Meet The Doctors
Dr. Reed, Hospital Director
Dr. Reed was born on a family dairy farm in Ithaca, New York. As a young farm boy, he developed a passion for the husbandry and health of animals, whether they were dairy cows, farm dogs and cats or even wild, undomesticated animals. Whenever veterinarians from Cornell University came to the family farm to treat cows or calves, young Dr. Reed was by their sides, asking a million questions. He knew that he would someday join their ranks.
Dr. Reed graduated from North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987. Following graduation, he worked at a practice that treated both large and small animals. He then operated his own large animal practice where he treated dairy cattle, horses, llama, pigs and goats. As the number of family farms started to dwindle, he made a career switch to companion animals. In 1991, he opened Pointe South Animal Hospital in Randleman, NC. In 2000, he opened Blue Flint Animal Hospital in neighboring Asheboro. In 2007, he and his family relocated to Denver where he opened West Shore Animal Hospital in 2008.
Dr. Reed currently resides in Denver with his wife, Peggy, and their 5-year-old daughter, Anna. The Reeds also have four grown children. Their house is home to three cats, Homer, Sammy and Gidget and two dogs, a Border Collie mix named P.D. and a Bull Terrier puppy named Lucy Lilly Belle.
When not practicing veterinary medicine, Dr. Reed enjoys riding bicycles, making writing pens, and keeping bees.
Dr. Miller
Dr. Miller spent her childhood in North Carolina, went to Missouri for her undergraduate years and graduated from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. After a decade in California, Dr. Miller has happily returned to North Carolina to raise her two children with her husband. She keeps company with two cats, Huckleberry and Stinky, and two dogs, Roux and Rose.
Dr. Miller is looking forward to rediscovering NC with her family and scrapbooking their adventures.
Our Staff
Ashley Alte
Ashley joined our team in January of 2009. Originally from Florida, Ashley has lived in North Carolina for 3 years. She holds a B.S. in Family, Child and Consumer Sciences from Florida State University and is a devoted Seminole fan! Before working at West Shore Animal Hospital, Ashley taught middle school science for 2 years. Ashley and her husband Seth met in college and have been married for 4 years. Currently, they have 3 pets, a Giant Maso Mastiff named Lulu Kazoo, a crazy cat named Bengal, and a big, lovable cat named Dolce.
Jessica Bellus
Jessica joined our team in March 2009. She is originally from Buffalo, NY. She moved to Huntersville with her family 11 years ago. Jessica has always loved animals and been interested in the veterinary field since she was young. Before coming to West Shore Animal Hospital, Jessica worked for another animal hospital for 6 years as a veterinary assistant and as a receptionist. Jessica lives in Denver with her 5 loving American Pit Bull Terriers Jada, Gotti, Ziggy, Chopper and Roxy.
Andrea Walls
Andrea has been with West Shore Animal Hospital since it opened in June, 2008. Andrea grew up on a farm in Ohio, where she raised and showed ponies, chickens, ducks and geese. She moved to NC in 1988, met her husband, Tim, and they now have a son, Tyler, who is 6 years old. Andrea lives her true love for animals by breeding and showing beautiful Great Danes. Also note that the picture of the puppy on our home page grew up to be the beautiful dog shown with Andrea! You can see pictures of her four-legged family on her website: andisdanes.org!
Patti Austin, Certified Master Groomer
Patti hails from Boston originally, was raised in California, met her husband, Clayton, a native North Carolinian, and joined him here. She graduated from grooming school in 1977 and would never think of doing anything else! She also is certified in dog obedience training. She shares her home with Alice, a cattle dog mix, Brady, a Golden Retriever, and Summer, a loving calico cat. Patti is the proud “Grammy” of Talon, aged 8 months, and Dominick, aged 6 months, who are the children of Patti’s twin daughters. Patti also has a 21 year old son who attends school in California.
Peggy Reed, Practice Manager
Peggy has been a part of West Shore Animal Hospital since before its inception, as she is also Dr. Reed’s wife. She managed their other animal hospitals in Randleman and Asheboro for approximately 10 years before returning to her field of training, Speech Pathology. She came on board at WSAH shortly after it opened to help get it running smoothly and is finding it hard to leave due to all the wonderful clients and their pets. Peggy is originally from Chicago and is mother to 2 grown daughters and Anna, the little one frequently seen “helping” around the hospital. She and Dr. Reed also share their home with 2 dogs and 3 cats – for now!
Lexie Stepien
Lexie joined West Shore Animal Hospital's team in June, 2009. Lexie was born and raised in Oswego, NY and moved to the area in 2008. She has a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Zoology. Her animal experience includes working for 3 years as an outdoor bird keeper and penguin trainer at Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY. Lexie and her boyfriend Rob live in Cornelius with their rat terrier/beagle mix named Oreo.
