Emily was born and raised in Northern VA, primarily in Fredericksburg. She has had a big space in her heart for other species since before she can remember; she was always trying to save any animal or bug she could get her hand on as a kid.

After earning a Liberal Arts degree at Northern Virginia Community College, Michelle moved on to George Mason University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She spent many years working in the finance industry, even though her real passion was to one day pursue a career working with animals. When a position became available at the local veterinary clinic, Michelle jumped at the chance to follow her passion and accepted a receptionist position. She worked her way up to being an assistant and later decided to further her career by attending NOVA and graduating in May 2015 with a degree in Veterinary Technology. Michelle continues to be a loyal member of the Hartwood team and has been ever since Hartwood's doors opened.

Being born and raised on a farm in Rixeyville, VA, Lucy has always had a passion for animals. She grew up with sheep, horse, cows, chicken and ducks but her main passion when she was younger was horses. She worked at Equine Reproduction Concepts in Amissville, VA as a stallion handler for six years. At the end of those six years Lucy knew for sure what she wanted to do as a career. She then moved south attending Blue Ridge Community College and graduating with honors in 2009 with a degree in Veterinary Technology.

Gail is originally from Long Island, NY, where she received her LVT @ SUNY Delhi. She realized the need for rehabilitation therapy in Veterinary medicine and obtained her CCRP, certified canine rehabilitation practitioner, from the University of TN in 2007. Gail uses various modalities as well as hands on techniques to provide comfort and healing to animals. To further her knowledge of manual techniques, she received her massage therapy certification, CTMT, in 2017 and plans to pursue an acupressure certification.She lives outside Richmond with her husband, daughter, 2 dogs and 4 cats. She enjoys kayaking, skiing and gardening in her spare time.

Debbie is originally from Maryland, but has lived in the Fredericksburg area for most of 30 years. She became interested in caring for animals when she was quite young.  Debbie currently has one dog, Bear and one cat, Bonkers. Debbie started working as a dog bather right after high school and by the age of 22 was the head groomer at the shop where she was employed. Over the years she has groomed thousands of dogs and has owned her own successful grooming business.  Debbie is also a certified grooming instructor. She is very excited to working at Hartwood Animal Hospital.