Meet Our Team
Large Animal Vets
Charmaine "Charlie" Brown, DVM
Karilyn Bonney, VMD
Dr. Libby Helmer MS, DVM
Dr. Libby Helmer is one of our large animal doctors specializing in horses. She is originally from Colorado where she grew up in the heart of the mountains. She enjoys all things outdoors including skiing, trail running, trail riding and mountain biking. She grew up riding quarter horses and team roping but has always been fascinated with equine athletes of every discipline. She began her career working in animal reproduction and research after receiving her Masters in biomedical sciences from Colorado State University. During her masters program she met her now husband Dr. Caleb Brown. She then went on to obtain her DVM from CSU Veterinary school with awards in equine sports medicine and rehabilitation. Post doctorate she pursued advanced training in equine internal medicine and surgery at Montana Equine Associates. Her professional interests include equine sports medicine, lameness and surgery. She lives here in Monmouth with her husband, 2 beautiful horses, 2 goofy dogs and 1 orange cat. Her favorite thing about Maine is the beautiful lakes and the amazing sense of community.
Kelsey Hilton, VMD
Kelsey is a Maine native who grew up on a small farm in Starks where her family raised Hereford cattle, sheep, and horses. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and practiced in central Maine before joining Annabessacook in 2015. She has broad interests, from dairy production work, ruminant reproduction, and camelid and small ruminant husbandry to equine husbandry and internal medicine. On her family farm, she raises a few ‘mostly ornamental’ highland cattle, sells hay, and manages forestland. When she has time, she enjoys competitive skijoring with her APHA mare “Gracie”, hacking and jumping her warmblood mare “Koko”, and exploring the outdoors with her partner Justin.
Rita Neat, DVM
Dr. Caleb Brown MS, DVM
Dr. Caleb Brown is one of the large animal veterinarians focusing mostly on horses. He grew up right here in Monmouth and is the oldest son of Dr. Charmaine Brown. Having been raised at this practice, he knew from an early age he was meant to be a veterinarian. He moved out west to attend Colorado State University where he first obtained his Masters in Assisted Reproduction before continuing with his Doctorate at CSU’s Veterinary School. During his time in CO he was lucky enough to meet his now wife Dr. Libby Helmer. In the spring breeding season he specializes in equine reproduction based out of KDM farm. The rest of the year he enjoys seeing a diverse spectrum of cases, particularly dental cases and preventative medicine. In his spare time, he enjoys snowboarding, snowmobiling, riding horses and working in the garage. He lives with his wife and currently has 2 quarter horses, 2 dogs and reluctantly, a cat. He loves being back in Maine and considers it an honor to carry on the family business!
Large Animal Staff
Kristie Hutchinson, Receptionist/Licensed Veterinary Technician
Marissa Castonguay, Veterinary Assistant/Technician
Marissa began working with us as a large animal technician in 2013 after graduating from UMA Bangor. She enjoys working with all animals but has a special interest in horses. In her spare time, she loves spending time outside and being with family and friends. She and her husband Derek have a small farm with a wide variety of animals. From a hedgehog, to several horses and many others in between, they are always improving upon and enjoying their backyard farm.
Mel Merchant, Receptionist
Mel came back to ABC as a receptionist in September 2016. She was a large animal technician from 2004-2013. Mel lives in New Sharon and spends all of her time away from work traveling the eastern half of the US barrel racing her two mares Pooh and Belle, with her faithful German Shorthaired Pointer Remington (Remi) in tow! Competing in IBRA National Finals in Cloverdale Indiana, and NBHA World Finals in Perry Georgia-the sky is the limit! There are also two youngsters joining the party…Steele a yearling, and Lilly a weanling. In late fall Mel also enjoys hunting and during the winter Mel and Belle compete in Skijoring.
Felicia "Boo" Whitten, Veterinary Assistant/Technician
Beth Drouin, Veterinary Assistant/Technician
Beth is a native of Monmouth and studied at the University of Southern Maine. She has been a major part of our equine team since 1998. At the clinic, you can find her running lab work and assisting the surgical team and any number of medical treatments. Beth lives with her husband, Chad, and their two children, Trent and Addison. They have a dog named Baylee, two guinea pigs (Ellie and Ruby), and a miniature horse named Charlie. Beth and her family are very busy with sports. Their son Trent plays baseball and basketball. Addie enjoys the animals, basketball, and softball. In her spare time, Beth enjoys riding, spending time with her family, and traveling (especially on when Chad plans the trips).
Kayla McKay, Veterinary Technician
Kayla is a Maine native that has spent the past 14 years in Florida pursuing her love for Dressage. While in Florida she attended Stetson University, became a Grand Prix Dressage rider and trainer, and managed a large dressage barn. She has recently returned to Maine to spend more time with her family and get a much-needed break from the heat. She joined the team at Annabessacook in Jan 2021 and has enjoyed working with everyone. Outside of work Kayla spends her time training her mare Rapunzel and hanging out with her dog Lucy.
Small Animal Vets
Karen Lipovsky, DVM
Barbara Perkins, DVM
Rita Neat, DVM
Dr. Neat is a graduate of Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine where she obtained her DVM as well as her Master’s Degree in Preventive Veterinary Medicine with an emphasis in swine. When she joined Annabessacook Veterinary Clinic, she fulfilled her dream of joining the rest of the Neat family in the magical state of Maine. Her primary species interest is in ruminant medicine/surgery, but her passion is applying evidence based medicine to benefit all creatures great and small. Her absolute favorite part of veterinary medicine is resolving a difficult dystocia with healthy babies on the ground, especially when the weather is terrible. When she is not in the clinic, she likes to forage for mushrooms and other edible plants, read library books, and climb to the top of mountains.
Small Animal Staff
Heather Urquhart, Receptionist
Sarah Pettengill, Practice Manager
Sarah lives in Winthrop with my 2 dogs (Hank & Gauge), 3 cats (Arthur, Napoleon & Bernard), a turtle and a bunch of fish. She started at Annabessacook in 2014 as a receptionist before leaving in 2018 for a few years to work as a trial assistant for the District Attorney’s office. She returned in Dec 2021 as practice manager. She has 3 degrees, one in small business management, one in equine massage therapy & one in justice studies. She also works part time for her parent’s business, Walston Woodcrafts, where she screenprints whirligigs. She is also the owner of Pin High Disc Golf course in Monmouth. In her spare time, She plays disc golf, spends time with her pony Star, and bird hunts with her family.
Mindy Perry, Veterinary Technician
Naomi Caswell, Receptionist
Patricia Pratte, Animal Assistant
Larissa Michaud, Veterinary Technician
Larissa joined our team in 2021. She grew up in Leeds and now resides in Greene with her two sons, dog, 2 cats and 2 Guinea pigs. In her free time she enjoys the outdoors, going to the beach and creating memories with her children.
Micah Meader, Licensed Veterinary Technician
Micah graduated from the UCB vet tech program in 2007. His career started in Alaska, where he worked for five years. He moved back to Maine in the summer of 2011. He worked at the Animal Emergency Clinic in Lewiston before joining us in 2017. Micah’s large fur family consists of two wonderful dogs and six sweet cats, all of which keeps him quite busy and entertained. He often says he couldn’t imagine working anywhere else!
Ashley Emery, Veterinary Technician
Ashley is currently a senior at St. Joseph’s College where she is majoring in medical biology/pre-vet. She also plays collegiate soccer and softball while working on her degree. She will be applying to Vet schools in the fall to start the journey towards her dream career. She started working at Annabessacook Vet Clinic this summer and has enjoyed getting to know her co-workers and the people around the area! In her down time, she likes to fish, golf, hike and hang out with family, friends and her two dogs Harley and piper.
Shelby Fraser, Licensed Veterinary Technician
Shelby started working at Annabessacook Veterinary in May 2014. She is a graduate of The University of Maine in Bangor Veterinary technician program. As a Licensed Veterinary Technician, she brings a sense of humor as well as calm to all the situations and animals she encounters. She spends her free time with her husband and two children. Shelby is the proud owner of Groot the Brute, a very special white boxer, and her cat, Missy.
Shannon Beaule, Receptionist
Hi! My name is Shannon. I started working at Annabessacook Veterinary Clinic in September 2021 after making a difficult decision to leave the Healthcare field after 10 years. I have always been passionate about taking care of others so transitioning to pet care has been a really wonderful change for me! I am the wife of a Marine named Evan and together we have three wonderful boys; Brady, Owen and Levi. We all love to hunt, fish and go to The Forks or Moosehead Lake region as often as possible! When I am not at work or up North you can most likely find me on the sidelines at our boys football and baseball games, probably cheering the loudest. We have two labrador retrievers named Bitsy and Finn. They are brother and sister. We also have two cats named Phil and Lil who are also brother and sister. It’s quite the crew!
Charity Cram, Licensed Veterinary Technician
Renee Turcotte, Veterinary Technician
Renee started as a vet tech in Alaska and her family led her back to Maine, where she grew up. She and her boyfriend have a blended family with 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. As well as 4 dogs, 2 horses, a cat and a bunny. She enjoys being outdoors with her family, going kayaking, fishing, hiking, and riding their horses or motorcycle.
Trina Burgess, Veterinary Technician
Trina started her adventure as a veterinarian technician in 1999 at Winthrop Veterinary Hospital. Along the way she has worked at the Animal Emergency Clinic of Mid-Maine for over 10 years. Annabessacook Veterinary Clinic has always been Trina’s go to clinic when her four legged partners needed care which is a big reason she decided to join the ABC family! You can often find her in the barn with the three family horses, Lakota, Spartan, and KC. If she is not in the barn she is on an adventure with the three family dogs, Scout, Neko, and Lou! Trina often has her husband, Mark by her side along with her two daughters, Emily and Morgan. She enjoys spending her days with her grandkids teaching them how to work around the barn and taking them on crazy adventures! If you can’t find her doing any of the activities listed above, you’ll find her camping near a beach, on a trail with a horse, or on top of a mountain!
Jessica Watts, Receptionist
Jessica was born and raised in Commerce, GA and moved to Maine in the summer of 2017. She currently lives in Livermore Falls with her fiance; Ryan, dog; Belle, and seven ferrets; Phillip, Lily, Salt, Pepper, Porthos, Titan, and Tiberius. In her free time Jess enjoys spending time with her family and going on walks (when it’s not -0)
Kristin Warner, Receptionist
Kristin was born and raised in Maine. She joined the Annabesacook Veterinary team in 2021 and has a great passion for all animals. She’s a wife and mother of 2 children. Her fur babies include a Goldendoodle- Teddy, 2 French Bulldogs- Lexi and Ace, and a cat- Milo. Kristin enjoys being with her husband and kids, going on adventures, boating, gardening, and vacationing in warm weather.
Our experts can provide you with guidance in the best breeding methods for your unique situation. For more information about KDM Farm and our services, or to schedule an appointment, contact us today by calling
207-933-6424 option 2.
Annabessacook Veterinary Clinic
Phone
Fax
Hours
Monday – Saturday
7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Emergency Care:
Contact The Animal Emergency Clinic of Mid-Maine in Lewiston at 207-777-1110
Large Animal Clinic
Monday – Friday
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Emergency Care Available 24/7/365
