OUR TEAM

Dr. Dougia has over 20 years of veterinary experience and previously worked as a relief veterinarian in Madison County before establishing her own practice, Meridianville Pet Hospital, in December 2012. A native of Louisiana, she earned her BS in Psychology from LSU (1994) and her DVM from LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (2001). She specializes in feline medicine and also enjoys canine care, particularly with Golden Retrievers. She is a member of AVMA, ALVMA, MCVMA, and IVPA. Outside of work, she enjoys football, socializing, dancing, and fitness, and shares her home with rescue animals including a Golden-Basset mix named Tasso and three rescue cats.

After just losing my Golden Retriever, Jolie, to cancer, I went home to Louisiana for the Christmas holidays.  Christmas Eve morning, my father woke me; needing my help with "something" he had seen the day before.  Well that "something" was this scared, skinny, wounded dog that Dad had found on the back of the property the day before.  He had brought it food and water but the dog wouldn't move.  I immediately recognized that something was wrong with his breathing and that his gum color was not good.  But he looked up at me with an all too familiar set of Golden eyes and I was determined to help.  And as with most emergencies, it is a holiday and I am looking for a vet hospital that is open on Christmas Eve.  Luckily, I found one and the veterinarian was nice enough to let me bring this unfortunate pup in.  Radiographs (xrays) revealed the dog had been shot through the chest and had a collapsed lung.  I was able to remove the bullet, but knew this little guy had a long recovery ahead of him.  Needless to say, he came home with me. I cut my trip a day short, found a pet-friendly hotel, and split the 10 hour trip back to Alabama into 2 legs.  I finally decided on a name "Tasso" which is a seasoned, smoked pork roast used to flavor Cajun dishes.  He was my new spice in life!  He also ended up having heartworms-not a real big surprise, being from Louisiana and not on heartworm prevention. He made it through that treatment and has been living in luxury since.  The big joke is that Tasso went from "homeless to hotel" within 48 hours and never went back.  I mentioned those golden eyes that won my heart! I had to know if it was just me wishing for my Jolie, that had just lost her battle with cancer, or was there really something there.  I ran a DNA test on him and the results revealed that he was 50% bassett, 25% golden, and 25% who knows what- a complete Heinz 57.  But I found comfort in knowing he was a golden mix after all and feel like Jolie sent him to me so I would get over the pain and loss quicker if I had a new focus.  And she was right.  Not to mention, one more day in that field, and the little man would not have made it.  My Dad jokes that Tasso getting shot when he did was the best thing that could have happened to him!  And, you know, he was right too!

_{You just never know what life will bring you, Dr. Kayla Dougia}