Our Veterinarians

Ohioans are warm, unassuming people who, despite their independence and self-reliance, will always lend a hand to a friend or even a perfect stranger. Dr. Felton considers himself lucky to work in a profession that ties in so many of the activities he loves, provides mental challenges and learning experiences to grow and rewards him with personal fulfillment. His parents recognized early on his love and aptitude for science and it was their dream for him to become a medical doctor. His father’s job as a middle school principal and his mother’s as a hospital administrator afforded Dr. Felton the learning resources and job experiences to observe doctors and the inner workings of hospitals first hand. It wasn’t until his junior year in college that two events changed his path. First, his mother lost her battle with leukemia, and second, he met a pre-vet student who gave him direct access to observing what his future profession was all about.

Unlike human medicine where all doctors are highly specialized, most veterinarians wear “multiple hats”, which allows animal doctors to follow their patients from infancy to death. They are forced to learn and become proficient in all aspects of medicine and surgery. Dr. Felton’s mother’s illness showcased one shortcoming to specialization: the fact that a serious illness like cancer requires multiple highly specialized doctors. There were more opportunities for lapses in communication and fewer opportunities for compassion and connection to their patients. Ultimately, his decision to become a veterinarian balanced his passion for science and learning with his family’s core beliefs in compassion and empathy for all living things.

Dr. Felton received a BS degree from Ashland University in 1973 and then spent a year of independent research at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. In 1978, he received his DVM from Ohio State University. He has interests in internal medicine, soft tissue surgery, ultrasonography, laparoscopic diagnostics, acupuncture (CUA), and he is a USDA accredited veterinarian.

Dr. Felton married his college sweetheart, Debbie, with whom he will celebrate 40 years of marriage in 2013. They are blessed to have 2 beautiful daughters, Kelly and Lindsey, who still have their father wrapped around their fingers. 2013 is also a milestone year as Craig and Debbie officially became grandparents for the first time. Dr. Felton is looking forward to spoiling his granddaughter and grandson and the opportunity to talk jibberish and act like a kid again. The Feltons have one male miniature poodle, Eli, who keeps them on their toes with his zest for living and regularly outwits everyone at every opportunity.

Now that he is in his sixties, Dr. Felton’s interests are a little more leisurely than athletic. His two previous passions, tennis and running, have given way to low impact activities like kayaking and biking. White water kayaking is now morphing into less excitement and more the pursuit of the zen stroke and reading the river perfectly. He still enjoys home improvement projects, especially those involving woodworking, and now that he has grandchildren, has rediscovered his love of photography. Finally, gardening has and will always be a form of meditation and a creative outlet for him.

Dr. Andrea Newman

Senior Veterinarian

Dr. McDaniel went to undergraduate school at Averett University and majored in equestrian studies and biology. Her path to vet school was detoured when she got married. When the McDaniels owned a small farm with several horses in Danville, Virginia, she became friends with their equine veterinarian who encouraged her to go to vet school. She worked as his assistant part-time and he wrote an excellent recommendation letter to Virginia Tech. Her first job was at a mixed animal practice working with all species of animals. After she had children, Dr. McDaniel realized being on-call all hours of the night for large animals didn’t work for her. The family moved to Northern Virginia where she began working at Old Dominion with small animals only. For the last 15 years, Dr. McDaniel worked with dogs and cats primarily, doing both medicine and surgery.

Catherine has been married for 32 years to Ricky, her college sweetheart. They have 2 children. Their son, Cassidy, is 24 years old, has graduated from Radford University and works as a financial analyst for CEB in Roslyn, VA. Their daughter, Caitlin, is 21 years old and is a 4th year student at UVA, majoring in kinesiology, and hoping to go to medical school. The McDaniels have one pet: a dog from Last Day Rescue named Ash.

When she was younger, Dr. McDaniel rode horses in 3-day events, dressage, and fox hunting. Now she enjoys going to steeplechase races. She has worked with all her dogs in obedience training and showing. Several of her dogs have obedience titles. Dr. McDaniel also bred Labrador Retrievers for many years. She has been involved with her church, serving as a Sunday school teacher, hostess and youth leader. She and her husband were involved for many years with their children’s sports activities as coaches, team mom and fund raisers. When she’s not busy at the clinic, Dr. McDaniel enjoys gardening, hiking, traveling and wine tasting.