Meet Our Team of Veterinarians
Dr. Andrew Verdin • Medical DirectorDr. Andrew Verdin is a Simpsonville native, and although he grew up surrounded by veterinary medicine, he initially pursued a career path in marketing and sales. After three years, Andrew began to feel God’s call for him to leave the business world and pursue a career in veterinary medicine; he enrolled at Clemson University and went on to earn his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Andrew joined Verdin Veterinary Services in May 2010 and became a practice owner in 2014. In 2018, he and his business partner purchased land to construct a new state of the art veterinary hospital in Simpsonville, which they rebranded as Integrity Animal Health Group. Andrew and his wife Rebekah have been blessed with 3 girls: Baylis, Harris, and Louisa. |
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Dr. Luke HansenDr. Luke Hansen grew up in Upstate New York and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has a strong passion for caring for pets and supporting the people who love them, with a deep appreciation for the human–animal bond and its importance throughout every stage of a pet’s life. Dr. Hansen’s professional interests include senior pet care, dental health, surgery, and nutrition. He is especially committed to helping pets age comfortably and gracefully through proactive medical care, thoughtful nutritional planning, and clear communication with owners. He also values the role that dentistry and surgery play in improving quality of life and works diligently to provide thorough, compassionate care in these areas. Veterinary medicine is both a calling and a service for Dr. Hansen. He attributes his many blessings to God and strives to do his work with excellence, integrity, and compassion for His glory. His goal is to partner closely with pet owners to help maintain and strengthen the bond they share with their animals. Outside of the clinic, Dr. Hansen enjoys hunting, reading, hockey, and hiking, and he is an active member of his church. He and his wife are raising five children and enjoy spending time together as a family. |
Meet our Staff
Rebekah Verdin • Practice Manager • Lead TeamRebekah was born in Northern Ireland, and moved to a town near Glasgow, Scotland when she was four. Her family relocated to Pennsylvania in 1998, and Rebekah moved to Greenville for further education in 2002. Meeting Andrew while he was in vet school changed the course of her life for sure! Transitioning from her teaching career, Rebekah joined the practice in 2009 and was trained first as a veterinary receptionist, after which she moved into Eloise Verdin’s former office manager role. Rebekah most enjoys interacting with the clients and their pets, and considers the hospital’s staff more like family than employees! Each week, she enjoys engaging in tasks related to office management, inventory, helping to host special events, and client communication.
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Erica Merrill • Patient Care Specialist • Lead Team
Growing up in Clinton, South Carolina, Erica was primarily raised by her grandmother, whom she remembers for her delicious Southern cooking and good work ethic! Once Erica was old enough to work, she took a job to help support her family. When her employer’s business closed, leaving her seeking work, a friend introduced her to Dr. and Mrs. Verdin. In 2006, she joined the team as a veterinary receptionist, but also received hands-on technical training. Erica especially enjoys working with her older clients and their pets. She appreciates the clients’ wisdom and insights.
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Amber Visin, LVT • Lead Veterinary TechnicianAmber is a Licensed Veterinary Technician who graduated from Tri-County’s Veterinary Technology program in 2016. She started with IAHG on April 10, 2019, coming from the Animal Emergency Clinic. After getting married, Amber was looking to change her schedule and work more normal hours. She has always had a passion for animal care; starting her career with animals in high school, she worked in a shelter for 2 years. There, she quickly knew that she wanted to work closely with animals to make a positive impact. She loves being able to figure out what is wrong and helping the Doctors come up with a treatment plan. Since our patients can’t tell us anything, this fact makes the job that much more challenging!
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Kaitlin Stoddard • Client Care Advocate • Online Store Specialist • Lead TeamKaitlin’s passion for people shines through in her daily interactions with our clients. She is mostly behind the scenes as our marketing coordinator and client advocate, taking a hands-on approach to our online store orders and social media presence, as well as building personal relationships through daily email communication, personal thank you notes, sympathy notes, and thinking of you cards.
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Laura White • Patient Care Specialist • Lead CSRLaura had been working at another practice for 10 years and thought that she would be there until retirement. However, the Lord started whispering to her heart that He had something else planned for her. She had a talk with God and let Him know that she needed Him to make it crystal clear where He wanted her to be. After meeting the Management Team, Laura knew the answer was Integrity Animal Health Group! Most of her adult life Laura spent in restaurant management, but in January 2008, she accepted Jesus as her Savior and realized that the dream of animal care she had as a child was placed in her heart by her Creator and that was her purpose in life. Laura enjoys getting to know the pets and their different personalities. The middle child of three born to a military father and mother, her family moved several times, but Laura has been a South Carolina resident since 1994. |
Emily Johnson • Licensed Veterinary TechnicianEmily joined the IAHG team February 2024. After staying at home for the past 9 years with her 3 daughters, she was ready to find her way back into her beloved career, although hesitant that she might not be able to achieve a work and family life balance. Becoming part of the IAHG team is a true blessing, and she feels incredibly grateful that she can continue to focus on her family while also being part of an incredible team!
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Margaret Brown • Licensed Veterinary TechnicianMargaret joined the Integrity team after relocating to South Carolina from Alaska in July 2021. Margaret is a graduate of the Zoo Animal Technology Program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL. Growing up in Ocala, Florida, Margaret was surrounded by race horses and wildlife from a young age. Her original career choice was to become an astronaut, but that decision changed after she began volunteering at a local wildlife rehabilitation center in high school. After graduating from college, Margaret completed an avian internship with Zoo Miami that further instilled a desire to work animals of all varieties.
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Marian Vagi • Licensed Veterinary TechnicianMarian became a member of the Integrity family in April 2022; she heard from friends how wonderful Integrity was to work for and eagerly joined the team! However, her love for the profession began at a very young age, when she knew that working with animals in some way was her calling.
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Megan Waterman • Licensed Veterinary TechnicianThe youngest of three with two older brothers, Megan has lived in Laurens, SC her entire life. She graduated in May 2021 from Piedmont Technical College with an associate’s degree in applied science, majoring in veterinary technology. She joined the Integrity team first for an internship, which then quickly grew into a job offer, coming on board full-time after graduation in May!
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Kirin Denton • Licensed Veterinary TechnicianKirin first met the Integrity team when she walked in and handed her resume to the friendly receptionist Kim in the Spring of 2024!
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Nicole Ince • Patient Care Specialist • Inventory TeamNicole was surrounded by animals constantly while growing up here in Simpsonville. She had a particular fascination with a television show called Emergency Vets, and the program inspired her to pursue veterinary medicine herself. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in biology from Bob Jones University. Currently, she’s taking online classes through Penn Foster College to obtain her Veterinary Technician certification. She particularly enjoys assisting in surgical procedures and her role in the practice as inventory specialist.
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Danielle Walsh • Patient Care SpecialistDanielle began working for IAHG in March 2018. She made the decision to switch from Equine back to small animal when she found out she was expecting her first child. Her passion for the vet field started with her love for horses; she loves being an advocate for animals that don’t have a voice. Growing up on Long Island, NY in a single parent home, Danielle has a terrific role model and best friend of a mother. Her mother’s influences instilled a strong work ethic, good morals and perseverance throughout life.
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Sarai Loya • Lead Surgical TechIn April 2022, Sarai joined Team Integrity at the recommendation of a co-worker, who informed her about the practice and encouraged her to apply.
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Shannah Steel • Veterinary AssistantShannah joined the team in April 2023. She had been at the practice a good deal through her previous job, and she knew from the beginning that she would love to work at Integrity someday because of the amazing people and positive atmosphere!
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Alyssa Kazlauskas• Veterinary AssistantAlyssa grew up always loving animals for as long as she can remember. When the time came for her to choose a career path, she decided to get a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology at Bob Jones University. While working on her undergraduate, Alyssa had the opportunity to work at the campus serpentarium, where she gained experience in how to handle and take care of various reptiles. During her senior year, she interned at the Greenville Zoo with the mindset of pursuing a career in zoo-keeping. However, her interest in the medical aspect of helping animals was piqued, so she changed direction to became a certified veterinary assistant through Animal Behavior College. Alyssa heard about Integrity Animal Health Group through a mutual friend and the rest is history! |
Lynne Burnett • Veterinary AssistantLynne has always harbored a deep passion for animal care, and wishes she could adopt every single pet in need of a home. She has served as a Veterinary Assistant at IAHG since June 2014; she enjoys helping to hold pets while they receive vaccines or get a pedicure! She enjoys being able to spend time with anxious pets and cuddling to calm their nerves.
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Kelly Martin• Veterinary AssistantKelly joined Team Integrity through multiple relational connections with the Verdins, first in a volunteering role in May, and then she decided she loved it too much to stop coming! Her deep love for animals (especially dogs) began when she was a child. A puppy was on her Christmas list every year and now she can interact with animals regularly! A native of Simpsonville, Kelly’s family is close, and all still live in the area and see each other regularly.
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Natalee Gomez • Veterinary AssistantNatalee grew up frequently traveling to Guatemala and the Philippines since her parents are originally from these countries. Getting to spend time with all the animals they own, from spider monkeys and iguanas to your regular house cats, really peaked her interest in the veterinary field. Traveling also helped her become Trilingual.
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Rachel Jones • Customer Service RepresentativeRachel was born and raised here in Simpsonville, South Carolina. She had always had an interest in animals and taking care of them from a young age. She and her family had been long time clients with the practice and she had always had an interest in joining the team. She currently has three cats, one that she’d adopted and two that adopted her.
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Kim Sharratta • Customer Service Representative
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Summer Herzog • Customer Service RepresentativeSummer joined Integrity mid-August 2023. Her personal pets have been patients at Integrity for several years. At every planned and unplanned appointment, the staff were always very helpful and kind. When she heard of a job position becoming available, she was very excited to apply!
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Nanette Duggan • Customer Service RepresentativeNanette joined the Integrity team in October 2022 as a CSR after much prayer and research, followed by a cold call to request an interview! As a breast cancer survivor with 30 years of experience in the medical field, she received advice to make a career change, and her lifelong love of animals made veterinary medicine a logical choice.
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Leah Lanier • GroomerLeah’s entire life has revolved around animals. Growing up in Valdosta, Georgia with her brother and sister, Leah brought home her first stray dog when she was five years old. Her animal care interest continued into adulthood with many farm and companion animal experiences. After completing grooming school in Union, South Carolina, Leah worked at a corporate salon for several years. Seeking better hours, she came to Verdin Veterinary Services, where she has been grooming ever since.
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Ashley Roberts • Customer Service Representative • Integrity at East North
Ashley Roberts joined team Integrity in April 2023 as a Customer Service Representative after becoming aware of the opening by speaking with Dr. Andrew Verdin at church. She quickly knew this would be a well-suited position because of her love of working with the public.
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Ashliegh Boudreaux • Patient Care Specialist • Integrity at East NorthAshliegh began working at East North Veterinary Hospital in 2019 after moving to SC from New Orleans. IAHG acquired East North in October of 2022, and she has enjoyed working with the group ever since.
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Tabitha Crow • Veterinary AssistantAfter moving back to the area, Tabitha was looking for an AAHA clinic to help with her schooling for her dream job of a vet tech. She applied for a position at Sunrise Animal Hospital and has been so thankful to have found a place to help her learn and grow.
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Pictures taken by Madelyn Jordan
Madelyn Jordan (@madelynjordan_photo) • Instagram photos and videos
(1) Madelyn Jordan Photography | Facebook
Madelyn Jordan (@madelynjordan_photo) • Instagram photos and videos
(1) Madelyn Jordan Photography | Facebook