Dr. Reed, Hospital Director

Dr. Reed was born on a family dairy farm in Ithaca, New York. As a young farm boy, he developed a passion for the husbandry and health of animals, whether they were dairy cows, farm dogs and cats or even wild, undomesticated animals. Whenever veterinarians from Cornell University came to the family farm to treat cows or calves, young Dr. Reed was by their sides, asking a million questions. He knew that he would someday join their ranks.

Dr. Reed graduated from North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987. Following graduation, he worked at a practice that treated both large and small animals. He then operated his own large animal practice where he treated dairy cattle, horses, llama, pigs and goats. As the number of family farms started to dwindle, he made a career switch to companion animals. In 1991, he opened Pointe South Animal Hospital in Randleman, NC. In 2000, he opened Blue Flint Animal Hospital in neighboring Asheboro. In 2007, he and his family relocated to Denver where he opened West Shore Animal Hospital in 2008.

Dr. Reed currently resides in Denver with his wife, Peggy, and their 5-year-old daughter, Anna. The Reeds also have four grown children. Their house is home to two cats, Homer and Gidget and three dogs, a Border Collie mix named P.D. a Bull Terrier puppy named Lucy Lilly Belle and a Chihuahua named Skippyjon Jones.

When not practicing veterinary medicine, Dr. Reed enjoys riding bicycles, woodworking and keeping bees.

Dr. Miller

Dr. Miller spent her childhood in North Carolina, went to Missouri for her undergraduate years and graduated from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. After a decade in California, Dr. Miller has happily returned to North Carolina to raise her two children with her husband. She keeps company with two cats, Huckleberry and Stinky, and two dogs, Roux and Finley.

Dr. Miller is looking forward to rediscovering NC with her family and scrapbooking their adventures.

Patti Austin, Certified Master Groomer

Patti hails from Boston originally, was raised in California, met her husband, Clayton, a native North Carolinian, and joined him here. She graduated from grooming school in 1977 and would never think of doing anything else! She also is certified in dog obedience training. She shares her home with Alice, a cattle dog mix, Brady, a Golden Retriever, and Summer, a loving calico cat. Patti is the proud “Grammy” of Talon and Dominick, who are the children of Patti’s twin daughters. Patti also has a grown son who attends school in California.

Peggy Reed

Peggy has been a part of West Shore Animal Hospital since before its inception, as she is also Dr. Reed’s wife. She managed their other animal hospitals in Randleman and Asheboro for approximately 10 years before returning to her field of training, Speech Pathology. She came on board at WSAH shortly after it opened to help get it running smoothly and is finding it hard to leave due to all the wonderful clients and their pets. Peggy is originally from Chicago and is mother to 2 grown daughters and Anna, the little one frequently seen “helping” around the hospital. She and Dr. Reed also share their home with 3 dogs and 3 cats – for now!

Lexie Stepien - Practice Manager

Lexie joined West Shore Animal Hospital's team in June, 2009. Lexie was born and raised in Oswego, NY and moved to the area in 2008. She has a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Zoology and an M.S. in Human Service. Her animal experience includes working for 3 years as an outdoor bird keeper and penguin trainer at Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY. Lexie and her boyfriend Rob live in Cornelius with their Beagle mix, Oreo, their Golden Retriever mix, Amos and their cat, Nabisco.

Sarah Garbade

Sarah became a team member in August 2010. She originally hails from the booming metropolis of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, graduated from Virginia Tech in 2009 with a B.S. in Dairy Science and has worked in animal hospitals on and off for nine years. Sarah currently lives in Lincolnton with her boyfriend Bo and she is the proud mom to a cat named Miss Kitty and a rescued Heeler Mix named Dodger. In her free time, she loves to play bluegrass and old time music.

Amanda Farabaugh

Amanda joined our team in July 2009. Amanda grew up on Long Island, New York and moved to North Carolina four years ago. She has always dreamed of becoming a Veterinarian and is currently attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to reach her dream. She lives in Denver, North Carolina with her five month old golden retriever, Marley; two Labrador Retrievers, Jack and Tika; a Pek-a-Poo, Bootsie; and two cats, Mylo and Socks. Amanda spends her summers working at the hospital and spending time with her family and friends.

Hilary Shouse

Hilary joined our team in August 2009 as part of our full time kennel staff. She was born and raised in Denver, North Carolina. She graduated from East Lincoln High School and is currently a full time student at Central Piedmont Community College. Hilary is going to school to receive her degree in Elementary Education with hopes of one day becoming a kindergarten teacher. Hilary loves animals and has two dogs of her own, Toby, her newest addition, is a six month old Terrier Mix and Cagney is a three year old Bull Terrier. When Hilary is not at work or school, she likes to spend time with her family and friends.

Emily Lail

Emily joined our team in June 2011. She was born and raised in Denver, North Carolina and absolutely loves it here. Emily graduated high school in 2006. After graduation she pursued Cosmetology for a few years where she then decided it was time for a change. This is when she joined West Shore Animal Hospital as our full time receptionist. She is mom to a six year old frisky feline named Chubs.

Kasey Cushing

Kasey joined our team in October 2011. She was born and raised in Hickory, North Carolina. She graduated from Gaston College in May 2011 with an Associates degree in Veterinary Technology. Her dream has always been to take care of those who were unable to care for themselves, this is why she chose the veterinary field. She currently lives in Mt. Holly with her fiancé, Matt. In her free time she spends time with her family and her 2 dogs, Sadie, a miniature dachshund and Skeeter, who is a rescued mix. She also loves to hike and kayak.