Science and graduated from Mount Ida College in December 2014 with a Bachelors Degree in Veterinary Technology.
Lauren is very enthusiastic and passionate about all aspects of animal care and husbandry. Lauren is the founder of Jr's Paws For a Cause. She also holds a position on the board for Project Samana; a veterinary care and educational outreach program working in underprivileged regions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Lauren's free time, you can find her planning her non-profit events, at the beach, hiking with her dog, at the local farmer's market or cooking. Lauren shares her life with her husband and their rescue dog from the Dominican Republic, named Samana.
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Sharon Thompson, Certified Veterinary Technician
Sharon was born and raised in Taunton Massachusetts and graduated with a degree in veterinary technology from Mount Ida College. Sharon brings 24 years of experience to the HFVC team including 9 years specializing in anesthesia and surgery. Most days at the clinic, you will find her in the surgical suite running anesthesia for our patients!
Sharon has two dogs, one cat and a cockatiel! When Sharon is not busy running anesthesia for our patients, you can find her listening to live music, hiking in the mountains, kayaking, camping, bird watching or skiing.
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Brittany Tetreault, Certified Veterinary Technician
Brittany is one of the newer members of the Holmes Family Veterinary Clinic Team. Brittany earned her Associates and Bachelors degrees in veterinary science from Becker College in 2016 and 2017, respectively. She comes to us with 5 years of experience in the veterinary industry and is very excited to join the HFVC team!
Brittany enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine but is especially drawn to animal behavior. She is also excited to expand her skills with avian and exotic pets.
In her free time, Brittany enjoys volunteering, fostering animals, enjoying the outdoors, and spending time with her husband along with their dog, cat and leopard gecko.
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Jen Purcell, Veterinary Technician
A native of Massachusetts, Jenn grew up in Randolph surrounded by a wide variety of pets. Her love of all animal species led her to develop a passion for working with exotic animals, particularly arachnids and reptiles.
Jenn has been working in the veterinary industry for over four years. She is enthusiastic about client education, especially when it comes to exotic pet care and husbandry. She has been a reptile hobbyist for 12+ years. She currently resides in Taunton with multiple White's tree frogs, 2 bearded dragons, a Brazilian black and a Chilean Rosehair tarantula, a Kenyan sand boa, a Western hognose snake, a russian tortoise, and a leopard gecko.
In her spare time, Jenn likes to take Instagram photos of her animals wearing various hats and outfits. Jen likes to display and categorize insects and various other creatures by taxonomic rank. She also enjoys arts and crafts! Jen is an avid retile and hobbyist and the keeper of many different reptile/amphibian/invertebrate species. She also enjoys the arts and oddities of taxidermy, skeleton, articulation/preservation and entomology.
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Chris Iverson, Veterinary Assistant
Christine grew up in Dedham where she attended Dedham High School. After high school she attended Quincy Junior College where she graduated in 1974 with her degree in Operating Room Technology, and completed her state test to become certified. She then worked at New England Medical Center in the operating room on the heart and trauma team.
After eight years at NEMC she made the decision to stay home and start a family. She and her husband Mark have four children, one boy and three girls. Christine was very happy when the opportunity arose to get back into medicine and the operating room at Holmes Family Vet as a surgical assistant.
She now lives in Plainville with her husband Mark and their three dogs, Dottie an English Cocker Spaniel, Shitsie (yes you read that right), her longhaired mini Dachshund, Tully, a terrier mix who is a rescue that can be seen at the clinic when Christine is there hanging out in the office with Tioga Holmes, and their two cats Zippy and Kitt.
In her spare time Christine likes spending time with her family and her four grandsons, Jake, Gunnar, Vinny and Dom. She also likes spending time walking and hiking and just about anytime that she can be outside in the fresh air enjoying nature.
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Mary Beth West, Veterinary Assistant
Mary Beth grew up in Indiana and graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education. She married and taught fourth grade for many years. After taking time away from teaching to raise her two daughters, she started a long career of volunteering. It wasn't until she moved to Massachusetts that she rediscovered her love and passion for helping animals.
Volunteering turned into working at the Medfield Animal Shelter which recently brought her to Holmes Family Veterinary Clinic. Mary Beth currently lives in Sherborn with her husband, 2 crazy active coonhounds and 2 cats. She is constantly looking forward to spending time with her two daughters currently in college. In her free time, Mary Beth enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, snow skiing, running and hiking with her 2 dogs.
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Kerowyn Kent, Client Service Representative
Kerowyn is one of our newest team members. You will find her cheerful self at the front desk most days checking patients in, booking appointments, answering the phones and relaying messages and information between our clients and the rest of our team. Kerowyn attended Massasoit Community College for Criminal Justice and has followed her passion for animals by transitioning into a career in the veterinary field.
Kerowyn has a particular interest in exotic large animal medicine and is excited to expand her knowledge and skills with us.
In her free time, Kerowyn enjoys practicing karate or listening to music.
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Kelsie Lamoureux, Certified Veterinary Technician
Kelsie is a Rhode Island native, born and raised in Cumberland, RI. She is a New England Institute of Technology graduate, class of March 2020. She graduated with an associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology, Best of Tech Award, and Tech Scholar Award! Her veterinary career started at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, MA as a CVT in their inpatient ward in the ER for 2 years.
She has a special interest in exotics, especially avian and chinchillas (thanks to her late chinchilla, Willie, and her fiancé’s grandmother’s late cockatiel, Peach). At home she has a cat named Lucy and a bunny named Mac.
In her free time you can find her reading a book by the beach, searching for sea glass by the shore, hiking with her daughter and fiancé, spending time in nature, dancing, sailing on a Caribbean cruise, or her newest hobby, hand embroidery.
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Emily Malinowski
Emily received her Bachelors in science in general biology from UMass Dartmouth. She brings 6 years of experience as a veterinary technician to the team at Holmes Family Vet. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine but has a special interest in palliative care and avian/exotic medicine and husbandry.
Emily has a passion for senior pets and almost exclusively adopts older or handicapped pets in need. She lives with her husband and their 2 senior dogs Baxter and Pumpkin, cats Fig and Goose, one eyed rat Scotty and Albert, house chicken Meep, snakes Loretta and Kyle, crested gecko Phoebe, and newly adopted 43 year old Amazon parrot Chico.
Outside of work, Emily spends her free time reading, gardening, hiking, and spending time with her family.
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Maureen Mcallister
Maureen has been with our team since October 2023. When you walk in the building you will be greeted by Maureen’s happy shining. You will also find her checking patients in, answering our busy phone lines and relaying client messages to our team members.
Maureen’s background and career was in medical office management. After several years she decided it was time for a change and moved down the cape where she was a manager at the Coonamessett Inn. During Covid she moved back up to Norwood with her granddaughter Jayda where she still resides.
Maureen has a passion for helping others in need. She works with people in recovery, volunteers at the food pantry, loves to read, exploring new walking paths, swimming and spending her free time with Jayda and their dog Gus. Most of all she loves to laugh and enjoy life!
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Elyse Venne
Elyse was born and raised in Southborough, MA. She graduated the University of South Carolina in 2013 with a bachelors of science in Biology. Ever since she was a kid she had a strong passion and connection with all animals big or small, always having dogs or cats of her own. After living abroad and teaching English for many years she decided to follow her passion for animals and go back to school to get her associates degree as a veterinary technician.
In her free time, you can find Elyse surfing, hiking, trying new recipes, going to outdoor markets, knitting, running or doing yoga. She loves all things simple and sustainable, anything outdoors in the sunshine, and dreams of having her own animal sanctuary one day!
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