In association with Thomas Veterinary Services
Dr. Thomas and her staff will help you with all your pet needs. Take a moment to read a little about them below...
Our Staff
As a teenager, Dr. Thomas started helping her dad at Lanett Animal Clinic. He was a major mentor and confidante during her teen years. Her first job was being a kennel attendant and she enjoyed being able to take care of all the pets and exceled at bathing dogs. She continued working at the clinic while attending college classes moving into a receptionist role on Saturdays, veterinary assistant at times- preparing rooms for doctor, and surgery nurse taking care of pets pre and post surgery. She enrolled in Auburn University the fall of 1997 and attended 3 years before entering Tuskegee's College of Veterinary Medicine graduating there in 2004. For the next 3 years she maintained working at Lanett Animal Clinic until moving away to Birmingham area at the start of 2009. It would be over ten years until she returned in a full time capacity to Lanett Animal Clinic. She served as the first practice owner for Alabama Spay/Neuter Inc. and completed over five thousand surgeries during her time there. Next, she went back into private practice part-time at Calera Animal Hospital. She is a very inquisitive individual which led her to pursue an additional career requiring her to attend Aveda Institute for 9 months and obtained status as a license esthetician or skin care specialist (for people). Before moving back to run clinic she worked part-time at a Merle Norman Cosmetics serving as main esthetician for almost 4 years while continuing working part-time in veterinary medicine. In her own words: "Dr. Jerry E. Thomas' legacy lives on through his children. I guess deep down in my heart I always knew I'd eventually take over dad's clinic. I can remember stating such in an 8th grade English presentation. This clinic holds so many fond memories of growing up and having fun taking care of pets and meeting clients. My hope is to continue doing this for decades to come."
Forrest was born and raised in the atmosphere of animals (which is where his love for all animals developed). He grew up going to work with his father (Dr. Jerry E. Thomas). Forrest spent some time working as a Vet Tech, Groomer, and Office Staff member before earning a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from Jacksonville State University. He is currently working dual roles as Practice Manager of Lanett Animal Clinic, as well as Supervisor of Registered Nurse First Assistants in Surgery at East Alabama Medical Center. He has been working in the veterinary field since 1993. In his spare time, Forrest enjoys raising Labradors, Labradoodles, and has a special interest in the genetics of Cattle. He has proven his teachings with production of high quality genetic cattle offspring. He lives on a small farm in Cusseta with his wife, Tami, and their son, Paxton. Sometimes, Forrest's older children, Rachel and Ansley, occasionally help at Lanett Animal Clinic as well.
Summer began working at Lanett Animal Clinic in 2015. She has lived in the Valley / Lanett area her whole life. While she enjoys all animals, cats are her favorite. When not at work, she likes to spend time watching tv with her two cats, Rosie and Nugget.
Hey, my name is Dakota. I've worked as a kennel assistant at Lanett Animal Clinic since beginning of September. In high school I was a part of the health program and had opportunity to shadow at a vet clinic. I started Southern Union in the Fall of 2019 and maintain working part time at Lanett Animal Clinic. One of my favorite things about working here is following the pet's visit from start to finish. I find this job keeps me busy and I have 3 dogs in my own family.
