Although she had always been fascinated with science and medicine, Dr. Hannah Burnett was ultimately inspired to take the leap into veterinary care by her childhood cat, Carla. When Carla fell ill and needed medical attention, Dr. Burnett took her to a veterinarian—little did she know that she herself would become hooked! Dr. Burnett hasn’t looked back since; she’s the proud owner and chief veterinarian here at Hometown Veterinary Clinic.

Dr. Burnett grew up right here in Jacksonville and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Medical Science from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville before earning a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Dr. Burnett has extensive training in shelter medicine, and was able to put her skills to work to help hundreds of animals at various shelters throughout Mississippi, Illinois and South Carolina. Her passion for shelter medicine remains, and she will continue to provide her services from here on out. After helping pets at a practice in Springfield, Dr. Burnett and her husband Derek were thrilled to purchase Hometown Veterinary Clinic in April of 2017—she’s been tending to the area’s pets and animal parents here ever since.

As a veterinarian, Dr. Burnett is particularly fond of feline medicine and also remains passionate about creating a low-stress environment in the clinic in order to make office visits easier for everyone. She is trained in fear free and low stress handling techniques. Their brand new clinic was created from a local historic building with this idea in mind and provides a calm, homelike atmosphere to ease patient (and owner!) stress. Many clients who have previously had very stressed and sometimes aggressive pets in the clinic (think wearing gloves to handle a cat or several people to hold down for nail trims etc) have been very pleased to find that calm interactions are possible with patience, the appropriate handling techniques, atmosphere and lots of treats!

They are looking forward to the move in September 2019 and can’t wait to see it all come together. The new clinic will have separate dog and cat waiting rooms and exam rooms, comfortable furnishings like home, no cold stainless exam tables and calming “fear free” colors, among many other features.

Dr. Burnett is most passionate about soft-tissue surgery, dentistry, and pain management. Dr. Burnett continues to expand her skills and knowledge in order to continue to remain as current and up to date as possible and provide Jacksonville with the highest level of patient care. Dr. Burnett’s surgeries always receive the highest level of pain management possible and small incisions, for the easiest and least painful recoveries. Most of all, Dr. Burnett loves interacting one-on-one with the pet owners (and their fur babies) of her hometown on a daily basis!

Aside from her interests in veterinary medicine, Dr. Burnett likes practicing her photography skills, working on renovation projects in her 1900s-era home, camping, traveling (her favorite trips so far have been to Hawaii and Colorado’s Rocky Mountains!), and spending quality time with her family. She and her husband, Derek—Hometown Veterinary Clinic’s very own practice manager and co-owner—have a young son and a pair of lovable Chihuahuas, Henle and Mosby, a little black kitten named Drake (short for Dracarys for Game of Thrones fans!) They also have four rescue clinic cats who spend their days here at the hospital: Scarlett, whose favorite pastime is causing trouble behind the scenes and charming clients with her one-eyed cuteness; Luna, who enjoys sitting on the front-desk counter and obstructing clients who are trying to check out; Juliette, who mostly prefers to stay out of the limelight, and Jasper, their newest orange boy with the most charming personality and desire to be in the middle of everything. Don’t be surprised if you find him visiting you in the exam room!

Derek first began dating his wife, Dr. Hannah Burnett, during his junior year of undergraduate studies. He’s been an integral part of the Hometown Veterinary Clinic story ever since the beginning! Derek is thrilled to serve the pets and animal owners of his native Jacksonville as the hospital’s Practice Manager and Co-owner.

Derek holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Western Illinois University, as well as a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He and Dr. Burnett purchased the practice in April of 2017, and Derek finds that he especially likes working on marketing implementation strategies and troubleshooting issues that arise day-to-day. Derek’s favorite part of his job, though, is getting to meet a wide variety of pets and animal owners on a daily basis.

When he isn’t tending to his duties here at the clinic or spending time with his wife, son, and pets at home, Derek loves playing and recording music—he plays the guitar, bass, and drums!—and attending live concerts.

Krystle can’t remember a time when she didn’t feel a natural connection with animals. She’s been drawn to them ever since she was a young girl, and her passion hasn’t let up since—a career in veterinary medicine is simply the perfect path! Krystle is a Certified Veterinary Technician with the Hometown Veterinary Clinic team.

Krystle is originally from Indiana and began college studying aquatic biology before transferring to a business college to complete her degree in veterinary technology. After passing her board exam, she launched her career at a busy walk-in clinic, where the chaotic atmosphere helped to hone Krystle’s skillset, and make her comfortable in all areas of veterinary care. Next, she joined the Hometown Veterinary Clinic family in August of 2017 to start her journey in private practice.

Around the hospital, Krystle enjoys the challenges of venipuncture and radiology work. Most of all, she loves to meet the area’s pets and animal owners every day and hear fun stories from pet lovers just like herself.

When she isn’t tending to pets’ needs here at the clinic, Krystle can be found listening to music, attending concerts, canoeing, and spending time with all her animals at home. Krystal has three dogs and five cats. She has two Dobermans- Cyrus and Zeke, and a 12-year-old Border Collie mix named Shelby, aka Shellsers and Cheesers. Her five cats are Binx, Teller, Toof, Zig Zag, and Scotch.