Dr. Deborah McArthur-Wicks
Dr. Wicks is the owner and main Veterinarian of the practice. She graduated from Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994. Received her accreditation from the USDA for International travel and has kept up with the latest requirements and standards. She moved to NC in 1995 and started working with Dr. Lackey at Scotts Hill Animal Hospital, she practiced there for 4.5yrs then decided to try her hand at emergency medicine. She practiced at Wilmington Animal Emergency Clinic for a little over 2yrs then decide to open her own practice.
Dr Wicks opened Surf City Pet Hospital in 2002. The original Surf City Pet Hospital was in a 2000 square foot 2 exam room rented unit. Her business flourished and she outgrew that office after about 5 years. When she opened Surf City Pet Hospital, she notices of the lack of rescues that would take in orphaned kittens and puppies that needed to be bottle-fed, so she started her own rescue and called it Purrrfect Adoptions and ran it with the clinic. Purrrfect Adoptions has rescued and adopted out an average of 30-40 kittens/cats/puppies a year. If a cat or kitten for some reason is unadoptable, they either go home with one of our employees or become a house cat. Surf City Pet Hospital usually has around 6-7 house cats at a time.
At the beginning of 2020 after some bumps in the road Dr. Wicks began building her dream office, In December 2020 the office was finished, and her dreams truly became a reality. She now runs a thriving 3-4 doctor practice with all the latest diagnostic equipment for the best quality of care she can provide, and she enjoys every minute of it. Other than running her practice and loving her clients and patients she also enjoys camping and long walks on the beach looking for sea glass.
Dr. Jennifer Carrell
Dr. Carrell is from Jackson Mississippi, she attended school at Mississippi State University where she met her husband Justin, she graduated with her degree in veterinary medicine in 2008. Shortly after graduation her and Justin moved to Florida so her husband could finish his training to become a pilot for the Marine Corp.
In 2010 Dr Carrell’s husband got stationed here at New River, which lead her to us. She became a big part of our Surf City Pet Hospital family, loved by all employees, patients and clients. In 2013 her husband received orders to transfer to Yuma Arizona where she continued practicing. Her family then transferred to Kansas for a year. Though she enjoyed her time living in different places she was happy to return to NC in 2017. When we heard she was returning to Hampstead we begged her to come and practice with us again.
She currently lives in Hampstead with her husband Justin, her son Emmett and daughter Lillian. In her spare time, you can find her cheering her kids on during their extracurricular activities such as soccer and dance. She also enjoys knitting and taking care of her Orchids.
Dr. Charlie Jenkins
Dr. Charlie Jenkins was accepted into North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine while she was in her junior year at Clemson University – an occasion that amazes her to this day. During her three years at Clemson, she majored in Animal and Veterinary Science and minored in Theatre, and she graduated magna cum laude degree in 2012. She graduated cum laude from the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015 shortly after receiving the Faculty Companion Animal Clinical Proficiency Award. She completed an internship at a large 24-hour veterinary hospital in Charlotte before moving to Wilmington where she has worked at several large, multi-vet animal hospitals as well as occasional shifts at the local 24-hour emergency hospital.
Her professional interests include soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, dentistry, feline medicine, and end-of-life care. Dr. Jenkins is a Level 3 Fear Free Certified Veterinarian, a Certified Cat Friendly Veterinarian by the American Association of Feline Practitioners, and a USDA accredited veterinarian. She is also certified in Basic and Advanced Life Support with the RECOVER Initiative. She is currently pursuing certification as a Veterinary Dental Practitioner with the International Veterinary Dentistry Institute. She is currently a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association (NCVMA), the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry (AVD), Fear Free Pets, the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS), and the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC):
When she is not working, she enjoys reading, traveling, sewing, cooking, and crafting/DIY projects. Dr. Jenkins shares her home with her husband, Jacob, their son, Jameson, a domestic short-haired cat (Tyler) and a miniature pit bull (Cindy Lou Who). Dr. Jenkins looks forward to a time when she can adopt a pet dairy cow.
Dr. Samantha Rudd
We would like to welcome Dr. Samantha Rudd to the Surf City Pet Hospital team. Dr. Sam Rudd did her undergrad at St. Andrews University and graduated from North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine May of 2021. If Dr. Rudd looks familiar, she should, Dr. Rudd worked with Surf City Pet Hospital part time while she was in school. Dr. Rudd grew up here in Surf City, her parents are Tonia and Mike Register who put on Lake Linda’s Christmas Lights. She recently married her husband Hunter Rudd form Frogsboro NC, in March 2021. They spend most of their time taking care of their fur kids Dixie, Arthur, Eve and Boots.
In Dr. Rudd’s free time she likes to spend time at the beach or out on the boat. She also enjoys gardening, horse back riding and reading. Near Christmas you can see her help her family with the Christmas lights, handing out candy canes and hot cocoa.
Dr. Rudd is very excited to be back in Surf City and start this new chapter in her life here with Surf City Pet Hospital.
Jessica King – Office Manager
Jessica has lived in the Holly Ridge/Sneads Ferry area her entire life. She started working for Surf City Pet Hospital May of 2002 as a part-time receptionist. She married her husband Kris in Aug 2004. Since then, she was promoted to full-time reception, then veterinary assistant. In 2011 she was promoted to Office Manager/Mom.
In Jessica’s spare time she enjoys tending to her little farm with her chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and goats. She and her husband are constantly adding things to their yard, their latest addition is their fishpond for Kio. Jessica and Kris are also avid hunters, enjoying the outdoors and trying new challenges such as Bowhunting for large and small game. Their goal one day is to go mountain goat hunting.
Jessica has always had a passion for helping animals, which she got from her father and grandmother. Working in a veterinary office was always her dream and loves helping all our patients and clients in any way she can. She is our go-to if there are any problems.
Laurie Timko, RVT – Licensed Veterinary Technician
Laurie is our Register Veterinary Technician, she graduated in 2014 from Northwestern Connecticut Community College with a degree in Veterinary Technology. She passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam that same year. She moved here from Connecticut in 2015 with her husband Harry. They currently live in Rocky Point with their son Conner, dog Rudy, and 2 cats Nermal and Snots. She joined the team in January 2016.
Ashleigh Haste – Head Receptionist
Ashleigh was born in Wilmington and lives in Holly Ridge. She currently lives with 3 snobby cats and 2 VERY HYPER dog who she adores. She started working at Surf City Pet Hospital in October of 2007 and is currently our Head Receptionists. She loves her job and loves seeing and greeting the pets and owners that come into the office.
Deanna Laffer – Receptionist
Olivia Kumkowski – Receptionist
Ashley Coble – Veterinary Assistant
Ashley is one of our Vet Assistants, she has been with us since late October of 2007, and lives in Rocky Point with her husband Jeff, daughter Kathryn. They have 1 dog and 6 cats. She helps us bottle feed our orphaned kittens and always has a good time at work.
Renee’ Gore – Veterinary Assistant
Renee’ started working at Surf City Pet Hospital July 2011 as a Kennel Assistant. She was shortly promoted to Receptionist then Veterinary Assistant. She has lived in the Hampstead / Holly Ridge area most of her life. She currently resides in Hampstead with her fiancé Rick Lafreniere and their daughter Harlie. Renee’ has a son named Jason, father of her two granddaughters Aurora and Ophelia, she also has a daughter named Christin. Renee’ has 2 cats, 5 dogs, and a menagerie of farm birds. Renee’ loves animals very much, whether they are large or small. She enjoys taking care of our bottle-fed babies also.
Tessa Holsinger – Veterinary Assistant
Chyna Lopez – Veterinary Assistant
Travis Wicks – Veterinary Assistant
Travis started as a part-time Kennel Tech the summer of 2017. Since then, he has worked his way up to Veterinary Assistant. Travis is Dr. Wicks son and has grown up here in the clinic and like his mother he has a big heart when it comes to animals big and small. He is going to school right now at Cape Fear Community Collage for Information Technology.