Dr. Rachel Wiley DVM

Veterinarian/Practice Owner

About:

Dr. Wiley grew up in Montgomery County and attended Montgomery Blair High School. She studied veterinary medicine in California at UC Davis. Dr. Wiley has three children and a small farm in Mt. Airy with a variety of animals including dairy goats, horses, dogs, cats and chickens. Dr. Wiley is passionate about the human-animal bond and working with owners to find the right approach for them and their pet, believing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to any problem. She has a special interest in feline medicine and behavior.

Hobbies & Interests:

​​​​​​​Dr. Wiley enjoys spending time with her family, pets and livestock. She loves time spent outdoors, gardening and especially watching the sunrise. She is involved in advocacy for LGBTQIA+ youth and is a proud PFLAG parent.

Dr. Samantha Hudgins DVM

Veterinarian/Practice Owner

About:
Dr. Hudgins grew up in Atlanta, Georgia but spent many vacations in the DC area visiting family. She studied veterinary medicine at Ohio State University where she met her husband Dixon, who is from Honduras. Samantha and Dixon have two children and two cats, Getty and Jim Bob. At home Dixon and Samantha speak mostly Spanish. Dr. Hudgins is Level 1 Fear Free certified.

Hobbies & Interests:
​​​​​​​Dr. Hudgins enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with friends and family. She dabbles in soap making and textile crafts, and loves any form of dancing.

Dr. Elda Kwong DVM

Veterinarian

About:
Dr Kwong grew up in Rockville, Maryland. She spent her whole life in Rockville, MD until she moved to Blacksburg, VA for vet school at Virginia Tech. After vet school, she completed a rotating internship at VCA Southpaws where she spent time in the emergency department and rotating through different specialty departments. Since completing her internship, she has worked in general practice. If she looks familiar, it is because she worked as a technician at Petvacx several years ago before completing vet school! She is excited to be rejoining the team as a veterinarian!

Hobbies & Interests:
Other than spending time with her elderly dog Winnie, in her free time, she likes to cook and practice yoga. She recently developed a new found love for plants with Begonias and Calatheas being some of her favorites!​​​​​​​

Kelly Cromwell CVPM, SHRM-CP

Practice Manager

About:
Kelly is a Frederick, MD native who started her career in the veterinary field as a kennel assistant at the age of 15 years. She has worked at an equine medical center, for a mobile based house call vet practice, a large general practice and, most recently, as a cardiac specialty technician at CVCA-Cardiac Care for Pets. While at CVCA, Kelly ascended from cardiac technician to Team Leader of the Leesburg and Frederick locations before assuming the role of Regional Manager where she managed eight CVCA MD/VA offices. During her career at CVCA, Kelly also served as Inventory Manager and Staff Development Coordinator while studying and achieving her CVPM (Certified Veterinary Practice Manager) and SHRM-CP (Society for HR Management-Certified Professional) as well as Certified Veterinary Business Leader, Certified Professional Trainer and Level 1 Fear Free Professional designations. Kelly is a passionate advocate for improving the health of the veterinary industry and enjoys promoting employee equality and communication, as well as staff training and developing engaging career paths. She is particularly interested in pharmacology, behavior and canine reproduction.
Hobbies & Interests:
Outside of work, Kelly is regularly bossed around by her AKC Staffordshire Bull Terriers and competes in agility, AKC conformation shows, barn hunt, nosework and several other sports. Kelly loves reading, travel, concerts and Comic Cons.

Gigi V.

Reception Manager/ Social Media Coordinator

About:
Gigi is a Maryland native, she is of Guatemalan and Ecuadorian heritage. Gigi loves traveling with her husband and son to new destinations each year. She has 3 cats (Hailey, Khaleesi, and Khal) and a mini goldendoodle puppy named Arya. In May 2019, Gigi graduated with her B.S. in Child/Adolescent Studies. She has over 10 years of working in customer service and is fluent in both Spanish and English. She greatly enjoys being the creative lens for Petvacx as the social media coordinator, check out our Facebook and Instagram posts! Gigi is Level 1 Fear Free certified.

Hobbies & Interests:​​​​​​​ Gigi loves cooking, spending time with her family and pets, and enjoys advocacy work being a family advocate for Fallen Firefighter Heroes in honor of her brother in law.

Julienne P.

Client Care Specialist

About:
Julienne grew up in Montgomery County but has lived in other states across the U.S. Both of her parents are of Guatemalan heritage. She attended Northwest High School and Montgomery College. She lives at home with her two mixed breed pups named Cleo and Summer. She has a huge love for animals and helping out pet parents as she has been working in this field for quite some time!

Hobbies & Interests:​​​​​​​
Julienne enjoys spending time with her doggos, eating good food, and making others laugh!

Shelly P.

Lead Veterinary Technician

About:
Shelly was born in Silver Spring, MD, and has lived in the area all her life. Her parents moved to the United States from Bolivia before she was born. Shelly graduated from Colonel Zadok Magruder High School and has since continued her education at Montgomery College. She has quickly become the bridge connecting the previous and new clients, during the new ownership transition. Shelly has been with Petvacx since 2007, and has dedicated herself to making everyone feel like they are family and they come first. Shelly is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Hobbies & Interests:
Shelly enjoys riding her motorcycle, being outdoors, drawing, and supporting her favorite football team, The Ravens. She also loves to travel and learn about other cultures.

AJ F.

Veterinary Technician

About:
AJ moved to Maryland from State College, PA in 2020. He has a BS in Criminal Justice and Criminology and previously worked as a corrections officer. Always having a love for animals, AJ decided to follow his passion and move into the veterinary field. He is currently enrolled in the Vet Tech program at San Juan College and is Level 1 Fear Free Certified. He lives at home with his wife and 2 dogs, Ragnar and Rollo.

Hobbies & Interests: In his spare time, AJ is an official for Frederick Roller Derby where his wife plays. He also likes to cook and eat all kinds of food, play video games, travel, and read books.

Jonathan C.

Veterinary Technician

About:
Jonathan has always called Maryland his home but his family is from El Salvador and Guatemala. He is fluent in both Spanish and English and enjoys helping both our pet parents and furry friends either inside the exam room as your friendly vet technician or over the phone as a client care specialist, he is a jack of all trades here at Petvacx! He joined our team back in 2020 but had experience in the dental field prior to working with us. After seeing doggies every day at work he couldn't resist and recently welcomed his forever friend- Helios, check out that cute baby golden retriever! Jonathan is Level 1 Fear Free certified.

Hobbies & Interests:

Jonathan likes teaching his dog new tricks, spending time with his dog, and relaxing with his dog (pretty much anything to do with his dog...) He also likes to play soccer and video games in his spare time.

Carolina R.

Veterinary Technician

About:
Carolina grew up in Montgomery County but her family is South American, her parents are from Peru and Chile. Since a young age, she's always wanted to work with animals and is fascinated by all species including reptiles! She hopes to own a millipede one day! She aspires to continue her education and become a Zoologist. At home, she spends her time with her two babies, her Sheepadoodle named Mochi and a black cat named Carl.

Hobbies & Interests:

Carolina loves to crochet, draw with charcoal, and get tattoos! (Most importantly, dedicate her tattoo art to her pets!)

Bella E.L.

Veterinary Technician

About: Bio coming soon!

Merv H.

Kennel Manager

About: Merv grew up in Johnstown, PA but has lived all across the US both West and East cost! He recently moved back to MD in October and joined our Petvacx team as our kennel manager. Merv takes pride in providing the best experience for both our pet parents and fur babies during their stay with us. He is very interested in Animal Behavior Science and creating a fun/ safe experience during vet visits. Merv has 3 cats (Kat Cobain, Bean Winchester, and Hamburger Helper) 1 bearded dragon (Reggie Jackson) and 1 dog (Naboo Jean)!

Hobbies & Interests: Merv likes to play computer games, hike, swim, cook, and spend time with his mom our very own Dr. Wiley!

Luis P.

Kennel Assistant

About:
Luis was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Since a young age Luis has always loved animals, especially dogs! He has been working in the veterinary field for more than 30 years and studied veterinary medicine in his country of Venezuela. His best friend for many years was his dog Riki who was his childhood pet. He currently has a Golden Retriever named Aphrodite, and three Pinchers named Achilles, Venus, and Hercules.

Hobbies:
Luis likes to go to the beach in his free time, travel, experience new restaurants/cuisines (especially Italian and German food!) and he loves dancing salsa.

Kelsey

Kelsey does not work. Kelsey cuddles, that is all

About:
Kelsey’s previous owner found her outside as a stray kitten of about 12 weeks old in 2005. She has been taken care of by Petvacx’s Doctors her entire life, and has always been a sweet girl with just enough sass to make her stand out among our clientele. When her beloved owner passed away in 2009, Kelsey was once again an orphan with nowhere to go. After some consideration to whether she might be happy living here at the hospital as one of the Petvacx House Cats, it was decided that we would take her in. It took some time for her to transition from living in the quiet and calm home environment of a domestic cat to the hustle and bustle of a busy Animal Hospital. Needless to say, however, following her realization that she could be queen of the castle and get lots of love from all of the staff, she took to her role like an heir to the throne. Kelsey is the epitome of what a cat should be; she loves eating, napping, and hunting pretend prey… But mostly just eating and napping.

Hobbies & Interests:
Kelsey loves lounging in the sunlight, ignoring Butters, maintaining her robustly girlish figure by eating everything in sight, being pampered, and cuddling up in any lap that allows it.

Rose

Prowler of the Front Desk, Lover of Belly Rubs
About:
Rose was found hiding in the ceiling of a church in Baltimore nursing four kittens. She was then brought to a rescue that we volunteer to host adoption cats with. While up for adoption, we noticed that she has some type of trauma to her face (she was likely a hit by a car) that caused damage to her jaw and paralyzed the left side of her face. As a result, Rose winks instead of blinks and has a crooked tooth/underbite. With unknown future implications, the rescue allowed us to adopt her. She is now happy and getting a lot of love, but we still have hope that she may find the right family for her one day.

Hobbies & Interests:
Eating, sleeping, walking all over the computer keyboards, and playing with her toy mouse.