Dr. Laura Lockhart - Founding Lead Veterinarian

Dr. Lockhart is honored to have the opportunity to provide high quality veterinary care to Reston pets and their families. She grew up in the veterinary field, having started as a kennel employee in high school, and quickly realized that a career as a veterinarian would provide the opportunity for lifelong learning and community service.

She holds a BScH in Biology from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and she graduated from veterinary school at North Carolina State University in 2013 (Go Pack!). She has been enjoying practicing in Northern Virginia ever since. She holds both Fear Free and Low Stress Handling certification, and she has extensive experience in managing high anxiety patients. While she truly enjoys the variety that comes with general practice, her particular areas of interest include preventative/wellness care, behavior, anesthesia, and soft tissue surgery.

Dr. Lockhart's "heart dog" was Layla, a gorgeous and sassy Great Pyrenees, who she rescued while in vet school. Layla was diagnosed with a functional adrenal tumor in her senior years. Supporting Layla through her symptoms, diagnostics, surgery, medical management, and end-of-life care provided Dr. Lockhart with the pet parent's perspective of having to make difficult treatment decisions for a loved one. This experience has expanded Dr. Lockhart's empathy towards her patient's families and her understanding that many factors need to be taken into account when coming up with a treatment plan.

Dr. Lockhart lives in Annandale with her husband and two young children. She enjoys running, camping, reading, and traveling, especially to wintry destinations, and she is always seeking to check things off her bucket list. Some of her favorite accomplishments so far have included bungee jumping in Whistler, biking across the Golden Gate Bridge, participating in the Polar Bear Swim in Vancouver, and ice fishing in Northern Ontario.