News From and About Veterinary Dentistry Specialists

Melanie Hunt, DVM, earned her veterinary degree at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York. She then completed an internship at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and returned to her home state of New Jersey and worked as a general practitioner and medical director for many years. This was when she discovered her love for veterinary dentistry.

Time and again, Dr. Hunt witnessed firsthand how treating a pet for oral disease and alleviating oral discomfort could dramatically improve their health and quality of life. She never tired of hearing comments like “My dog is acting years younger since his dental procedure!” or “My cat is eating much better now after her dental procedure!” In addition, she benefitted from the unique opportunity to work alongside board-certified veterinary dentists throughout her career. These experiences led her to pursue advanced training in veterinary dentistry. She completed her veterinary dentistry and oral surgery residency at Veterinary Dentistry Specialists (VDS). Dr. Hunt has also been a Fear Free® certified practitioner for several years and is excited to see how Fear Free techniques have been integrated into daily practice at VDS.

She enjoys traveling outside of work, spending time with her family, including a rescue cat and labradoodle, and walking the NJ shore boardwalks.

Dr. Berman discovered her love of veterinary medicine, and dentistry in particular, while volunteering with a board-certified veterinary dentist back in high school. She earned her veterinary degree at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, CA. She continued her training by completing an internship at Long Island Veterinary Specialists in Plainview, NY. Dr. Berman then worked as an emergency veterinarian for five years, caring for pets with all types of illnesses and injuries. She was accepted into a dentistry residency program at a private practice in Northern California, which she completed in 2020.

Her family includes a Pit Bull mix named Tater Tot, her husband, Mike, and twin sons, Tyson and Saxon. Tyson is named after her 17-year-old Yorkie, who followed her from high school through her residency. Being by the water, traveling, and spending time with her family is what she enjoys most.

Dr. Feuer earned her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Muhlenberg College. She served as a volunteer emergency medical technician for her college and her hometown of Princeton, NJ for six years. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine in 2021. While at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Feuer was the President of the Behavior Club. She also conducted ovarian cancer research at the PennVet Working Dog Center in Philadelphia.

After graduation, Dr. Feuer completed a one-year rotating internship at Iowa State University Veterinary Hospital, which honed her skills as a new clinician caring for patients with critical illness in the Emergency Service. With experience in animal behavior and dog training, she is Fear Free certified and values the importance of low-stress handling in the hospital setting. In 2022, Dr. Feuer joined the VDS team for a residency in Dentistry and Oral Surgery.

In her time off, Dr. Feuer enjoys spending time with friends and family. Her ideal day includes hitting the trails on horseback or hiking with her partner, Ankit, and rescue cockapoo, Chase.

Dr. Marissa Berman discovered her love of veterinary medicine, and dentistry in particular, while volunteering with a board-certified veterinary dentist back in high school. She earned her veterinary degree at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, California. She continued her training by completing an internship at Long Island Veterinary Specialists in Plainview, New York. Dr. Berman then worked as an emergency veterinarian for five years, caring for pets with all types of illnesses and injuries. She was accepted into a dentistry residency program at a private practice in Northern California, which she completed in 2020.

Her family includes a four-year-old Pit Bull mix named Tater Tot, her husband, Mike, and twin sons, Tyson and Saxon. Tyson is named after her seventeen-year-old Yorkie, who followed her from high school through her residency. Being by the water, traveling, and spending time with her family is what she enjoys most.

Dr. Lewis graduated from University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1997 and spent five years in general practice prior to returning for a residency in dentistry and oral surgery. He became a Fellow of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry (AVD) in 2004 and a Diplomate (specialist) of the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC) in 2005. Dr. Lewis is past-president of the American Veterinary Dental Society and was editor of the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry from 2016-2021. He is also a founding fellow of the AVDC Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Fellowship program.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Lewis served as associate professor of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, associate director of the Mari Lowe Center for Comparative Oncology, and Chief of Surgery.

Dr. Lewis’ clinical interests include endodontics, feline tooth resorption, feline stomatitis, oral surgical oncology, jaw fracture repair, and lasers in oral surgery and dentistry. When not treating patients or teaching veterinary dentistry and oral surgery, he enjoys spending time with his wife, six sons, two dogs, and two cats, and two guinea pigs.

Dr. Simon received his DVM and MSc degrees from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 and 2016, respectively. Dr. Simon became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia in 2014 and joined the small animal clinical sciences department at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015. He continued at Texas A&M where he received tenure in 2022 and was the proud supervisor of Texas A&M’s anesthesia residency program from 2018-2022 and the chief of anesthesiology from 2021-2022. In 2018, Dr. Simon also received the prestigious small animal clinical service award. He is a national and international lecturer, has published 35 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has co-authored four book chapters on small animal anesthesia and pain management.

Dr. Simon is originally from New York and when not at work, he enjoys spending time coaching the Texas A&M University Ice Hockey and Texas Outlaws Hockey teams. He lives an active outdoor lifestyle with his wife and three kids and loves spending time with them snowboarding and surfing.

The founder of Veterinary Dentistry Specialists, Dr. Rice is a board-certified veterinary dental specialist and Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC), with a strong track record of both academic and professional achievement.

He completed an internship in dentistry and oral surgery at Florida-based All Pets Dental Clinic under the mentorship of renowned veterinary dentist Dr. Jan Bellows, former president of the AVDC. He then completed and academic residency at the University of Wisconsin under the mentorship of Dr. William Gengler, also a former president of the AVDC. Dr. Rice then became the attending clinician of the dentistry and oral surgery service at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Rice has authored several research publications, lectures nationally and internationally on topics relating to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the mouth and face of dogs and cats.

Dr. Rice serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association (SNJVMA). His term as Secretary runs throughout 2021-22.

In his free time, he is an avid cyclist and follows competitive cycling feverishly. He is an avid outdoorsman who also enjoys following the English Premier League and racquet sports including racquets and squash.

Dr. Kelly Saverino is a native of New Jersey and earned her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University. She then obtained her veterinary degree from the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After several years in emergency practice, Dr. Saverino was able to pursue her passion for veterinary dentistry and oral surgery by completing a residency at the University of Pennsylvania. She became a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College in 2019. After practicing at a multi-specialty veterinary hospital in Chicago, she joined VDS in 2022.

Professionally, Dr. Saverino’s interests include maxillofacial oncologic surgery and periodontal therapy. She also serves as the director of our Residency Program. When not at work, she enjoys cooking, reading, and hiking with her German Shepherd mix, Sydney.

Dr. Chanda Miles earned her bachelor’s degree from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO, in 1999. In 2006, she graduated from St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine and completed her fourth clinical year at Kansas State University. She then practiced as a general practitioner in Salt Lake City, for three years. During this time, she developed a strong interest in dentistry, which lead her to pursue further training in it. Her residency and surgical fellowship were completed in 2012 at the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, and she became a diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College in 2013. She worked for many years leading the dentistry and oral surgery service at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston.

She is a member of the American Veterinary Dental College, the American Veterinary Dental Society, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, and the Harris County Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Miles is originally from Austin, TX. When she is not at work, she enjoys spending her time with her husband, two children, black Lab, and Sphynx cat.

Dr. Elizabeth Goudie graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and completed a three-year comparative anesthesiology residency at the University of Minnesota, during which time she researched local blocks and hyperalgesia as it relates to beta-3 cells and brown adipose tissue.

As a board-certified veterinary anesthesiologist, Dr. Goudie oversees the care of anesthetic patients before, during and after their anesthetic procedures. She also helps create a plan for postoperative pain relief after any painful dental or oral surgery procedures.

Dr. Goudie’s clinical interests include pain management of orofacial trauma and anesthetic management of high risk patients including those with cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, liver, and endocrine diseases. When not at work, Dr. Goudie enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, dog, cat, and hens. She enjoys being outside as much as possible whether it is running, hiking, or gardening.

Dr. Caniglia completed her veterinary degree and a three-year residency in Anesthesia and Analgesia at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia in 2012. Prior to joining Veterinary Dentistry Specialists she spent seven years working at a private veterinary specialty practice in Pennsylvania.

Outside of the clinic Dr. Caniglia enjoys time with her husband, daughters, and dogs, a Portuguese Water Dog and a Wire Fox Terrier. The whole family loves to travel, especially to Italy! Food, wine, cooking and entertaining take up her remaining free time.

She completed an equine internship at University Of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital, followed by a residency in anesthesia at The Ohio State University. It was at OSU that she developed a strong interest in teaching and was awarded the Hospital Service Award for Resident Recognition. During her residency, she discovered a keen interest in managing patients with cardiac disease or life-threatening systemic illness. She also enjoyed locoregional analgesic techniques and understanding the science of pharmacokinetics.

Dr. Dooley became Board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia in 2017. She remained at The Ohio State University as a clinical instructor before moving back to New Jersey. Prior to joining VDS, she worked as a locum anesthesiologist for private practices and academia, traveling across the United States and even making her way to Canada for a few weeks.

She enjoys anything to do with horses, learning about cars, completing home improvement projects, and of course spending as much time as possible with her two adopted, silly Cockapoos, Ozzie and Emma.

As an Assistant Professor, Dr. Eroshin built a successful clinical Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service at both the University of Tennessee and North Carolina State University, where he also developed a dentistry and oral surgery course. Passionate about teaching, he has presented numerous lectures locally and internationally. He continues to teach dentistry and oral surgery at Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine in Tennessee.

The areas of Dr. Eroshin’s clinical expertise include advanced oral surgery with a special interest in endodontics, maxillofacial trauma, oral cancer and exotic mammal dentistry.

Dr. Eroshin is an active animal welfare advocate. He spent extensive time in South Pacific volunteering for the Animal Protection Society of Samoa. Other notable volunteer projects include working with rescued large felids as a member of the Peter Emily International Veterinary Foundation, and the San Francisco SPCA.

Dr. Eroshin and his wife, also a veterinarian, have two children, three dogs, a cat and a horse. When he is not practicing veterinary medicine, Dr. Eroshin can be found exploring local trails with his children and planning his next family backpacking expedition. Dr. Eroshin is a unicyclist and a former competitive judo player. Dr. Eroshin is most proud of when his 3-year old son first learned to ride a bicycle.

Dr. Eroshin is excited to be back to the city where he first stepped onto American land.

She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, she completed a one-year rotating internship at Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in New York City, then worked as an emergency veterinarian in Manhattan before starting her residency in Dentistry & Oral Surgery at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in NJ. She completed her program at the Hospital for Dentistry and Oral Surgery in North Carolina. For the past few years, she has worked at a private specialty practice.

Her dentistry interests include maxillofacial fracture repair, endodontics, and oral surgical oncology. Outside of work, Dr. Mendelsohn enjoys spending time with her family, watching football, playing with her rescued Shih Tzu, Mega and riding her horses Zeke and Holden.

A NJ native, she is excited to join the team at VDS and looks forward to working closely with pet parents and referring veterinarians.