About Kinship Animal Hospital

Meet our vet

Dr. Emily Kirkpatrick

Dr. Emily Kirkpatrick started Kinship Animal Hospital to meet a growing need for access to veterinary care in the Manchester and Southside Richmond area. She moved with her family to the Woodland Heights neighborhood in 2016, after a decade away from Richmond, and fell in love with the area.

She completed her Bachelors of Science at The College of William and Mary – which is also where she met her husband, Brian. In 2011, she fulfilled a life-long dream and received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine Summa Cum Laude from Auburn University.

Since then, Dr. Kirkpatrick and Brian grew their family by four kids. When not working, Dr. Kirkpatrick facilitates her children’s homeschool education, enjoys gardening and reading, and actively avoids housework whenever possible.

Meet our vet

Dr. Amber Roudette

Dr. Amber Roudette is excited to join the staff at Kinship Animal Hospital! She is a Richmond native who earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from the University of Richmond in 2013. She attended Virginia-Maryland (Virginia Tech) College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 2017. She worked at veterinary clinics in Waynesboro and Charlottesville before moving back to Richmond this year.

She has a strong interest in preventative medicine, ophthalmology, and end of life care. In addition to dogs and cats, she also sees small mammal pets (rabbits, rodents, hedgehogs, etc). In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband Phil, walking her dog Jojo, reading novels, and collecting houseplants.

Nichole, LVT

Nichole has always loved animals and started working with them at the age of nine. She maintained that passion through her life and pursued a career working in the field of veterinary medicine.

She has worked at a number of Richmond area vet clinics over the past 20 years, including the Veterinary Emergency Center in Carytown, and Church Hill Animal Hospital, providing her with a solid background in emergency care, preventative medicine and surgery. While working, she furthered her education and received her degree from St. Petersburg College to become a Licensed Veterinary Technician.

Nichole is always happy to talk about pet care and answer questions. She is looking forward to meeting new clients and patients here at Kinship Animal Hospital!

Susan

Susan is a Richmond native and comes from a family of compassionate animal lovers. She has been caring for animals all her life and found her way to veterinary medicine over 20 years ago, working in day practices, and emergency medicine. Susan supports rescuing and finding homes for creatures in need and reveres the bond between animals and their guardians.

Susan joined the Kinship family in July 2020 and enjoys meeting all the people and their pets in the vibrant Manchester and coming community. She provides empathetic, kind, and calming care to all who come through our doors. Her passions include nature, photography art, writing, music, exercise and exploring other healing modalities.

Mariah

A Richmond native, Mariah grew up amongst a large, diverse family a hop and skip away from the James River. Ever since she could remember, nature and wildlife felt like home. Mariah graduated from Open High School and knew that she’d be working with animals as a career. She worked at a dog daycare/boarding facility for a few years which solidified her passion for taking care of animals, while teaching her many valuable lessons about animal behavior, connection, and unconditional love.

With a hunger for continued growth and a unified workplace, Mariah came to Kinship as a Veterinary Assistant and hasn’t looked back. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors with her Chihuahua Nani, laughing with friends, and deep-diving into metaphysical books and podcasts. Mariah strives to continue learning how to best provide loving care for your fur-babies, and obtaining her license for Wildlife Rehabilitation.

Shelby

Shelby grew up around cats and dogs, and has always looked after friends’ and family pets. She loves her 12 year old shih-tzu, Bentley, and her partner’s cat, Ori. She recently moved to Richmond with her partner and joined the Kinship family. She loves animals and learning, and Kinship has given her the opportunity to grow. She’s always excited to meet new clients and help out as much as she can.

When she’s not at work, she enjoys sewing, sketching, and gaming. Shelby also loves to spend time with her friends and family any chance she gets.

Kevin

Kevin was born and raised in south New Jersey. He was always fascinated with animals, but an open house at a local vet clinic cemented his interest in veterinary medicine. He moved to Virginia in 2016 and graduated from Virginia State University with a BS in Pre-Veterinary Medicine. After some years in corporate jobs, Kevin decided to join the Kinship crew in 2023.

When he’s not at work, Kevin enjoys playing video games, reading, and working with his crew of German Shepherds named Slade, Kemy, and Robin.

Matthew

Matthew started at Kinship in August of 2024 as a new Richmond resident but has been a veterinary assistant since 2022. He is currently a student at San Juan college working to obtain his Veterinary Technician License. Connecting with clients through education and expanding his medical knowledge are one of many reasons why he is passionate about vet med.

When not working or doing schoolwork, Matthew enjoys hanging out with his friends and 4 rescue cats, spending time outside, and baking.

Peige

Peige grew up in Stafford, Virginia and graduated from JMU in 2014 with a BS in Psychology. Before starting at Kinship, she spent 5 years working as the Office Manager for the Art and Art History Department at UMW in Fredericksburg. While she loved working with students and among creative individuals, the pandemic encouraged her to seek out a job that would truly bring her joy every day. She thought interacting with dogs would do the trick (pun intended) and she was right.

She has worked at Kinship since 2021 and looks forward to seeing the practice continue to grow. Her favorite things include all things SpongeBob, laughter, and her Siamese cat, Dre (short for Dreidel). In her free time, Peige enjoys watching horror movies, singing along to musicals, and excitedly announcing to whoever she’s with, “HEY I KNOW THAT DOG, THEIR NAME IS _____!” every time she sees one of our patients around the city.

Lina

Lina is a North Carolina native who has travelled across the country twice. She landed in Richmond in 2022 and loves the art and culture of the city. You can find her on the weekends backwoods camping, hiking, or doing arts and crafts. She makes her own bumper stickers – the most infamous being “why would we go out for butter when there is 50 LBS at home.”

Lina is a lover of all animals, but especially our rodent friends; she has a very spoiled chinchilla named Kombucha. Lina loves working at Kinship because the clients are lovely and it is a dream to play with animals every day! Her favorite word at the moment is Antimiasmatic.