CHARLESTON MOBILE ANIMAL CARE - Key Persons
Dr. Kellie Horton grew up in the tiny town of Abbeville, working for a mixed animal practitioner since she was twelve years old, and graduated from Abbeville High School. After graduating from Clemson University with an Animal Science degree, she attended Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. During her last year of veterinary school, she attended the Chi Institute in Florida where she received her certification in Large and Small Animal Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine.
After veterinary school, Dr. Horton practiced in Louisiana as a large animal veterinarian, heavily concentrated on equine medicine. After being away from South Carolina for five years, she decided it was time to come home to be closer to her family. Dr. Horton began practicing at Wateree Animal Hospital in Camden and then moved on to Sun Dog Cat Moon small animal medicine and traditional Chinese practice in Charleston.
Dr. Horton recently got married in Guanacaste, Costa Rica to her husband, Michael Dale. Michael and his family are natives of James Island where he and his twin brother own/operate Dale Brother's Construction. Kellie's sister, Jessica Horton Thomas, also lives on James Island with her husband, Trey Thomas, and a little girl, Hope. Dr. Horton's parents still reside in Abbeville, SC.
Dr. Horton grew up with an assortment of different animals, ranging from birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs, horses, ducks, squirrels, and deer. Since moving to Charleston, Dr. Horton's assortment of animals has drastically decreased to having two dogs, Dexter and Franklin, plus any random wildlife rehabilitation. Dexter was a surgery dog in vet school which was scheduled to be euthanized because of his breed and "aggressive nature." After meeting him, there was no way Dr. Horton would let this happen. He was adopted and became a part of the family! Franklin was her grandmother's dog and with her passing, she, of course, adopted him. He has fit right in with Dexter.
Melissa and her family moved from New Jersey to Charleston in 2016. She and her husband of 20 years have two children, a sixteen year old daughter and twelve year old son. While in New Jersey, she professional trained and rode horses. Upon moving to SC, she was trained and started as Dr. Horton's surgical veterinary technician and has been with the mobile hospital since it's opening in 2018. In her free time, she loves reading and playing with her dog, Sabre and her love bird, Sage.