Dr. Michelle West grew up in Madison, CT,  where she graduated from Daniel Hand High School.  As a child she loved all animals and was an avid equestrian competing in local shows and horse trials.  As far back as she can remember, her dream was to become a veterinarian. One of her first jobs at 16 was as a kennel assistant at The New Haven Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine. She was fascinated by this first introduction to veterinary medicine and began to plan her future path to attaining her dream.  In 1989 she graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Biology from Mount Holyoke College.  From there she moved to Ohio to attend The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.  After graduating in 1993 with honors, she moved to Wisconsin to complete an equine internship. The following year she returned to Portland CT to work in an equine practice for three years before switching to small animal medicine and surgery.  Since 1996 she has worked at three practices in this area before purchasing Shoreline Animal Hospital in 2006 with Dr. Berman.

They are always calm when we go and they are never scared or stressed. They know Dr. Michelle is going to take great care of them

Dr. West is married and has three children as well as two dogs, Taco and Belle.  She has lived in Killingworth since 1995.  Her oldest daughter, Lindsay, has graduated from Ohio State with a degree in food engineering and is employed as a mechanical engineer.  Her second daughter, Erica, is studying industrial engineering at Ohio State.  Her youngest, Brian, is graduating from high school this year and heading off to college in the fall. In her free time, Dr. West enjoys travel, walking, local theater, reading and being with family.  One of her travel goals is to visit all of our National Parks!  In the last few years she has been to Olympic NP, Big Ben NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP, Everglades NP,  Biscayne NP, Arches NP, Mesa Verde NP and Sand Dunes NP.

Dr. Julie Atwood Berman is a native of Long Island, and grew up on the south shore with three brothers and many pets including dogs, cats, and horses.   She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in biology, and earned her DVM with honors from Tufts Veterinary School in 1991.  She has practiced small animal medicine in Connecticut ever since. She worked with Dr West for several years at another local practice before taking the plunge into business ownership in 2006.

Dr. Berman is the best. Wish there were more vets who cared as much as she does. My family and I appreciate her more than she will ever know.

Dr. Berman has 2 grown children; her daughter Emily has graduated from Tufts Cummings Veterinary School and she is pursuing a career in equine medicine. Her son Nathaniel is a college student studying mechanical engineering and is a licensed pilot. Dr. Berman lives on a small farm in Deep River with her husband Dave, who is semi-retired but stays busy taking care of all the animals.  Together they have 3 rescue dogs, 2 horses, an adorable mini donkey, a flock of chickens, and a cat. In her spare time Dr Berman enjoys horseback riding, tending to her huge vegetable garden, traveling, and learning to play the cello.  She is a member of the Community Music School String Ensemble. She also serves on the board of directors of the New Haven County Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Genevieve Filion grew up in the suburbs of Quebec City, Canada. She graduated High School and College from Le Petit Seminaire de Quebec where she obtained her International Baccalaureate in 1996. She then went on to University of Montreal, Faculte de Medecine Veterinaire. After graduating in 2000, she moved to Ithaca, NY to start an internship at Cornell University in the large animal ambulatory service.  From there she practiced for 5 years in upstate New York in a variety of mixed, small animal, and emergency practices. In 2007 she moved to Connecticut where she immediately fell in love with the area and all that it has to offer. Since then she has worked at two AAHA hospitals in Guilford and Branford. Over the years, Dr. Filion has developed an interest in surgery, preventative care, and especially dentistry. She is also USDA APHIS accredited which allows her to issue Health certificates and recently she became Fear Free certified.

Dr. Filion lives in Killingworth with her husband Jeffrey and 2 children, Alexandre and Maxime. She also shares her home with 2 geriatric cats, Soleil and Teddy. Max and Alex are also the owners of 2 rescue guinea pigs Coco and Marshmallow. When she is not working, you can find Dr. Filion on the HK soccer and baseball fields enjoying watching her sons play. In her free time Dr. Filion also enjoys cooking, baking, skiing, hiking, and traveling. She particularly enjoys spending time with family in Caroga Lake, NY at the family camp or visiting her family in Quebec.

Dr. Perry grew up in Avon, CT, the daughter of two pharmacists. As a young girl, she loved riding horses, caring for animals and always wanted to be a veterinarian. Her initial path in college however was to become a pharmacist just like her parents. She attended the University of Connecticut where she was both an Honor’s Scholar and a University Scholar. In 1984, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Pharmacy and headed off to veterinary school. While attending Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, she worked part time as a pharmacist and graduated in 1988. Her first veterinary job brought her back to CT to stay.

Dr. Perry has lived right here in Clinton since 1990. She and her husband Ed have a large family including Marvelous Matthew the mutt, Bonnie the beagle, Tanner the Quarter Horse, Sparkle the mule and a flock of chickens affectionately known as “the girls”. In her free time she enjoys riding horses (and her lovely white mule), bicycling, hiking, snowshoeing and cross country skiing. When the weather is not cooperating, she can be found cooking delicious recipes on top of her wood stove with the plentiful fresh vegetables and herbs from Ed’s gigantic garden!