Dr. Jim FitzSimons has over 27 years experience serving the companion animals of Cumming and the surrounding communities. A native Georgian and graduate of the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine in 1996, Dr. FitzSimons is experienced in emergency medicine as well as general practice.  He is a memeber of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Georgia Veterinary Medical Association and the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association. His areas of special interest include senior pet wellness, internal medicine, and oncology (the treatment of cancer). Dr. FitzSimons has spent time serving as a volunteer veterinarian abroad and donates services to The Guide Dog Foundation. 

Dr. FitzSimons, his wife Brandi and daughter Emma live in Forsyth County with their rescue greyhound and 2 cats. In his spare time he enjoys scuba diving, gardening, traveling and being outdoors. 

Dr. Dorton attended Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 2003. Once she graduated she stayed on to assist teaching senior students technical skills and to support a recently acquired criticalist to the intensive care unit.

She and her family relocated to Georgia in 2004 in order for her husband; Bret, to pursue his education and career. Her career in Georgia has included working as a Chief of Staff in a corporate setting as well as in private practice.

Dr. Dorton prides herself on treating her patients as if they are her own and partnering with patient owners to offer the best care possible for their fur babies. Her areas of special interest include Dermatology, Endocrinology and Behavior. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and Georgia Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Dorton and her husband enjoy spending time with their children while they still can. They have two daughters: Chaela and Hannah; and one son, Austin. They have 5 Pekingese and three cats.

Dr. Madeline Lowery is a 2008 graduate of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Her special interests include internal medicine, dermatology, geriatric care, building client relationships and client education. She is a member of the American Veterinary Association and Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. She joins us after serving clients and their pets in Gwinnett County for the past 15 years.

Prior to veterinary school, she received her Bachelor of Science degree from Clayton College and State University in Morrow, GA and her Associate of Science degree at Young Harris College in North GA. Dr. Madeline played for both college's soccer teams.

She is a Native of Lawrencville, GA, and attended veterinary school in Iowa after her husband was transferrred there with his job. Dr. Madeline lives in Cumming with her husband James and their 3 children; sons Ethan and Carter and daughter Madeline "Elizabeth". They also have a Great Dane named Layla, and two Golden mixes named Tucker and Maple. In addition to veterinary medicine, she enjoys fishing, cooking, gardening, days on the lake and spending time with her children, family and friends. She loves watching her kids play sports and ride horses.

Dr. Deniz Birdal-Coban grew up in Eskisehir, Turkey. Throughout her education in Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Deniz worked extensively in cell-based regenerative medicine research. After graduating from Afyon Kocatepe University in 2016, she worked as a Veterinarian in Turkey in emergency medicine, critical care and primary care for 3 years before being admitted into two PHD programs, one in Histology and one in Embryology.

Dr. Deniz relocated from Turkey to the United States when her husband was accepted into a PHD program at Georgia State University. She is working on completing her US Boards so she can start practicing here in the US at Cumming Vet Clinic. In the meantime she is assisting our doctors taking the opportunity to meet the clients and pets of CVC so she will be aquainted with many of you when she becomes a US Veterinarian. While she enjoys all aspects of being a veterinarian her special itnerests in veterinary medicine are diagonstics, clinical pathology and oncology. She is passionate about providing the best care for the animals and continues to educate herself in order to do so. 

Dr. Deniz, her husband, two dogs and two cats live in Cumming. She enjoys traveling, outdoor activities and hiking with her dogs.  

Dr. Duval completed his undergraduate and veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania. Derek and his wife, Julie Duval VMD DACVS, moved to Georgia where Derek did his internship at University of Georgia while Julie completed her residency in surgery. After his internship, Derek stayed on faculty at UGA and ran the Outpatient Medicine service for two years. The Duvals then returned to Philadelphia where Dr. Derek Duval completed his small animal internal medicine residency at Penn. During his residency Derek was responsible for setting up and starting the outpatient endoscopy service at Penn and completed research and publications on immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA). Dr. Duval completed his board certification in small animal internal medicine in 1997 and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (DACVIM). He has served the ACVIM in a variety or roles including credentialing, test preparation and rating and other volunteer services. Since leaving academia, the Duvals have been practicing high quality specialty medicine and surgery in the Southeast, including most of the last 20 years practicing in Atlanta. Dr. Duval is an accomplished endoscopist (both rigid and flexible endoscopy), ultrasonographer and diagnostician and enjoys all aspects of internal medicine and endoscopy. Dr. Duval has a special interest in interventional endoscopy and radiology, and has helped pioneer procedures such as tracheal and urethral stenting and balloon dilation treatment for esophageal strictures. Dr. Duval has lectured extensively locally and nationally on a variety of topics in internal medicine. The Duvals live in Atlanta with their dogs Bella (Shippereke) and Maisie (Sheltie) and a variety of frogs, lizards and turtles. They have two children who grew up in Atlanta and now are at UGA graduate school and GaTech engineering. When not practicing internal medicine, Derek is an avid homebrewer and martial artist and enjoys sharing music and outdoor activities with Julie and their kids.

Dr. Duval is one of our Moves Partners. Learn more about them at vetmoves.com.

After growing up in Kentucky and Texas, Dr. Duval received a bachelor of science degree from Duke University, then graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and stayed on for a year to complete a rotating internship. She was happy to be able to come back to the south for her surgery residency at the University of Georgia and then accepted a position as a clinical surgery instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, where Dr. Duval was involved with the training of students, interns and residents.

After trying out two private referral practice jobs in Columbia, SC and St. Louis, MO, she and her husband moved to Atlanta in 2000 where they were two of the original specialists at one of the largest veterinary specialty practices in the southeast. Over 18 years of practice in Atlanta, Dr. Duval was able to gradually adjust her caseload to focus on soft tissue surgery. She also was very active in organizing and participating in the continuing education program at that practice. While enjoying all aspects of soft tissue and oncologic surgery, Dr. Duval has special interest in perineal urethrostomy, portosystemic shunts and reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Julie Duval has been married to internist Derek Duval since 1990, and they have two children who are studying at colleges in Georgia. She loves reading, watching college football and basketball (especially the Duke Blue Devils), hiking, travel and photography. She and her husband have two dogs, sheltie Maisie and schipperke Bellatrix, as well as some pets with no fur.

Dr. Julie Duval is one of our Moves Partners. Learn more about them at vetmoves.com. 

Dr. Pouge attended the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and recieved his DVM in 2008. He then went to Purdue University fora  one year rotating small animal intership, followed by a three year cardiology residency at the University of Florida. In 2012, he became board-certified in cardiology through the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He now lives in Alpharetta, GA with his wife Eryn (also a veterinarian) and 2 children.

His clinical interest is echocardiography, particularly of congenital disease and canine cardiomyopathies. Southeast Vetirnary Cardiology's mission is to provide accurate, personal and timely consultations to the referring veterinary community that we so gratefully serve. SEVC's aim is to also help support the local veterinary community in providing the highest level of care possible within their own clinics. 

Veterinary Surgey of Georgia is a mobile veterinary surgical service in the North Georgia region, founded by board-certified veterinary surgeon Dr. Abby Lockwood.

Dr. Lockwood has extensive experience in both orthopedic and soft tissue surgery in dogs and cats. She completed her surgical residency and Master's degree at the University of Illinois and has been board-certified since 2014. Before that, she worked as a surgical intern at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, TX and rotating intern at Auburn University. 

In her free time, Dr. Lockwood enjoys playing soccer, driving her 2004 Mitat at the track, and loving on her own pets. She has two dogs named riley and Rutecki (Roo) and a cat named Remy.