Name: Town and Country Animal Hospital
Address: 9836 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA
Telephone: (703) 273-2110

Meg Butterworth grew up in Falls Church with a dog, and she always wanted to go along to the vet. Today she is a veterinary assistant at Town and Country and a fourth-year student at Virginia Tech’s vet school, the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Most pet parents in Northern Virginia have never heard of the college. Town and Country made The Vet School in Our Backyard together with the college to introduce it. In Episode 1, Meg tells her story alongside Dean Dan Givens and our owner, Dr. Reed Hall, who graduated from the college in 1996.

What is the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine?

Dean Dan Givens has led the college for six years. “We are the only vet school in the state of Virginia,” he says, and the only one that serves Maryland students. Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland run it together, and each class saves 50 seats for Virginia students and 30 for Maryland students. The college recently graduated its 43rd class of veterinarians.

Veterinary students taking notes in a packed lecture hall at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine — Students in a lecture hall at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Vet school is four years on top of four years of college, and it ends in a doctorate. The college trains more than new veterinarians, too. “We also train specialists,” the Dean says, meaning interns and residents who go on to become board certified in fields like cardiology, ophthalmology, dermatology and surgery.

Here is Virginia's vet school in three numbers: 1 vet school serves all of Virginia, 50 seats in every class are saved for Virginia students, and 8 years of school, counting college, make a veterinarian.

How did Meg end up at the college?

She asked her own vet. The veterinarians who cared for her dog told her, “there’s a vet school at Virginia Tech.” A clinic took her on as an assistant one summer, and the first time she drew blood from a patient, she got the vein on the first try and everybody in the room clapped.

Blacksburg was the right distance from home. “Virginia Tech was just far away enough that I felt like they wouldn’t want to come visit me all the time,” she says, “and it was just close enough that I knew if I needed them to come visit me, they could.” She started her fourth and final year this fall, which in her words is “crazy to say.”

Meg Butterworth, veterinary assistant at Town and Country Animal Hospital and fourth-year veterinary student, laughing during her interview — Meg Butterworth, veterinary assistant at Town and Country and fourth-year student at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Map of Virginia: Meg Butterworth studies in Blacksburg, at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, and works with us in Fairfax, at Town and Country Animal Hospital.

How is Town and Country connected to the college?

Dr. Hall still remembers almost crying over his first sutures until Dr. Spencer Johnston told him to hold his hands flat. “It was just how well the teachers taught you,” he says, “and the professors, how much they cared about you.” The Dean is proud of him in return. “Reed Hall’s a great example,” he says. “He’s built something great.”

Dr. Hall sees students from Northern Virginia go to Blacksburg and come home to practice near the people they grew up with, and he says that builds a better sense of community and trust. Meg feels the same. “I know that I want to come back to this Northern Virginia area,” she says, “because it’s what I know and love.”

Vet Ready, our year-long training program at our sister hospital, Columbia Pike, picks up where vet school leaves off. It helps new veterinarians put what they learned into practice with real cases and close mentorship.

Dean Dan Givens and Dr. Reed Hall talking in a hallway of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Blacksburg — Dean Dan Givens and Dr. Reed Hall in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, 30 years after Dr. Hall graduated.

How can you learn more about the college?

The college’s teaching hospital sees more than 16,000 pets a year, and Virginia Tech has approved a $63 million project to renovate and expand it while it stays open.

Virginia Tech is hosting Expanding Into Tomorrow: Approved and In Motion, a free live webinar about the project, on Wednesday, October 14, from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Zoom. Dean Givens and members of the college, including the lead architect, will share the plans and take questions. Dr. Reed Hall is on the panel. You can register free on the official event page.

What comes next in the series?

Episode 2, Why It Matters to You and Your Pet, shows what the college means for pets here at home. Episode 3, Building What’s Next, covers the teaching hospital expansion. Both are coming soon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a vet school in Virginia?

Yes, one. The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg is the only veterinary school in Virginia. Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland run it together.

Is the October 14 webinar free?

Yes. It runs from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Zoom, and you can register free on the official event page.

Is Town and Country Fear Free Certified?

Yes. Town and Country is a Fear Free Certified Practice. Book a Fear Free Appointment online or call or text (703) 273-2110.

How do you book a Fear Free Appointment at Town and Country?

Book a Fear Free Appointment online at townandcountryanimalh.com/schedule-appointment, or call or text us at (703) 273-2110.

Need help after hours?

Our sister hospital, Columbia Pike Animal Hospital & Emergency Center in Annandale, is open 24/7 with no additional emergency fee. Call the 24/7 ER at (703) 256-8414

Town and Country Animal Hospital, 9836 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22030. Love People. Love Pets.

Virginia Tech's Vet School Is Training Meg From Our Team

Episode 1 of The Vet School in Our Backyard: There's a Vet School in Your Backyard