The Guilford County Animal Shelter lost several key people this summer, but now animal welfare proponents across the county are excited about the shelter’s new top vet: The county has hired Dr. Clarissa Noureddine to be the new medical director for Guilford County Animal Services.

Noureddine received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from NC State University in 2003 and got a masters degree, with a concentration in Veterinary Forensics, through the University of Florida’s online program in 2017.

Before that, she obtained a masters degree in biology from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1999 – after earning her undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Florida in 1997.

Noureddine has worked as a veterinarian in Guilford County and as a technical services veterinarian with Novartis Animal Health. She has also worked as a senior research manager for Thought Leader Select, a pharmaceutical consulting company.

Her background has a lot in it that area animal advocates wanted to see in the county’s new vet: It includes certifications in everything from Pet Emergency Education Pet CPR and CPR+ Instruction to FEMA Animal Disaster Preparedness, to a “Fear Free” certification that means she’s trained to provide care in a way that reduces fear, stress and anxiety for the animal.

Noureddine has also done animal abuse casework through her company ForensiVet Mobile Veterinary & Forensic Consulting.

In addition, she has volunteered often with the Guilford County Pet Responsibility Program, which teaches responsible pet ownership to school kids.

On social media sites, posters are already very excited about the county’s new hire.

One Facebook poster recounted: “She is excellent and very caring. When we brought our dog back to the shelter to finish medical treatment, the dog freaked out and wouldn’t come into the shelter. We finally carried her in but she still wouldn’t go to the exam rooms. Dr. Noureddine just simply sat on the floor with Zoey on her lap in the hallway to make her comfortable and took out her stitches. She did what was best for our Zoey and cared about how anxious Zoey was. She knew we had changed the dog’s name and even came out and asked what her new name was so she could help her. She explained everything to us, was very pleasant, and caring. We were able to adopt Zoey and take her home.”

Another Facebook user wrote simply, “She is an amazing doctor!”

As the shelter’s new medical director, Noureddine will report to Guilford County Animal Services Director Jorge Ortega.

 

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