Our Veterinarians

Dr. Nichols grew up in the southen Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.  After earning a B.S. degree in microbiology from the University of Maryland, he went on to earn his D.V.M. from Ohio State University in 1979.  Dr. Nichols became the veterinarian in charge of Dumfries Animal Hospital in January of 1981.  He has remained in that position ever since, shepherding the practice from a small one veterinarian and two staff member team to the five veterinarians and thirty member team it is today.  Dr. Nichols treats dogs and cats.  He enjoys internal medicine cases particularly gastroenterology and orthopedic surgery.  At home, he has French Bulldogs named Moosh, Lacey and Leo.  His spare time is spent with his son, Nicholas, working in the garden and get aways to North Carolina.

Dr. Chittenden grew up in Fairfax, Virginia.  She went to NOVA and received an A.A.S. in Veterinary Medicine to become a Licensed Veterinary Technician in 1985.  She worked as an assistant and then as a Licensed Technician from 1984 to 1990.  Dr. Chittenden then went back to college and proceeded to attain her B.S. form the University of West Florida in 1990.  She earned her D.V.M. degree from the University of Missouri in 1994.  After her graduation, Dr. Chittenden joined the team at Dumfries Animal Hospital, and she's been here ever since.  Her interests are in preventative and internal medicines.  She shares her home with her small mixed breed dog named Charlie and spends her spare time hiking, skiing, and reading.

Dr. Neavear grew up in Boston, MA.  She served as a corpsman in the US Navy during the Vietnam War.  During the 1980s, she owned and operated a school of horsemanship and was a certified riding instructor in Delaware. She received an A.A.S. in Science, an A.A. in Nursing, a B.S. in nursing before returning to school to receive a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Maryland.  She then went on to the Virginia/Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine to earn her D.V.M.  Her main areas of interest are internal medicine and behavioral sciences.  Dr. Neavear lives in Montclair with a menagerie of pets.  She has a Sheltie "Merlin", a Sheltie mix "Gloria", four cats, three birds, three fish, and a registered Paint Horse named "Jay".  During her spare time, Dr. Neavear enjoys pleasure and competitive-judged trail riding, camping, backpacking, hiking, and kayaking.  Dr. Neavear participated in a World Vets trip to Nicaragua in May 2010.

Dr. Johnston grew up in Pittsburgh, PA.  After receiving a B.S. in Animal Bioscience at Penn State, she then proceeded to Purdue University to graduate with a D.V.M. degree in 1986.  She joined Dr. Nichols at Dumfries Animal Hospital in 1989, and she has worked all but two years here.  Her areas of interest include internal medicine and surgical procedures, but most of all meeting people and learning their stories along with their pet's.  At home, Dr. Johnston is very busy and having fun being a wife and mother of four girls.  New to the family is "Seth", a newly adopted Beagle Mix.  Along with the love of her family, she also enjoys reading.