Dr. Melani French

Veterinary Recruitment Specialist

Dr. French has always known she wanted to be a veterinarian since she was four years old and has worked in the veterinary field since 2005 as a veterinary assistant, receptionist, and then as a doctor! She graduated in the top ten of her class with her DVM degree from Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) at Virginia Tech after completing her undergraduate degree (Biological Sciences) at Hampton University in Hampton, VA.

Dr. French grew up in Manassas, VA and returned post-graduation to serve as a small animal general practitioner, a relief surgeon, and as a lead veterinarian/medical director before deciding to pursue a better work-life balance as a relief veterinarian with All Four Paws! Her professional interests include surgery, internal medicine, & advanced diagnostic imaging such as radiology and ultrasound. In her free time, she enjoys spending time mentoring and coaching youth groups and hanging out with her family, friends, and her 2 shih-tzu mixes, Tanner and Jake! Dr. French will quickly admit that she has a soft spot for WFDs—white fluffy dogs!

Licensure

  • Virginia Board of Health Professions: Veterinarian, #301203811

  • Maryland Board of Health Professions: Veterinarian, #8274

  • Drug Enforcement Administration Practitioner’s License

Katie Kuchinsky, DVM - Market Street Animal Clinic

“We consider All Four Paws Relief not only professional colleagues but friends to our practice and clients. Doctors Starke and Kirk are thorough clinicians, considering patient care as well as client comfort. We are a one doctor practice and appreciate a veterinarian that can come in and provide true relief.Dr. Starke has been working with us for several years. She is a family oriented person with a great disposition and the ability to manage a busy schedule. We appreciate her interpersonal skills and bedside manner. We recommend All Four Paws Relief Services.”

Anne Williams, DVM - Del Ray Animal Hospital

“We are very impressed with the quality of care that the All Four Paws veterinarians provide. It is surprising how well they integrate into our practice. We are always relieved to see their friendly faces as we know that our clients and patients will be in very capable hands. They are an invaluable asset to our practice. We would highly recommend All Four Paws Vet Relief.”

Sue-Anne Slonin, Practice Manager of Falls Road Animal Hospital

“One of our veterinarians retired and another veterinarian went on maternity leave, and suddenly, we found ourselves in a difficult position for about 3 months of being short on veterinary coverage. We fortunately found All Four Paws Veterinary Relief. They were able to cover more of our shifts than any other relief companies I contacted. The doctors have been wonderful and easy to work with. Our clients feel they have been well cared for and the relief veterinarians have maintained our high level of service. The relief doctors have adapted to our workflow with ease and have learned our electronic medical record system quickly even though they have not worked with this system in the past. I could not imagine walking into a new veterinary practice, meeting everyone, learning the computer system and attending to appointments as seamlessly as they have done. I would recommend this company to any hospital that needs help covering shifts and needs to pursue the assistance of relief veterinarians.”