Meet Our Veterinary Team

Dr. Jonathan E. Mitchell

Owner/Veterinarian

Jonathan was born and raised in Jackson, MS. Dr. Mitchell graduated from Forest Hill High School in 1996. He went on to complete his associate degree at Hinds Community College in Raymond, MS, before being accepted into veterinary school at Mississippi State in 1999. He graduated from Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. Dr. Mitchell married his high school sweetheart, Dr. Brooke Mitchell, in 2001 while they were still in veterinary school. After graduation, Dr. Mitchell accepted an associate position here at Forest Hill Animal Hospital, working along with the previous owners, Drs. Bill and Jennifer Sullivan. Dr. Jonathan and Dr. Brooke became full owners of Forest Hill Animal Hospital in November 2004. Dr. Mitchell has a special interest in soft tissue and orthopedic surgical cases. He has two children, Avery and Cole, along with 3 dogs and a cat. Dr. Mitchell is an active member of Wynndale Baptist Church in Terry, MS. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association as well as a member of the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association. He loves spending his free time outdoors with his family and friends.

Dr. Brooke Mitchell 

Owner/Veterinarian

Brooke was born in Starkville, MS, and moved to Byram, MS, in middle school, where she finished high school in 1996. She then attended Hinds Community College and finished her undergraduate at Mississippi State University. She attended veterinary school at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, class of 2003. Dr. Brooke (as she is known) met Dr. Jonathan Mitchell in high school, and they were married in 2001. After graduating from veterinary school, they began working together at Forest Hill Animal Hospital and purchased the hospital in 2004. Dr. Brooke takes a special interest in small animal internal medicine, ultrasound, soft tissue surgery, and preventative medicine. In her spare time, Dr. Brooke enjoys spending time with her family. She has two children, Avery and Cole, who keep her on her toes. She also has 3 dogs and a cat: English Setter Luke, Labrador Retriever Lacey, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Tucker, and Longhaired Calico Scarlett. She is a member at Wynndale Baptist Church. She is also active in the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association.

Jessie Bethany, DVM 

Associate Veterinarian at Forest Hill Animal Hospital and Byram Animal Hospital

Dr. Bethany is from Butler, Alabama. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science with a minor in business management at Auburn University in 2012, where she graduated summa cum laude. She received her degree as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Mississippi State University in 2017. Right after graduation, she worked at the Animal Emergency and Referral Center from 2017 to 2020. She then went to work at Banfield from 2020 to 2021, where she was Area Chief of Staff. In December 2021, she joined the staff at Forest Hill Animal Hospital/Byram Animal Hospital. Dr. Bethany’s main interests in veterinary medicine include preventative dentistry, extractions, orthopedic medicine, and emergency/critical care. Dr. Bethany has been married to her husband for 10 years. They have 3 children together: Brooklyn, Memphis, and Madison. They have a house full of dogs: Dakota (13-year-old Schnauzer mix), Hank (11-year-old GSP), Georgia (10-year-old GSP), Diesel (8-year-old GSP), and Cabella (8-year-old GSP). They will be welcoming another GSP to their family around Christmas named Charleston. When Dr. Bethany is not at work, she spends time with her children and husband. She also enjoys reading and the outdoors.

Kellie Duran, C.V.T. 

Head Veterinary Technician at Forest Hill Animal Hospital

Kellie Duran is from Florence, MS, where she graduated high school with honors. She received her veterinary technician degree from Hinds Community College. She has been working at Forest Hill and Byram Animal Hospitals since August of 2013. Her main responsibilities are leading and directing the technicians, ordering products/inventory, and maintaining controlled substance logs. Kellie’s main interests as a veterinary technician include getting to know and love the patients she works with, anesthesia (anything that goes on in the surgical suite), pathology/running diagnostic tests, and most importantly, learning new techniques to help keep our level of care at Forest Hill Animal Hospital top-notch. Kellie and her husband, Tyler Duran, have three dogs—Sadie May (Shetland sheepdog mix), Paisley (Mountain Cur mix), and Ryder (English Labrador retriever). They also have two children—Kemper and Chloe. When Kellie is not at Forest Hill Animal Hospital, she spends her time with her husband and playing with her children.

Marina Shannon

CVT/Certified Veterinary Technician

Marina was born and grew up in Pella, IA. I moved down to Jackson, MS, to explore a new part of the US and for school. I attended Belhaven for 2 years before going to Hinds Community College Veterinary Technician. I graduated from the Hinds Community Veterinary Technician Program in May of 2021. I have been working with Forest Hill Animal Hospital since May of 2020. Ever since I was little, I have always had a passion for animals but just didn’t know what that would look like until I heard about what veterinary technicians did, and it was something that was up my alley, and I enjoy it very much. I find purpose in my work to glorify God through helping the amazing animals he has blessed us with in this world!



I have 2 Black Labrador Retriever mixes named Zepporah (all black) and Blacky Thumper (black/white). I love going on runs with them and doing the Dogs Day 5k in Hattiesburg!! I enjoy anything to do with sports, hiking, running, biking, and swimming. I completed an Ironman in Des Moines in June 2022. I also like to read, especially historical/non-historical or anything to do with how animals have helped us in the war.

Carla Garth

Office Manager/Receptionist 

Carla Garth graduated from USM in 1994 with a BFA. She began working at FHAH as a receptionist in 1997 and soon began working as a technician. She served as our head technician for many years. She is now our head receptionist/office manager and vet tech. (Jack of all trades, master of none). She has 2 dogs, Cassidy (a Border Collie mix) and Ellery Quinn (a super mix mutt), and 2 cats, Sean Conner O’Grady (an obese orange and white DOL) and Lilah Bette (a mini butterscotch DOS).



Carla loves the outdoors, and when she is not outdoors, you rarely see her without a book (Kindle) in her hand. She loves old black and white movies, history, and science, and she dabbles in writing, photography, and ghost hunting. She is a repository of pop culture and oftentimes useless knowledge. She would like to travel more than she is able to these days. Once retired, she plans to load up a tiny house and hit the open road or find a nice spot to homestead in the mountains.