Oakes Animal Hospital
Helping families and their pets live happy, healthy, long lives together. Schedule your appointment today!Dr. Rocky Oakes
All my life I have felt a special bond with animals and have loved learning about them. However, my decision to become a veterinarian hinged on the ability to help people by caring for their animals. Each animal I see has a person. When I was an undergraduate student at Mars Hill College, I thought I was headed to medical school to become a physician. During my senior year, I worked in a human medical center. This experience changed my mind. It was likely just the medical clinic and not human medicine as a whole but it made me reconsider my choice. It just wasn’t a good experience for me. After considerable thought, prayer and discussion with friends and family, I went back to my childhood vision of a job working with animals. I took a job at an animal hospital and loved it. It was clear that in this way I could help people by caring for their animals.
I went on to attend veterinary school at NC State where I met my wife, Jessica. Together we were able to do some mission work in the Navajo Reservation as well as in Mongolia. These missions further proved how much helping animals could impact people. After graduating in 2009, we gained some wonderful experience working together in northeast Georgia at Rabun Animal Hospital. There customer service and quality medicine was a major focus. In 2015, my wife and I, decided to move our family to the area to be closer to her family in Mount Airy. Jessica and I decided to open Oakes Animal Hospital so we could provide exceptional veterinary care with a personal touch for folks in and around Winston Salem. I hope that after each visit to Oakes Animal Hospital you leave feeling that we made thoughtful and caring decisions for the wellness and treatment of your pet. My goal is that you always receive quality care.
Dr. Jessica Oakes
When I was young, I remember one of my absolute favorite shows was Marty Stouffer’s Wild America. I remember sitting in front of the television, eyes glued to the screen, taking in every detail. I have always found animals fascinating. I had the privilege of growing up with quite a few; from my first horse Apple Jack, to my beloved little dog Chig, each animal along the way has shaped me into the veterinarian I am today.
While an undergraduate at Wingate University, I was able to work as an assistant at a veterinary clinic. It was there that I fell in love with the profession. What a fun and challenging job. Now, each day I know I will be privileged to care for some amazing pets. I love hearing their stories- how they were found or what crazy thing they have done. I also love the challenge of caring for them. Veterinary medicine is constantly changing. There are always new ideas and techniques that can help us find solutions to those difficult cases. I always try to remember what it has been like for myself as a pet owner, and my hope is that I treat every client how I would want to be treated.
My husband and I met in vet school. I guess you could say he swept me off my feet because by the start of our 3rd year of veterinary school we were married. In 2009, we graduated and went to work together at a bustling rural practice in northeast Georgia. We had a great experience there and are better veterinarians for it. We are happy to be a part of the nearby community. We have four children, and of course lots of pets. I am blessed to have a husband who is so caring- not just for his family but for the clients and pets he sees on a daily basis. This animal hospital came from a tremendous amount of thoughtfulness and dedication on his part.
Dr Ning Ching Troyer
Dr. Troyer met Dr‘s Rocky and Jess while attending veterinary school at NC State University where they spent time together in organizations and on Mission trips. When she isn’t at OAH taking care of your furry family members, she is spending time with her husband Roman, and her children Elliot, Hudson and Gladys.
Dr. Teresa “Tracy” McKenzie
Dr. McKenzie grew up in Connecticut. She realized at an early age that she wanted to be a vet when her first dog, “Lucky”, was saved by a local vet after being hit by a car. She was inspired by the James Herriot stories and worked for a small local dairy farm and for the vet clinic that saved Lucky, while in middle school and high school. She attended Cornell University for 8 years where she obtained her BS in Animal Science and her DVM. During vet school, she was known for her love of cows and boxers and was nicknamed the” Boxer-bovine vet” by one of her professors.
She worked as the herd veterinarian on a large dairy farm in upstate NY for 3 years before moving to VA to work at a mixed animal practice. She worked at that clinic and its sister clinic in NC for the next 25 years, during which time the two clinics transitioned to primarily caring for dogs and cats. Dr. McKenzie met Dr. Jess when she was a high school volunteer at the clinic in NC where Dr. McKenzie was working.
Dr. McKenzie is passionate about partnering with her clients to provide the best care for their pets through preventive medicine and helping with treatment during illness or injury. She has interests in soft tissue surgery and dentistry. She is excited to be circling back around to work with Dr. Jess along with Dr. Rocky and the other DVMs and staff at Oakes Animal Hospital.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two teenage daughters and their pets which are currently two boxers, a black lab, a cat, and goldfish. Her family shares a passion for food, escape rooms, Legos, roller coasters and the beach. She is also enthusiastic about her vegetable garden in the summer and enjoys crocheting, sewing and crafts.
Dr. Lisa Rosenquist
Dr. Lisa was raised in Maryland and has always been crazy about animals! Starting in kindergarten, she hoped that one day to become a veterinarian. She has always been a hard worker and while growing up she was groomer at dog salons, a persian show cattery, and a horse show stable. Her uncle graciously loaned her a wonderful Arabian gelding that she never had to give back! She so enjoyed him and was active in 4-H and Pony Club.
She graduated from Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa North Carolina, where she worked on the pig crew and was the beef cattle crew manager. After welcoming her son into the world, she attended the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 1993.
For the first nine years, she lived in Asheville where she helped to establish a spay and neuter clinic to decrease the euthanasia rate in her county. She also provided care for beef cattle, horses, dogs, and cats at top notch animal hospitals.
Twenty three years ago, she moved to our area to marry the love of her life and have a daughter. Since then, she has focused solely on companion animals at one practice in the Triad.
Dr. Lisa is so excited to join our team and can’t wait to get to know you and your pets!
Fun fact – Dr. Rosenquist has gone on three trips with Christian Veterinary Mission. That is the same organization that Drs.
Rocky, Jess, and Troyer volunteer with!
Mission
Treat people as we want to be treated, care for pets as our own.
Caring
Caring is the overarching value. It is why we are here. The following core values fall under this one.
Serving
Serving Attitude – Be humble. Treat clients and team members as we want to be treated. Treat pet patients as if they were our own.
Drive
Work hard with focus. Work toward excellence and constantly improve.
Integrity
The quality of being honest and fair.
Grace
Giving clients and team members the benefit of the doubt (Even if we don’t think they deserve it because we have been or will be in need of grace ourselves at some point).