About Our Veterinarians
Dr. Hilty Burr
Dr. Hilty Burr grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and was educated in the public school system. His undergraduate studies took place at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee as a biology major and The University of Tennessee in Knoxville as an Animal Science major. Dr. Burr graduated from The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980, awarded with an academic membership to Phi Zeta by being in the top 10% of his class.
Following graduation, Dr. Burr began an interesting and diverse career in veterinary medicine. He started his clinical practice career in Pell City, Alabama at Cropwell Animal Hospital as an associate veterinarian for small and large animals. In 1981, Dr. Burr relocated to Cleveland, Tennessee and opened Burr Veterinary Clinic, which was also a mixed animal practice. In 1990, he decided to sell his interest in this practice to begin consulting work for the animal health industry. In 1992, Dr. Burr accepted a position with Pfizer Animal Health where he continued his consulting work as a technical services veterinarian with a concentration in canine, feline and equine medicine and surgery. He enjoyed an exceptionally successful career receiving several promotions and authored or co-authored several publications in peer-reviewed veterinary journals. His last position with Pfizer was as Director of U.S. Veterinary Services for the Companion Animal Division headquartered in New York, New York. As a full-time consultant for the world’s largest animal health company, Dr. Burr became recognized as a leading expert in companion animal medicine among his veterinary peers.
Because his contact with patients and clients had been restricted to clinical trial work and case consultations, Dr. Burr began to greatly miss the clinical and daily contact with people and their pets. After a thorough search that included most of the southeast United States, Dr. Burr chose the Young Harris / Hiawassee / Hayesville area as a perfect location to build a new state-of-the-art small animal hospital. Lake Chatuge Animal Hospital (LCAH) was opened on 3/1/2005 representing a culmination of over 25 years of veterinary experience and knowledge. The end result is the animal hospital that Dr. Burr had always dreamed about and by the grace of God became a reality.
Dr. Burr teamed up with Dr. McClearen and opened a satellite clinic in November of 2010 in the Peachtree community of Murphy NC. This clinic is appropriately called Tri-County Animal Clinic (TCAC) as it is set up to serve the western NC counties of Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties. TCAC provides convenient and affordable preventive and wellness pet healthcare to western NC families yet is affiliation with the regional hospital (LCAH) which allows these families the same access to the more advanced and specialized services as needed.
Dr. Burr has been married to his lovely wife Susan for almost 30 years and they have two grown children (Jon Jr. and Jessica Rose) who are the treasures of their lives. They also have 5 four-legged kids: Fuzz 18 year old DSH kitty, Opie 14 year old Golden, Blitzen 13 year old Dachsund, Brodie 4 year old Beagle/German Shepherd/Whippet mix breed, and Gracie 3 year old Lab and Dalmatian cross who keep their home lively and entertaining.
Dr. Jim McClearen
Dr. Jim McClearen resides on his farm in Morganton, GA with his lovely wife Laurie and a menagerie of animals that includes several dogs, horses and a commercial herd of cattle. All of his animals are so well cared for that even the cows have individual names. Jim and Laurie have two grown children and one grandchild.
Dr. McClearen has had an exceptional career in veterinary medicine. He graduated from the University of Georgia with his DVM in 1974 after obtaining a degree in agriculture in 1970. He received a distinguished alumni award from UGA, and was founder and owner of Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital in Acworth GA until he sold it in January of 2007. Dr. McClearen also co-founded and served as contractor for the Cobb and Cherokee Emergency Veterinary Clinics. He is past president of Cobb County Veterinary Association, past president of Georgia Medical Academy, board member of Georgia Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA) for the past 10 years and recently completed his term as past president of the GVMA.
In addition to his veterinary accomplishments and affiliations, Dr. McClearen has many other interests that include farming, gardening, hiking, construction, and woodworking. He built and operates, along with his wife, the new Cohutta Mountain Pet and Feed Store in Blue Ridge, and serves as board member of Habitat for Humanity in Fannin and Gilmer counties. Dr. McClearen is highly respected in the veterinary community and has exceptional diagnostic skills. Through his extensive involvement in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. McClearen also provides leadership and staff training expertise centered on the objective of lifelong learning and excellent client services. He has extensive knowledge in the area of computers and how they can improve the delivery of convenient patient and client services. Dr. McClearen is our full time associate veterinarian and works at the main hospital (LCAH) and the new satellite clinic (TCAC). You can see his construction skills at TCAC as Jim served as the contractor to convert the leased space into an attractive and efficient animal clinic.
Dr. Alfred Marshall
Dr. Alfred Marshall, a 1971 Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine Graduate, lives on a small horse farm in Clay county NC with his lovely wife Laurie. He and Laurie have children and grandchildren in Florida & in Clayton, GA. Dr. Marshall sold his 30 year busy practice in Largo, Florida, and moved to western North Carolina with the intent to retire. While in Florida Laurie and their daughter successfully competed in AQHA and 4H shows. Dr. Marshall and Laurie also bred and exhibited miniature schnauzers. Laurie led the male to his AKC Championship. They now have a pair of Belgian Teruverns and several horses.
We were very fortunate to lure him out of full time retirement to serve as our surgeon-in-residence and he serves as our main relief veterinarian. Dr. Marshall is an experienced surgeon and enjoys the full range of general surgery, i.e., anal sac removals, orthopedic procedures, and ear trims for show dogs. In addition, Dr. Marshall has made it possible for us to help the many rescue groups in the area meet their needs by providing a reduced-cost spay/neuter service that is operated on a routine basis.
Dr. Tim Crowe
Dr. Tim Crowe serves as our affiliated board certified surgeon. He was one of the founding members of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. Tim is married to his lovely bride Deborah and they have two grown children and four grandchildren. He and Deb reside in Bogart, GA.
In addition to his affiliation with our hospital, Dr. Crowe serves as Chief of Staff for a referral and emergency hospital in Ventura, California, works with RIVER (Regional Institute of Veterinary Emergency and Referrals) in Chattanooga, The Animal Emergency and Treatment Center in Chicago; and he is also on staff at the UGA College of Public Health in Athens working to help develop a program that will train veterinarians and veterinary technicians to assist in the treatment of human injuries in the event of a major catastrophic event.
In case that is not enough to do for Tim, he also is a volunteer fireman and certified EMT. Dr. Crowe is a recognized international expert in the fields of veterinary surgery, emergency and critical care and lectures extensively on a worldwide basis. He has introduced many of our patients to several cutting-edge, non-invasive and alternative treatment modalities that include photonic acupuncture, laser therapy, and chiropractic adjustments. Other remarkable technologies involve the use of Bio-magnetic resonance therapy that offers diagnostic as well as treatment capabilities. Drs. Crowe and Burr have invested in Pulsed Signal Therapy that uses an electromagnetic coil to relieve pain and stimulate new cartilage growth in arthritic joints, and also offer the FDA approved electroceutical device (IVIVI / Assisi loops) for home use to reduce pain, swelling and inflammation.
Several of our patients have greatly benefited from Dr. Crowe’s evaluations and treatments for conditions that are not responsive to more traditional treatment options with outcomes that are truly remarkable—especially in terms of relieving acute and chronic pain.
Dr. Rinday Barrett
Lake Chatuge Animal Hospital P.C. with its main hospital located in Young Harris, GA is pleased to
announce the recent addition of Dr. Rinday Barrett as an associate veterinarian. Dr. Barrett is a native
of Hiawassee, GA, where she grew up on a farm surrounded by animals. This included all types of farm
animals as well as Walker Foxhounds that her Father, Truman Barrett, bred and competed in champion
field trials. Dr. Barrett always loved animals and knew early on that she would become a veterinarian.
She graduated from Towns County High School in 1997 in the top 5 of her class. She completed her pre-veterinary requirements and earned Associates of Arts degree in 1999 from Oxford College of Emory University and then a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 2001 from Emory University. She then completed graduate biology coursework at Georgia State University and University of Georgia to further prepare for veterinary college. She also worked as a veterinary technician at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Barrett earned her DVM graduate degree from the University of Georgia in 2009. Following graduation, she worked as an associate veterinarian in a 5 doctor small animal practice in the Atlanta area. Then she returned to the Hiawassee area where she worked in a relief veterinary capacity at Lake Chatuge Animal Hospital and its satellite Tri County Animal Clinic in the Peachtree Community of Murphy NC. While providing relief veterinary services in 2012 – 2013, Dr. Barrett furthered her post graduate studies by enrolling and completing a veterinary acupuncture certification course provided by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society.
Her primary interests in veterinary medicine include internal medicine, dermatology and preventive care combined with an interest in integrating conventional Western medicine with holistic Eastern medicine to provide animals with the best care possible. Lake Chatuge Animal Hospital and Tri- County Animal Clinic are excited to add certified veterinary acupuncture as an option for their patients to treat many of the acute and chronic diseases commonly seen in small animal medicine.