Dr. Nicole Belair, Owner & DVM

Dr. Belair joined the Pachaug Animal Hospital family in December 2019, upon Dr. Gay’s retirement. She grew up in Central Massachusetts and began her veterinary career as a volunteer at Westside Animal Clinic in Worcester shortly after starting high school. Throughout high school and college, she worked her way through the practice, gaining lots of experience and mentorship in all aspects of veterinary medicine. 

Dr. Belair earned her undergraduate degree from Assumption College in 2003 and then moved to Canada to attend veterinary school. She earned her DVM from the University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College in 2008. From there she completed a rotating internship at Kansas State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital where she received advanced training in surgery, emergency care and internal medicine. 

In 2009, Dr. Belair returned to southern New England and has been in general practice in Rhode Island and Connecticut ever since. Over the years she has pursued training in holistic medicine, nutrition, physical rehabilitation, ultrasound and clinical pathology. In 2019, she became certified as a veterinary acupuncturist through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society. 

Dr. Belair loves all pets except snakes, treats mostly dogs and cats, and has soft spots for geriatric pets and Labrador retrievers. She lives in Moosup with two Labradors, Lennie and Fin, cats Norman and Carol, and is a keeper of honeybees.      

Becky, Practice Manager

Hi friends! Howl you doin’? I’m Becky and may have a familiar face to this local community. After graduating from East Lyme High School in 2011, my family and I moved to the Voluntown/ Griswold area. My career at Pachaug Animal Hospital just hit an 8-year milestone, although it feels like it’s been fur-ever! Over the last year I have taken on the manager role. I started here as a receptionist back in 2017. Not long after, I had an op-purr-tunity to jump into the technician role and expand my skills. I’ve been furtunate enough to have had the oppawtunity to get some experience and further grow my skills set with surgical patients. While I am doing more of the manager role these days, you will still see me working in rooms and surgeries alongside Dr. Belair and the rest of the pack. 

My coworkers would describe me as having quite the punny bone. I’m pretty sure my daily jokes help them get through even the ruff-est of days. When I’m not being hounded to write my “about me”, I love spending time with my dog and 4 cats.  I also enjoy purr-fecting my culinary skills (Bone Appetit!), having a ball outdoors, and did I mention living for the puns of life? That being said, I’m paws-itively honored to be a part of the Pachaug team.

Paw-lease, hold the ap-paws…. 

Dog-gone it, I’m good!

Ellie, Veterinary Technician

Hi there! My name is Ellie and I have been working at Pachaug Animal Hospital since May of 2018. I started at Pachaug working as a receptionist, but these days you will often see me behind the scenes as well.

I grew up in Voluntown and love to spend my days outside hiking and kayaking in our beautiful Pachaug Forest. My fur family consists of an extra-large black lab named Benny, a yellow lab named Maddie, and 2 cats named Lester and Louise. I am very passionate about animals and always treat all our furry patients like they are my own pets. Eventually, I hope to go back to school to become a licensed technician. Stop in and say hi!

Kaia, Veterinary Assistant

Hi! I’m Kaia, a certified veterinary assistant. I was born and raised in Washington state, which naturally gave me the love for dark and gloomy whether. I’m an avid hiker who loves exploring new areas and always down for a fun adventure. But I also enjoy my down time with my cats watching Star Wars. Working with animals has been a dream come true, being able to help your furry little family members warms and fills my heart.

Vivian Louise, our long-lived and much-loved resident hospital cat, took her last nap on September 4, 2020.

It’s said that some cats have nine lives. If that’s the case, Vivian Louise lived multitudes.

Her kittenhood was spent with her brother, Godfrey, and Dr. Gay and Luchi, who adopted the duo in August 2001. The next year, Vivian Louise broke her leg under mysterious circumstances – never begrudge a lady her secrets – and, after being treated and recuperating here at PAH, she stayed on, excelling in her role as clinic mascot.

During her 19 remarkable years on this earth, she specialized in walking across keyboards, knocking things off counters, and dunking her head in whatever water glass she could find. Long-time clients probably remember seeing her sneaking into exam rooms and roaming the hospital halls as if she owned them.  

Rest in Peace, Vivian Louise, the very queen of cats.