Owner / Veterinarian

Dr. Ashley Barthlow grew up on a dairy farm outside of Libertytown, MD.  She announced at the age of 10 that she would be a veterinarian.  Dr. B graduated from Linganore High School, Hood College, and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.  She has worked in Frederick County her entire career starting as a mixed animal veterinarian in Walkersville and Middletown before exclusively becoming a small animal vet.  Dr. Barthlow and her husband Ray purchased Poffenbarger Veterinary Clinic in 2005.

Dr. Barthlow lives on a farm outside of Libertytown with Ray and their 2 children, Cailyn and Ryan.  They have a variety of pets including 2 feisty Miniature Schnauzers.  Dr. B loves to develop client relationships and provide lifelong preventative care to her patients through education and with a high level of communication. In her spare time, Dr. B enjoys watching their children play sports, gardening, baking, and playing volleyball. 

Owner / Hospital Director

Ray was born and raised in Frederick.  He is a graduate of Middletown High School and Frederick Community College.  Ray proudly served in the United States Air Force and attended the University of Maryland.  Ray started his career as a Biomedical Research Associate and worked for different Biotech companies.  Before the purchase of Heritage Animal Hospital, Ray was employed with Human Genome Sciences as a researcher for fourteen years.

In September 2005, Ray and his wife, Dr. Ashley Barthlow, and fellow colleague Dr. Walter Dodson, purchased Poffenbarger Veterinary Clinic and created what is now known as Heritage Animal Hospital.  Ray joined the Heritage team full time in the summer of 2006 as the Director of Hospital Operations.

Ray and Ashley live on a family farm in Libertytown, MD with their two children, Cailyn and Ryan, and many “furry friends.”  Ray has been active in youth sports programs as a coach, but now enjoys being his children’s #1 fan as he cheers them on at every game.

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Jansen grew up in Rockville and moved to Frederick County in 1994.  She graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1990, and for the past 22 years has been providing small animal veterinary care at several clinics in the Frederick area.  She enjoys practicing general and preventive medicine and has an interest in dermatology cases.  She is very excited to join the doctors and staff at Heritage Animal hospital and looks forward to providing quality veterinary care to the Walkersville community. 

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In her spare time, Dr. Jansen enjoys cooking, traveling, and supporting the arts in Frederick County.

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Jaeger grew up in Union Bridge, MD with a variety of pets, including her cat, lizards, and a snake.  She graduated from Bridgewater College, VA in 2014 and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018.  Her interest is in small animal internal medicine and surgery with a small side interest in pocket pets.  She is excited to return to Heritage Animal Hospital as a veterinarian to help care for pets in the Frederick/Carroll County areas.
 

Dr. Jaeger has a beagle named Henry, who she has adopted at the start of veterinary school.  In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, exercise, swimming, and spending time with her family and friends.

Office Manager / Registered Veterinary Technician

Amanda has been working at Heritage Animal Hospital since March 2015. After graduating Walkersville High School in 2011, she started work in the companion animal field as a kennel technician.
 

Amanda graduated from Frederick Community College with an Associate’s degree in General Studies in 2013 and studied at Carroll Community College where she received her Certificate as a Veterinary Assistant in 2014. Amanda graduated from Wilson College with bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medical Technology with a concentration in business in May 2020.  
 

In her free time, Amanda enjoys spending time with her Bull Terrier, Willow, reading, and going to the beach.
 

Amanda enjoys watching the young animals come into Heritage and seeing them as they grow.

Veterinary Assistant

Jessica joined the Heritage team in April of 2014 as a veterinary assistant. She is also a graduate of Walkersville High School, where she played softball for 4 years. She also played tournament softball from age 10-18 where she played outfield and second base. Growing up, she always knew she wanted to work with animals.
 

Her favorite thing to do at Heritage is watch the young animals as they grow.
 

In her spare time she likes to be outside, hike, and spend time with her family.
 

Jessica’s favorite game to play is “Guess her age!"

Veterinary Assistant

Danielle joined the Heritage team in October 2021. Prior to joining the veterinary world, she worked on a dairy farm milking cows and caring for calves for many years. She is a graduate of Brunswick High, where she was actively involved in the FFA.

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Growing up, Danielle knew she would have a career working with animals. Little did she know that getting involved showing dairy cattle would open up a world of possibilities. 

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In her free time she enjoys spending time with her son, family and friends. She enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading and napping. She has one dog, Diesel and one cat, Patches. 

Learning about new breeds and watching them grow at Heritage is a favorite of Danielle’s! 

Veterinary Assistant

After over 10 years as a client of Heritage Animal Hospital, Chrisse joined the team in June 2018 as a Veterinary Assistant.  She grew up in Hagerstown, Maryland, and is a graduate of North Hagerstown High School, Frostburg State College and earned a Master’s in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.  She spent almost 30 years in the corporate world working for an insurance company before retiring in 2017.
 

Chrisse grew up with and has always loved animals.  She continued her education at Frederick Community College earning her Veterinary Assistant Certification before joining Heritage.  She enjoys working with patients and clients and is looking forward to continuing her learning and gaining experience in this field.
 

She lives in downtown Frederick with Al and their golden retriever, Skyler and handsome cat, Leo. In her spare time, Chrisse enjoys playing with her furry friends, hiking, mountain biking, motorcycle riding, scuba diving, and traveling.

Veterinary Receptionist

Alexis joined the Heritage team in September 2017. She graduated from Fairfield High School in 2009. She has worked in veterinary medicine since 2007, enjoying many different roles throughout a veterinary hospital. Alexis lives in Thurmont with her husband, her grandmother, and 2 cats named Ninja and Minnie.

When Alexis is not at work she loves to spend time with her family and friends, go to concerts, and relax with a good book.

Veterinary Receptionist / Assistant

Ariel grew up loving all types of animals. She has hopes of someday working with elephants. She graduated from Washington County Technical High School in 2013 and received her Associate’s Degree in Science and Arts from Hagerstown Community College in 2021. She joined the veterinary field in 2022 as a receptionist and at Heritage she also works as a veterinary assistant giving her hands-on experience with the animals.  

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Ariel rescued a Boston terrier puppy, Reptar in 2023, and he keeps her on her toes with all of his energy. Ariel is fortunate enough to still have her high school dog, Nikko, a 13yr German shepherd mix. She also claims her parents’ crazy boxer puppy, “Indi”.

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When Ariel is not working at Heritage, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, listening and making music, and traveling. 

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Ariel loves to see the sick patients recover from their illnesses.

Veterinary Assistant

Emily is currently a senior at Walkersville High School and she is our High School Student Intern for the 22-23 school year. Emily plans to pursue a degree in Animal Science and then apply to veterinary college. Emily has always wanted to be a veterinarian because of her love for animals. When she is not interning at Heritage, she enjoys spending time with her crazy dog Duke and designing lights for the Walkersville High School Theater.

Veterinary Assistant

Bio coming soon.

Veterinary Internship / Assistant

Lexi is our high school student intern for the 2024-2025 school year.  She is currently a senior at Walkersville High School where she is a member of the girls flag football team.  Lexi has also played travel softball for many years.  She loves animals and showed beef cattle in 4-H.  Lexi plans to pursue a Biology degree at Penn State Harrisburg where she is committed to play collegiate softball. She has great aspirations to become a veterinarian and plans on applying to veterinary school in the future.

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Lexi really enjoys seeing the many different aspects of veterinary medicine, but she has a particular interest in surgery.