At New River Veterinary Specialists, our board-certified surgeons have extensive training and experience beyond that of a general practice veterinarian, with a variety of soft tissue, neurological, and orthopedic surgeries, including:
Our emergency and critical care service and surgeons work closely together to provide continuous care to postoperative patients with a focus on patient comfort, pain management, and nutrition support. With your pet’s recovery as a common goal, the team at New River Veterinary Specialists will incorporate your primary veterinarian into the process.
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DVM, ACVIM (SAIM)
Internal Medicine
Dr. Adam Hunt is an internal medicine specialist at New River Veterinary Specialists. He is a 2018 graduate of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Hunt completed a small animal medicine and surgery rotating internship at Kansas State University and his small animal internal medicine residency at University of Tennessee. He received the House Officer of the Year award at Kansas State University due to his passion for teaching.
Dr. Hunt’s special areas of interest are gastroenterology, endocrinology, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases. His area of research is in feline gastrointestinal disease and its relation to anemia and the diagnosis of commonly acquired adrenal diseases. Dr. Hunt enjoys performing all procedures in the specialty of internal medicine but particularly enjoys upper and lower GI endoscopy. He enjoys the long-term management of multifaceted cases and building relationships and bettering the health of his patients. Dr. Hunt views each case as an opportunity to educate and involve his clients in the decision making process with their beloved companions.
In his free time, Dr. Hunt enjoys spending time outdoors with friends and family. He enjoys hiking, swimming, spending time at the beach and playing soccer. He shares a home with his wife, two dogs, and a cat.
DVM, DACVS, CCRT, DACVSMR
Chief of Surgery and Physical Rehabilitation
Dr. Jennifer Au is co-founder and the Chief of Surgery and Physical Rehabilitation at New River Veterinary Specialists. A 1995 graduate of Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Au graduated in the top of her class. Following an internship in medicine and surgery at the Animal Medical Center in New York City, she pursued emergency medicine in New York followed by Virginia for several years. Knowing she wanted to pursue specialization within the veterinary field, Dr. Au completed a Surgical Internship at the Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center in Norwalk, CT in 2003 followed by a 3-year Small Animal Surgical Residency at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine completed in 2006. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons – Small Animal since 2007. During her residency, she developed a strong interest in orthopedic surgery and passion for arthroscopy and physical rehabilitation.
After her residency, Dr. Au took a position as an assistant professor on the orthopedic faculty at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. During this time, she became a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT) and took over supervision of the Advanced Rehabilitation Center at MSU. By 2008, she took an assistant professor position on the orthopedic faculty at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine along with supervising the physical rehabilitation department. During her time in academia, she helped develop and advance the clinical arthroscopy program along with training surgical residents in arthroscopy. She enjoyed teaching students in their 4th year clinical rotations along with classroom and lab education. Training interns and surgical residents, while watching them develop and master new skills, was also a point of pride. In 2013, she left academia to take a position as head surgeon and director of physical rehabilitation at a specialty referral practice in Charleston, SC. During this time, while developing and growing the surgery and physical rehabilitation departments, Dr. Au became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2014, already a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. In 2019, she moved to Virginia to help grow and develop a full-service specialty referral practice in Fredericksburg, VA. She is excited to return to the South Carolina, again teaming with Dr. Kristin Welch, to help lead New River Veterinary Specialists to become a regional center of excellence for Beaufort and Jasper Counties.
Dr. Au really enjoys helping her patients regain mobility, comfort, and improve quality of life through surgery and physical rehabilitation. She thoroughly enjoys joint arthroscopy, fracture management, and minimally invasive surgery along with challenging and interesting soft tissue and neurosurgical cases. She strongly believes that surgery and physical rehabilitation work together to provide the best outcome for her patients. In addition, she feels there are times surgery is the appropriate course of action and times when a less invasive, more conservative, approach is indicated and her recommendations are tailored to the individual patient’s needs.
Dr. Au has published multiple articles in peer-reviewed veterinary journals along with various abstracts and posters presented at scientific meetings. She has lectured, taught, and conducted hands-on labs regionally, nationally, and internationally. She has been an assistant professor at MSU and OSU along with an adjunct on-line professor with Massey University School of Veterinary Science in New Zealand. She currently serves on the editorial review board for two prominent peer-reviewed veterinary journals and teaches arthroscopy nationally with Arthex.
Outside of work, she enjoys reading, indoor plants, gardening, Corvettes, spending time outdoors and with her pets.
DVM
Board Eligible – Surgery
Dr. Erin Hilborn graduated from Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020. Following her degree, she completed a year-long rotating internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at The Ohio State University in 2021. She then pursued a residency in Small Animal Surgery at the same institution, which she completed in 2024. Dr. Hilborn is scheduled to sit for her board certification in February 2025. With a passion for both orthopedic and soft tissue surgery, she is dedicated to guiding you through the surgical care of your cherished pet. Outside of her professional life, Dr. Hilborn enjoys spending time with her husband, Zach, along with her friends and family. She has a love for cooking, baking, and the outdoors, and is a devoted pet parent to two dogs, Teddy and Harper.
