Eastern Carolina Veterinary Referral and Animal Emergency and Trauma

07/03/2025

We will be open all weekend. I would like to thank our excellent team of doctors and staff who are giving up their personal time with family to help with those pets needing emergency services this weekend.

We tend to get busy over holiday weekends as most providers are closed. Please be patient and kind to our team as we work to get to each of you as we can.

06/29/2025

Paws on Our Hearts: A Journey Through Pet Loss

Grief is the price of deep love — and you don’t have to go through it alone. Join our 4-week virtual support group starting Tuesday, July 15 from 6:30–7:30 PM, hosted by the Veterinary Social Work team at ECVR.

Limited spots available – registration is required.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paws-on-our-hearts-a-journey-through-pet-loss-tickets-1409281582149?aff=oddtdtcreator

Together, we’ll explore the grieving process, share stories, and honor the love and bond we carry forward.

06/19/2025

One step closer to bringing the next level of Veterinary healthcare to Wilmington!

Our team is over the moon excited about our new MRI. Our Neurologist will be starting in October and we will be able to start using this state of the art, 1.5 Tesla Superconducting magnet, to improve our diagnostic and intervention capacity.

We also tend to name our medical equipment, meet Mariah! (MRI-ah)

Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center plans to move into a larger facility and install Wilmington’s first MRI for pets.

06/19/2025

Excited to see our new MRI being backed on to the pad. Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center 5051 New Centre Drive.

06/17/2025

Progress being made. Opening 9/15/25 Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center. 5051 New Centre Drive, Wilmington NC

06/15/2025

Walking Through Grief: A Pet Loss Support Walk 🐾

Have you recently lost a beloved pet? You’re not alone.

Join us for a gentle walk with others who understand the deep bond we share with our animal companions—and the heartbreak that can come when we lose them. This monthly walking group offers a supportive space to reflect, connect, and honor the love that lives on.

📅 First Walk: Friday, June 27
🕡 Time: 6:30–7:30 PM
📍 Location: Long Leaf Park, Wilmington, NC
🎟️ Free – Registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pet-loss-walking-group-tickets-1402338284559?aff=oddtdtcreator

This walk includes a brief welcome, a 30–40 minute group walk, and an optional group reflection. All grieving pet parents and caregivers are welcome.

Please contact our Veterinary Social Worker with any questions about this group or additional support services at [email protected]

06/14/2025

Making progress on the inside of Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center. We will be hosting a Community Open House on September 6th so you can explore our state of the art hospital.

06/12/2025

Congratulations to Kaitlyn Kelly, who is a nominee for the 2025 Ethos Veterinary Champion Award. Kaitlyn is one of 39 nominees within Ethos Veterinary Health. Ethos operates 145 Specialty and Emergency hospitals across the US and Canada.

Kaitlyn has separated herself from a crowd of more than a thousand Veterinary Nurses within the company due to her high standard of care and commitment to doing what’s best for our patients and her teammates.

Gary Walker, Hospital Director, who nominated Kaitlyn said, “she embodies the perfect example of someone who you want to take care of your pet; she is caring, compassionate, smart and always willing to roll up her sleeves and help whomever she can.”

Kaitlyn, we celebrate you and we are so proud of how much you have grown. You’re the best!

06/09/2025

📣 Please join us in celebrating a truly exceptional leader!

We’re proud to share that our Hospital Director, Gary Walker, has been awarded the 2025 Elevate Award—an honor that recognizes leaders who are committed to continuous learning and uplifting the next generation of veterinary professionals.

With over 25 years of experience, Gary leads with purpose, heart, and humility. From mentoring fellow hospital directors, to launching “Tech Talks” for local veterinary professionals, his dedication to education and service shines in everything he does. When asked why he leads, Gary said:

“I believe my team deserves to be led, and they deserve to work in an environment that challenges them to be better while supporting their individuality throughout their journey.”

Whether it’s guiding new leaders or organizing disaster relief efforts for communities in need, Gary embodies what it means to elevate others.

👏 Help us celebrate this well-deserved recognition!

06/04/2025

Congratulations to Dawn McKelvey, for being promoted to ECVR's Office Operations Manager. Dawn is a talented and multi-faceted team member who wears many hats and is our go-to person whenever we are trying to figure out a solution or get some new equipment.

Dawn has repeatedly stepped up to better the hospital and as we looked to restructure our organizational matrix to support our relocation to Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center on New Centre Drive, it was apparent to us that Dawn was the perfect fit for this new position.

As the Office Operations Manager, Dawn will continue to oversee our inventory management process and work to build a team under her to support a just in time methodology for efficiently managing inventory. Further, Dawn will re-assume the patient account management and fill the Client Resource Specialist position that will work closely with owners who are needing assistance with finding creative ways to get the care they need for their pets. The Client Resource Specialist will also work with our Foundation to increase funds that can be used for owners who qualify for these funds.

As we develop Dawn's department, we are considering adding a Pharmacy Technician to the team after we move to our Medical Center. With Dawn's strong background, it makes sense for her to oversee this position as well.

Congratulations Dawn on your promotion, and well done, we are proud of you!

05/29/2025

Coming Soon! Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center will open our new hospital on September 15, 2025.

In order to continue to serve the Wilmington Community and our surrounding communities to the highest levels, we are proud to announce we are opening a new hospital at 5051 New Centre Drive on September 15th. Here is a sneak peek for you to see our progress so far.

Eastern Carolina Veterinary Referral will be changing our name as we move to the new hospital to reflect the enhanced multifaceted approach we will have in addressing the health care needs of your pets. We will continue to provide the 24/7 Emergency Care that you are used to, as well as provide the Specialty Services, such as Surgery, Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Sports Medicine and Rehab, and Theriogenology, however, we are planning on expanding our services with our new space. We are also excited to announce that our partner, Dr. Sloan Turner, with Carolina Veterinary Mobile Radiology will be relocating to ECVMC with us.

Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center's state of the art facility will support key additions to our services that will enhance the experience and quality of our patients. For instance, we will expand our Intensive Care Unit's capacity with having separate ICUs for canines and felines. This will create the best atmosphere for recovery and hospitalizations for patients in the ICU.

ECVMC will be adding Specialty service lines like Neurology, including having an MRI on site. We are adding DVMs to our Internal Medicine and Surgical teams to reduce the wait time for your pet to be cared for through these departments. We are also planning on adding a Medical Oncologist early 2026 and hope to have a Cardiologist on staff as well. Our intent is for you, as a pet owner, to not have to leave Wilmington to get the world class care you need for your pet. We believe increasing access to care and adding to the diversity of DVMs at ECVMC will meet this goal.

Currently we are a clinical training site for several Veterinary Technician students as well as we offer externships for 3rd and 4th year Veterinary students who travel from across the US to learn from our DVM team. We also host Social Work interns from UNCW who are exploring Veterinary Social Work as their specialty, which is fairly new to Veterinary Medicine. Our intent is to use our new space to continue to expand our teaching hospital mentality.

Finally, ECVMC, with support from Ethos Veterinary Health and Ethos Discovery, will participate in clinical studies and trials to further advance animal medicine and improve outcomes.