The Jewel Team
Kate Margalit, DVM, DACVS
Dr. Kate is an experienced board-certified surgeon, serving pets of the Upstate since 2012. A New York native and 2005 graduate of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, she pursued her passion for surgery with an additional five years of specialized internship and residency training.
She feels grateful to have the opportunity to provide specialized care to your cherished pets. Dr. Kate loves performing an array of both soft tissue and orthopedic surgeries.
Outside of the operating room, she has a passion for painting, organization, and design. Dr. Kate loves to travel, read, and spend quality time with her loving family (often running after her two very energetic boys and dog). She met her husband, Jake, while pursuing her specialty surgical internship in San Diego. She strives to teach her sons to have empathy, demonstrate leadership, and find joy with whatever interests they pursue.
Madison Hunt, LVT
Madison is a licensed veterinary technician with a special interest in surgery and anesthesia. She graduated from Tri-County Technical College’s Veterinary Technician program in 2016. Madison started her career with 3 years in general practice, followed by 8 years in specialty surgery. Madison’s diverse skills in the veterinary field include difficult intravenous catheter placement, distraction techniques via interpretive dance, and most importantly, strong advocacy for her patients.
Madison has vast experience with challenging and critical anesthesia cases and enjoys assisting in a large variety of soft tissue and orthopedic surgeries. She loves to learn new techniques to help her patients achieve comfort and pain control. Madison loves to share her experience and skill sets by teaching others.
Madison was born and raised in Greenville, SC but now resides in Gray Court, SC. Outside of work, she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family, friends, and fiancé Johnathan. She loves going to the lake, horseback riding, gardening, and fitness. Madison and Johnathan share their home with their three dogs (Penny, Cinch, and Bonnie), two cats (Stanley and Yo-yo), and a small tyrant kitten (Kittles).
Katy Salpas, LVT
Katy graduated from Clemson University in 2016 with a degree in Animal & Veterinary Science, then went back to school and became a Licensed Veterinary Technician in 2018. She has worked in a small animal veterinary specialty hospital as a surgical technician for 6 years and prior to that has multiple years of experience working in general practice.
When she is not busy trying to keep up with Dr. Kate, Katy enjoys being outdoors in the sunshine with her two dogs (Riggs and Nix), reading, and horseback riding. You’ll also often find her and her husband traveling to another state or country to explore!
Erin Cooper
Erin is a native of South Carolina with a Bachelor's of Animal Science from Clemson University. She has a strong passion for helping animals, starting with large animal veterinary medicine as an early teenager. While she has experience with both equine and small animals, her heart has truly resonated with small animal surgery. Erin's favorite surgery is hind limb fracture repair. When she's not in the OR, you'll find her playing outside with her menagerie of pets: 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 4 year old son, or riding one of her horses.
Juniper!
Juniper joins Jewel VS currently vying for a managerial position but is still our proud mascot featured in many of our marketing materials. She has no surgical experience, but feels strongly she is qualified to manage Dr. Kate. Junie Boonie will voice her opinion about almost everything. She serves as an unofficial therapy dog for our staff. Her qualifications currently under review include (but are not limited to) her commitments to nose print art on every glass window and cardboard ingestion (for the added fiber to her diet). She has many tricks that she will occasionally agree to perform for the “good” treats and loves all belly rubs.