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Our Team

Our goal here at South Coastal Animal Health has always been to assemble a veterinary health care team committed to providing exceptional client service and veterinary health care. The South Coastal Animal Health team displays an unrivaled commitment to our clients through continuing education, technological advances in veterinary medicine and service, and most importantly, administering compassionate care to all pets entrusted to us.

 

Get an inside look at the incredible team at South Coastal Animal Health:

Doctors:

Doctors
Dr. Strake
Dr. Harvey
Dr. Liz
Dr. Johnstone
Dr. Leidl
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Owner and Founder

Dr. Grace Strake, DVM

Dr. Strake has built a reputation as one of the south shore's leading veterinary surgeons. Educated at the Freie University of Berlin, Germany, she completed the ECFVG internship program at Tufts University Foster School of Veterinary Medicine in 1995.

 

Dr. Strake practices small animal medicine and surgery and has completed extensive training in Ultrasonography.  She has been scanning regularly for the past 13 years. Her surgical experience includes all routine procedures and many non-routine soft tissue surgeries including bladder and intestinal surgery.  She is also skilled in using the surgical laser on many soft tissue surgeries. 

 

Dr. Strake has extensive knowledge in Avian and Exotic medicine and has a special interest in the medical care of Ferrets.  She also has a strong background in Oncology and offers many Chemotherapy treatments and options.

 

Dr. Strake lives in Scituate with her Husband and their three dogs, Bronson, Hooper, and Tessie, and their four cats, Pi, Tulip, Maizie, and Percy.  Her two aquatic red ear slider turtles reside in the reception of the clinic and her senior cat Meitzie runs the staff break room upstairs with an iron paw.

 

Dr. Strake is an AVID Red Sox and Bruins fan and is also a professional Violinist! 

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Associate Veterinarian and Co-Owner

Dr. Liz Czaplicki, DVM

Dr. Liz graduated from Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2004 following a degree in Biology from the University of Vermont.  After completing Vet school she took an internship in equine medicine and surgery at Rochester Equine Clinic prior to joining Black Pond Veterinary Services.  She switched to small animal medicine and joined the SCAH team in 2008.

 

Dr. Liz was certified in equine acupuncture at the Chi Institute while at Black Pond. She is an active member of the AVMA and was a chairperson for the membership committee of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association. 

 

Dr. Liz takes a vested interested in all her patients and enjoys small animal medicine especially Ultrasonography. 

 

Dr. Liz lives in Hingham with her Husband and their two sons Ian and Andrew. They also have a very energetic yellow lab named Hazel and a calico cat named Clover.

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Associate Veterinarian and Co-Owner

Dr. Sophie Johnstone, DVM

Dr. Johnstone completed her undergraduate at Cornell University in 2009 and then went on to the Royal College of Veterinary Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland. She moved back to the USA after completing Vet school and joined the SCAH team in 2013.

Dr. Johnstone lives in Boston with her Husband Callum and their energetic Springer Spaniel Pip (pictured). 

In her spare time, Dr. Johnstone most enjoys hiking and swimming in the summer with her family, friends, and of course Pip.

Pip is also a volunteer as Therapy Dog and visits local hospitals on a weekly basis. 

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Lori Harvey, DVM

Dr. Harvey is a 1993 graduate of the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and has many years experience in small animal and exotic medicine. She takes a special interest in Avian medicine and loves working with small mammals and reptiles. Dr. Harvey is a skilled soft tissue surgeon and takes great pride in her dentistry skills.

 

Dr. Harvey currently resides in Kingston with her husband Doug and their daughter Michelle. They share their home with a Pionus Parrot and a cat named Iris. 

Dr. Harvey is a skilled runner and has been competing in mini-triathlons and swimming.​

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Kim Fortier Leidl, DVM

Dr. Kim Fortier Leidl is originally from Connecticut.  She grew up riding horses and became interested in veterinary medicine at an early age. Kim majored in English at Boston College and earned a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Michigan in 2010. She then spent two years in research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Although she enjoyed research, Kim missed working with animals. She applied to veterinary school and graduated from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016.

 

 

Kim spent her first year out of veterinary school working at a 24-hour small animal hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, where she practiced surgery, general and emergency medicine. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary practice but is particularly interested in preventive medicine, internal medicine, dentistry, and One Health.

 

 

Kim then moved to the Boston area with her husband, Matt, and their beagle-dachshund mix, Lulu. She was very excited to join the team at South Coastal Animal Health in June 2017.

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Abigail Sholtys, DVM

Dr. Abby graduated from the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine in 2018. She is originally from Ithaca, New York, where she also completed her undergraduate degree at Cornell University. Dr. Abby loves all areas of the veterinary field but has a special interest in internal medicine and dermatology.

 

Dr. Abby lives outside of Boston with her fiance, Jeff, who is also a veterinarian. They have a pitbull, Ollie, and two cats, Charlie and Jackson.

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Sarah Strake, DVM

Dr. Sarah completed her undergraduate degree in 2012 at Boston College and then went on to complete her veterinary degree at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine in 2019. She is originally from Long Island, New York.  Dr. Sarah is interested in many areas of the veterinary field particularly internal medicine.

 

Dr. Sarah lives outside of Boston with her husband Ben, their golden retriever and fluffy orange cat.

 

In her spare time, Dr. Sarah enjoys hiking, reading, and exploring New England.

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Priscilla Pettit, DVM

Dr. Pettit completed her undergraduate education at Colorado College in 1989 and her veterinary education at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. On graduation, she practiced small animal and exotic medicine, caring for pets of all kind as well as for wildlife. Now focused exclusively on small animal medicine, she joins South Coastal on returning to Boston after 13 years in Denver, Colorado. Mom to two boys ages 21 and 16 she enjoys being back in Massachusetts near the ocean.

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Marie Petropoulos, DVM

Dr. Marie Petropoulos received her bachelor's degree from the University of New Hampshire in 2013 before completing her veterinary degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 2017. She was born and raised in Stoughton.

 

After graduation, Dr. Petropoulos initially worked in a mixed animal practice with dogs, cats, exotics, ruminants, and horses until 2018 when she transitioned exclusively to small animal medicine. She is passionate about preventative care and has a particular interest in surgery.

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Julie Richer, DVM

Dr. Julie Richer completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in 2017 and received her veterinary degree from the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine in 2022, one town over from her hometown of Whitinsville, MA. Throughout her veterinary education, Dr. Julie developed a love for all areas of small animal and exotic medicine. She will be happy to see your cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and all other small mammals!

 

Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. Julie enjoys running (she hopes to run the Boston Marathon one day), reading (Agatha Christie is one of her favorite authors), volunteering at her church, and spending time with her friends, family, and pets.

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Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Bennett King, DVM

Dr. King grew up on the South Shore. She first entered the veterinary world by shadowing our own Dr. Grace Strake at South Coastal! She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at Colgate University in 2015. Afterwards, she spent one year researching canine mammary cancer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with her veterinary degree in 2020. 

 

Dr. King completed a small animal rotating internship followed by a year as an emergency veterinarian before transitioning to South Coastal. Her special interests include critical care and cytology. She lives outside of Boston and enjoys pottery and traveling. 

 

Technicans

Technicians:

Management Crew

Management:

Management:

Administrative Support:

Administrative Support
Receptionists

Receptionists

Kennel Staff

Kennel Staff:

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