About Us

Dr. Rachel South is a founder of River Valley Animal Hospital. She graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine with her DVM degree in 2013 and completed her clinical year of the program at Oklahoma State University. Dr. South received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Loyola University Maryland. She is originally from Bel Air, Maryland. While attending Ross University in St. Kitts, West Indies, she met Dr. Trevor South. Upon completion of her DVM degree she moved to Arkansas where Dr. Trevor was already practicing!

Upon graduation Dr. South worked in an emergency practice while doing relief work for several day practices in Northwest Arkansas. Dr. South genuinely enjoys emergency and critical care medicine, falling in love with the fast-paced environment while she was a veterinary technician in Maryland before attending veterinary school.

Dr. Rachel is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association as well as the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with Dr. Trevor and their two children, traveling, riding her horses and trout fishing. She also enjoys spending time with her German Shorthaired Pointer named Blake and cat named Riley. Dr. South is eager to provide compassionate veterinary care to the area.

Dr. Trevor South is a founder of River Valley Animal Hospital. He graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine with his DVM degree in 2011 and completed his clinical year of the program at Iowa State University. Dr. South received his Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science at Oklahoma State University. He is a Greenwood, Arkansas native graduating from Greenwood High School in 2003. While attending Ross University in St. Kitts, West Indies Dr. Trevor met his wife Dr. Rachel South and they decided to build a life and a practice in Arkansas.

Prior to building River Valley Animal Hospital, Dr. Trevor had started his own successful ambulatory veterinary practice serving the AR/OK community. His veterinary interests include dentistry, soft tissue surgery, equine lameness and herd health.

Dr. Trevor is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association as well as the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

In his free time Dr. Trevor enjoys spending time with Dr. Rachel and their two children, taking care of his cattle, trout fishing and hunting! Dr. South is excited to have the opportunity to offer the Fort Chaffee area and surrounding communities high quality medicine and care.

Dr. Brittney Brasuell became a member of RVAH as an associate veterinarian in June 2022. She graduated from Ross University of Veterinary Medicine with her DVM degree in May 2022 and completed her clinical year at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Brasuell received a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in small business and entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock in 2016. She received a second bachelors in Animal Science at the University of Arkansas in 2017.

Dr. Brasuell started at RVAH as a technician and is excited to be back as a doctor and to be continuing her work with you and your fur babies. She enjoys working with large and small animals. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and soon to be joining the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association.

In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and loved ones. She is currently building a homestead on 25 acres with her fiancé while remodeling their new house. Dr. Brasuell has two dogs named Storm and Dozer as well as two cats named Kurgan and Stitch.

Savannah was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, and graduated from Western Carolina University in 2017 with her B.A. in social work. Her love and compassion for both humans and animals have inspired her to pair the two together and one day work in animal-assisted therapy. Savannah moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, in July of 2020 and has fallen in love with the Natural State.

Outside of work, Savannah loves spending most of her time exploring her new home, going on spur of the moment adventures, and traveling.

She also adores her Australian Shepherd/Rottweiler mix fur-child named Kobe, and her Labrador Retriever/Border Collie Mix, Jax. Savannah has worked in the field of Vet Med since early 2017 and loves to continuously learn new information to help better the world for animals!

Aleighsha joined RVAH in February 2019 as a Kennel Technician and is currently working on cross-training for other positions in the hospital. She has worked with animals constantly since 2015 volunteering at a local animal shelter.

Aleighsha has known since the age of five that she would dedicate her career to serving and helping animals. Her favorite part of veterinary medicine is ensuring that our clients and their pets have a happy and efficient visit.

She currently has Willow, a senior lab mix and “foster-fail” that she adopted from the Humane Society. She also rescued Rowdy and Biggie Smalls who are both very active Terrier mixes. Aleighsha is a cat momma of Archie and recently found Magnolia. She also has a Green Water Dragon named Gimley.

Her hobbies outside of work consist of watching Netflix, going kayaking, sleeping, and taking all of her dogs for hikes in the Natural State.

Shelby obtained her Veterinarian Assistant Certification at ICTC in 2018. She is an Oklahoma native that has been in the field for 4 years. Shelby joined our team as a Veterinary Technician in October 2022.

She is a bright new face around the hospital! She is excited to get to know all of the River Valley animals in the area and give them the best care possible.

In Shelby’s spare time you might find her on a kayak down the Illinois river with her husband and daughter. Shelby loves the sunshine and the fresh air of an early morning hike. Wherever her adventures take her; she takes every step with a full heart.

Sarah joined RVAH in October 2022 as a Veterinary Technician. Sarah was raised in Fort smith Arkansas, she graduated at Northside High School with a Honors Degree in 2001.

She earned an associates degree in General Studies from Indian Capital Technology Center in Muskogee. Her love for the medical field has transferred from human medicine as an Emergency Room Technician for 8 years to Veterinary medicine. She currently volunteers at Fort Smith Animal Haven on the weekends.

Outside of work Sarah loves spending her time reading true crime and enjoying outdoor activities with her three dogs, Joplin (foster-fail), Little Bit and Theo.

Katelynn was born in Tulsa, OK, and relocated to Greenwood, AR, at the age of 5!

She is a proud 2020 graduate of Greenwood High School, where she began to foster her love for animals, big and small! She’s had a passion for animals since she could talk and started her pet career as a Kennel Assistant in 2021. You’ll now see her as the smiling face that greets you at our front desk!

In her free time, she loves going to the lake and is an avid hunter, fisher, and outdoorsman! She loves spending time with her current pets: Zephyr, Cutter, Sadie Lou, Memphis and Tulip, and loves honoring and remembering her past pets who’ve passed over the Rainbow Bridge – Boone, Harper, Oakley, and Tallulah.

She is ecstatic to be a part of the RVAH family and to continue to expand her knowledge in veterinary medicine by helping people and their pets!

Sam has been with RVAH since August 2022 as a CSR!

She has been in the pet industry for 17 years, including retail management and grooming. She enjoys exotic pets, specifically birds and hamsters, and currently owns 2 dogs, 1 parrot, 1 hamster, and fish. She has always loved animals and was a foster for many years.

She was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia, moving to Arkansas in 2018 with her husband and two children. Outside of work, Sam enjoys collecting house plants, drinking coffee, cooking, shopping, gardening, and being with her family.

Ashley joined RVAH in 2021 as a Kennel Technician! She graduated from Southside High School in May of 2022 and is attending Oklahoma State University for Zoology!

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Slater, hanging out with friends, and shopping!