Our Team

Casandra Fowler, DVM

Owner, Veterinarian
Dr. Fowler was born and raised in Kentucky, where she graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BS in Biology. Moving to Virginia, she attended the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 2005. She went on to practice at several companion animal clinics in the Northern Virginia area. In 2019, she was able to realize her dream of opening her own veterinary practice.

Dr. Fowler is excited to be able to offer her compassionate, competent, and fear-free style of veterinary medicine to companion animals. She is a Fear Free Certified Professional and looks forward to providing care in the first Fear Free Certified Practice in the Northern Virginia Area.
(www.fearfreepets.com)

She also looks forward to providing medical care to multiple rescue organizations and working closely with the community to provide services and education to all. She is proud to be a Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study Veterinarian (www.caninelifetimehealth.org).

Dr. Fowler currently resides with her husband and three children along with dogs, cats, 2 guinea pigs, and a rabbit.

Wendy Kuo, VMD

Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Wendy Kuo earned her degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Since graduation, she has practiced general and emergency medicine in the D.C. Metro area.

Prior to veterinary medicine, Dr. Kuo utilized her background in electrical and biomedical engineering as a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It was during this time that she began shadowing Dr. Hart at Kingsview Animal Hospital and was inspired by the loving kindness given to every animal and their families. She is honored to have the opportunity to join Dr. Fowler and the Harmony family, a family dedicated to providing state-of-the-art veterinary care for its community.

Dr. Kuo is a Fear Free Certified Professional who strives to understand the unique needs of each patient in order to provide individualized care. She believes in an integrative approach to care and hopes to pursue a certification in acupuncture.

In addition to veterinary medicine, Dr. Kuo enjoys spending time with her family and one lovably rambunctious Boston terrier named Bella Jane.

Allison Hagner, DVM

Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Allison Hagner grew up in an Air Force family, living in South Carolina, Ohio, and England. She earned her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (WashU). She grew up with Scottish Terriers but decided veterinary medicine was her path when she and her husband, Chris, adopted two cats. She earned her veterinary degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and worked in private practice for 8 years while starting a family. She then took some time off from practice to spend more time with her family of four young children. During which Allison taught preschool music, supported all levels of scouts, volunteered for her church (Providence Presbyterian Church) and many other community organizations.

In 2021, Allison volunteered for the COVID-19 vaccination effort and decided to restart her veterinary practice. She has a special interest in surgery, dermatology, and ophthalmology. She started with Harmony in May 2021 and became a Fear Free Certified Professional. Over the years, Dr. Hagner has had many pets and has fostered a number of dogs. Her two rescue dogs, Jocko and Maisy, and two cats, Azira and Ms. Crowley, keep her family busy. She enjoys spending time with her family, singing (in her church praise band and scout songs at camp), baking, biking, hiking, archery, kayaking, camping, reading, and photography.

Asjah Fezio, DVM

Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Asjah Fezio is joining our practice after living in San Diego for the last few years. She is a Virginia native, raised in the southeastern part of the state. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor’s in Animal and Poultry Sciences.  In addition to many other cities, she and her Navy husband spent time in New England where Dr. Fezio graduated from Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.  They are excited to rejoin friends and family and start a family of their own in northern Virginia.  Dr. Fezio’s practice has been largely influenced by caring for her own animals. They have shown how compassionate care and understanding animal behavior can strengthen the human-animal bond.  Dr. Fezio is a Fear Free Certified Professional. She enjoys yoga and barre classes, going to the beach, reading, eating at local restaurants, and spending time with family.

Denise

Practice Manager
Denise knew from a very early age that she was destined to have a career working with animals. She graduated from Virginia Tech, double majoring in Biology and Animal Science. After graduating she worked with Dr. Hart at Kingsview Animal Hospital for over thirty years until his recent retirement. While there, she expanded her knowledge of veterinary medicine and became his right hand, acting as a technician, practice manager and client liaison.

Denise started working with Dr. Fowler in 2017 and knew immediately that she was an excellent veterinarian and would make a wonderful practice owner. Denise has done a wonderful job managing Harmony Animal Hospital and helping Dr. Fowler grow a successful and compassionate practice.

Denise enjoys continuing her education in veterinary medicine and practice management. She is always open to new ideas that improve animal care. She is a Fear Free Certified Professional.

In her spare time Denise enjoys spending time with her loving husband at a cabin and taking time to enrich her spiritual life. She and her husband are currently empty nesters to four wonderful children. They share their home with their sweet rescue cat, Woody. 

Elizabeth

Office Manager
Elizabeth was born in Germany and cultivated an early love of travel after living in many different places growing up. She knew that one day, she would have a career that centered around her love of animals. As a senior in high school, she worked at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, assisting with koalas and hippos. After moving to Northern Virginia, she attended George Mason University and graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry.

Elizabeth is a Fear Free Certified Professional and has over 20 years of experience in small animal medicine. She was an Assistant Manager at Kingsview Animal Hospital, and before Harmony she worked at the Veterinary Holistic Center learning the importance of connecting conventional and holistic medicine for the overall well-being of the animal.

At Harmony, she enjoys animal dentistry, lab work, and being part of a team. The most fulfilling part of her job is connecting with clients and their pets to help educate and emphasize the importance of the human-animal bond.

When not at the hospital, Elizabeth is a licensed equestrian trainer. She started riding horses at an early age, moving on to compete professionally in jumpers and playing polo. When she has a day off, Elizabeth loves to read, hike, enjoy her friends, and spend time with her husband, Andrew. Whenever possible, they visit the Outer Banks where they love to surf. They are the pet parents of two quirky rescue cats, Ronald-Bananas and Ginny, littermates raised by our veterinary staff. They also have a rescue miniature poodle named Raymond and two big Borzois named Sam and Omie.

Jill

Administrative Support Specialist/Technician
Jill was born and raised in Northern Virginia. She started her career in veterinary medicine volunteering in middle school, and then working part-time during high school, for Dr. Hart at Kingsview Animal Hospital. She graduated from George Mason University with a BA in Anthropology. She then took a brief stint working an administrative desk job before realizing that veterinary medicine was her calling. She returned to Kingsview in 2007 where she worked as a technician until Dr. Hart’s retirement.

Jill has always had a love for all animals and is a passionate believer that all animals deserve our help and respect. She is delighted to be working for Dr. Fowler as part of the Harmony team. Jill is a Fear Free Certified Professional.

In her free time Jill enjoys reading, gardening and various crafting activities. She enjoys spending time around water, especially the beach, and loves visiting Corolla in the Outer Banks.

Jill has 2 cats named Louise and Ollie as well as a whole herd of guinea pigs! Their names are Daisy, Poppy, Petunia, and (her rescued piggy) Mocha!

Mary, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician
Mary’s career in animal care began as an attendant at a doggie daycare and has evolved into a dedicated professional path. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a pre-veterinary concentration from the University of Mary Washington. Following graduation, Mary completed an internship at a wildlife rehabilitation center, gaining extensive experience with a diverse range of orphaned and injured wildlife, including raccoons, foxes, bats, opossums, reptiles, and birds. This formative experience solidified her commitment to working in an animal hospital.

Mary started working at Harmony in December of 2020 and has been a Fear Free Certified Professional since March of 2021. She furthered her expertise by pursuing a Veterinary Technician license through Northern Virginia Community College, graduating in 2024. Her licensing journey included hands-on experience with horses, cows, sheep, and goats, as well as completing hours in emergency and critical care settings. Mary’s ongoing dedication to professional development has significantly enhanced her ability to provide exceptional care to the patients at Harmony.

Outside of her professional life, Mary enjoys unwinding by watching HGTV, working on crochet projects, savoring pasta dishes, and spending quality time with her beloved cat Maisie and her fiancé.

Katie

Groomer

Katie was born in Raleigh, NC, but has spent most of her life in Northern Virginia. She has loved animals for her entire life, and dove headfirst into learning about dog breeds, behavior, and training when she was twelve! Growing up, she owned and trained two Australian Shepherds and a Pomeranian to respond to an extensive list of commands.

In 2015, Katie decided to put her knowledge to use by pursuing a career in working with animals! She began as a grooming assistant in 2013 and fell in love with the field. In 2015, she began training to become a groomer. Since then, Katie has been very passionate about continued education through trade shows, seminars, and private lessons.

In 2018, Katie bought her first Bedlington Terrier, Westley, and began showing in AKC conformation under the mentorship of LAMZ Bedlington Terriers. Since then, she has added two girl Bedlies to her home, Sushi and Tease. Sushi & Katie have been a very successful team with many notable wins & placements! Her dogs have also competed and titled in Barn Hunt and Fast CAT, and she plans on expanding into scent work, agility, and rally. Katie also shows her Selkirk Rex cat, Jumanji, and hopes to show her mixed breed heart cat, Hallow, in the Household Pet class! Katie joined our Harmony family at the start of 2023 and is now a certified Fear Free professional.

Outside of the dog world, Katie is currently finishing her BA in Sociology with a concentration in Inequality & Social Change at George Mason University. She loves horror films, anime & manga, Star Trek, and has been cosplaying since 2006. She lives with her wife, Nico, and all of their animals in Alexandria!

Caitlin

Customer Service Representative
Born and raised in eastern Kansas, Caitlin had a passion for helping animals, and learning about their health, since she was 5-6 years old. She graduated from Kansas State University in 2009 with a bachelor’s in Animal Science, with plans to continue on to vet school. When this didn’t work out due to health issues, she turned to admin work for a while. Caitlin later decided to get back into veterinary clinics since she was being asked a lot of pet health questions and realized it was still her passion. She decided to come back to the field as support staff instead (both as assistant and CSR) because she feels it has the best of both worlds when it comes to interacting with the pet and pet parent. She has years of experience in both general practice and emergency care.

She spent some time living in California, where she met her husband in 2016 when he was stationed at Vandenberg AFB. Due to her husband’s active military duty, they moved to Nebraska and lived there for a few years. Now they have moved here to Virginia, where we were thrilled to have Caitlin join our CSR team in July of 2022. She is is a Fear Free certified professional and currently going to go back to school to get her master’s in animal health and behavior. Caitlin loves arts & crafts, watching football, hanging out, and doing fun activities with her husband. She and her husband enjoy sightseeing, winery tours, zoo trips, and of course raising their beautiful daughter together! 

Shelby

Customer Service Representative

Gabby

Customer Service Representative

Miriam

Assistant

Miriam was born and raised in the Northern Virginia area. She attended Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University where she obtained her associate’s degree in general studies and then her B.S. in Biology. Miriam has always had a passion for working with animals. Her first work experience caring for animals was as a dog daycare attendant. From there, she went on to work as a kennel assistant at a busy general practice veterinary hospital. Once there, she gained the knowledge and experience to be promoted to veterinary assistant. She has worked as a veterinary assistant for almost 3 years and has gained most of her practical skills on the job. After being introduced to fear-free medicine, Miriam was referred to Harmony Animal Hospital where she has been working since February 2023. She became Fear-Free certified in March 2023.

Miriam lives with her dog Rocky. In their free time, they enjoy quality time, going on walks, and taking naps together.

Tamari

Assistant

Growing up in Southern Nevada in a family of animal lovers, Tamari developed a deep affection for animals early on. Her grandfather’s diverse collection of animals, including pigeons, sheep, goats, and emus, provided her with cherished memories and a passion for caring for them. She often found herself getting into trouble with her parents for trying to care for the animal babies.

Given her love for animals, it’s no surprise that veterinary medicine has been a perfect fit for Tamari. Putting her best self forward in this field is all she aspires to do. Tamari joined our Harmony team during the Summer of 2023 as a veterinary assistant and is actively pursuing her dream of obtaining certification in veterinary technology. This step will allow her to further contribute to the well-being of animals and enhance her professional expertise. She also has graciously stepped-up to take charge of the feline boarding we offer here at Harmony.

Beyond her veterinary pursuits, you can find Tamari enjoying the great outdoors with her corgi mix, Ollie. Spending quality time with him brings her joy and relaxation. Additionally, she has a passion for creative expression, and finds solace in experimenting with various artistic mediums.

Tamari is excited about her journey in the veterinary field and the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of animals. She believes that her dedication, love for animals, and commitment to personal growth will drive her towards achieving her goals. Tamari is a Fear Free Certified Professional.

Johanna

Assistant

Johanna was born in Maine, but moved with her family to the Big Bend region in Texas when she was 9. After 16 years of living in the desert, she decided it was time to start the next chapter in her life, and settled on Virginia.

Johanna started working with animals when she was 10, volunteering in a shelter’s neonatal kitten and feral cat program. She started working with horses and therapeutic riding around that time as well, then started showing horses in 4H as a teenager. She wanted to go into equine rehabilitation, but after working in a shelter after high school, she fell in love with canine behavioral health. She invested time in the behavior program and found a passion for outreach and support in communities with fewer resources. Giving animals and people compassion is a core value of hers.

While in the shelter world, Johanna was a part of medical, behavioral, and committee outreach teams. She also became deeply invested in community education. At one point, Johanna wanted to explore other species, since she had only worked with cats, dogs, and horses. She had the opportunity to intern at a HSUS rescue ranch to work with a wide variety of wildlife, including tigers, bears and chimps, but still found herself being called back to companion animals.

Johanna joined our Harmony team during the Summer of 2023 as a veterinary assistant and is a Fear Free Certified Professional. She wants to pursue a career in canine behavior, with a focus on strengthening communication, trust, and the bond between pets and their guardians. She currently offers “Cooperative Care” appointments at Harmony where she works with patients to help them overcome specific veterinary fears through cooperative care training!

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her border/aussie named Ada and her chiweenie named Cheese. She also enjoys backpacking, cycling, exploring museums and art installations, as well as contradancing.

Megan

Assistant

Megan was a student of Virginia Tech where she graduated in 2021 with a degree in Animal Science. Following graduation, she became an assistant at a veterinary dental specialist in New Jersey where she gained lots of valuable experience.

In 2023, she relocated to Alexandria to be with her fiancé, merging her passion for animal care with personal pursuits. Megan joined our Harmony team in August of 2023 and became a Fear Free Certified Professional.

Megan adores her lizard, Rex, and her Australian Shepherd, Rogan. They both add so much joy and companionship to her life. She has plans to start school in the fall of 2024 to work towards becoming a licensed veterinary technician.

Shurada

Assistant

Shurada comes to us from Washington, DC. Growing up, she didn’t even know that veterinary hospitals existed but would often bring home animals off the streets as a child. At 19 years old, a veterinary assistant job fell into her lap and the rest is history. She has been in the field since 2004 and joined our Harmony team in November of 2023 as an assistant. Shurada is now a Fear Free Certified Professional. Once she is able to finish her BBA degree she hopes to go back to school for a veterinary technician license. The reason she is in this field is because she loves taking care of animals while learning new things since medicine is always growing and changing.

Shurada lives a busy life as a mom, a student, and an employee so she doesn’t have much room for hobbies right now. In her spare time, when she is not studying, she enjoys watching Asian TV and spending time with her daughter. She also shares her home with a sphynx cat named Akari and a yorkie-poo named Naomi.

Marina

Assistant

Marina was born and raised in Okinawa, Japan.

She moved to the United States in 2017 when her husband was stationed in North Carolina. Shortly after moving to the U.S., they adopted a dog named Kaiji. When Marina had to take Kaiji to the vet office she could barely understand so she started using a dictionary to translate all of Kaiji’s medical records to understand his medical issues. This is what lead Marina to have interest in veterinary medicine.

Her pet care career path started in 2019. She worked at a pet store in Japan when she went back home for several months. Later that year, she started working as a veterinary assistant at a small veterinary clinic in North Carolina.

A few years later, Marina and her husband moved to Hawaii, where she continued to work as a veterinary assistant on Oahu. After enjoying tropical weather and a beach bum life for a little over 2 years, they moved to Virginia. Marina joined the Harmony team in December of 2023, and became a Fear Free Certified Professional. She’s currently taking a veterinary technician program at Penn Foster to gain more knowledge to better serve the patients and clients.

In her free time, Marina enjoys spending quality time with her husband, her dog Kaiji, and her cat Gigi. Marina loves traveling, snorkeling, hiking, pottery, exploring new places, and trying new food.

Lee

Facility Coordinator
Lee’s passion for animals has existed as long as she has. Several of the first photos taken of her included ducks, cats, donkeys, horses, dogs, snakes, lizards, and even snails! Not because she had them while growing up, but because nature always finds a way. That passion has continued through her profession, her many fosters and rescues, and her participation in citizen science projects through the Audubon Association and Cornell University. Her other passions for history, art, and global politics developed while living and traveling throughout the US and Europe as an Army Brat.

She’s never afraid to look beyond her immediate surroundings for information on interesting things, which is how she first encountered Fear Free care and Force Free training methods for animals. She’s curated her life to combine all of her passions- working in practice committed to Fear Free processes, living in a diverse community, drawing people’s pets for charity auctions, and continuing to learn new things by traveling to places that are both familiar and new.

Lee has been on our team since October of 2021 and is a Fear-Free certified professional.

Meet our Harmony Specialists!

Dr Emari Yokota, DVM, CVA, ACVCHM

Acupuncturist
From before the time she could remember Dr. Yokota has had a passion to heal animals. She learned the value of holistic medicines from her mother, whose interest in naturopathic remedies opened her eyes to the value of non-conventional medicines at a very young age.

Only after her own cat, Midnight, began to have issues with severe arthritis, did she realize the potential impact she could have on her future patients with holistic therapies. After completing her undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech , Dr. Yokota enrolled at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine because of their high quality holistic program and relationship to the Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine . While enrolled in vet school, she studied and received her certification in veterinary acupuncture. Soon after, she earned her Advanced Certification in Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine from the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS).

After practicing in the Northern Virginia area for over 7 years, Dr. Yokota founded Well Whiskers to concentrate on offering much needed holistic care to pets. Harmony partnered with Dr. Yokota in 2020 to provide acupuncture and holistic medicine options to our patients. Working together with our veterinarians, she continuously strives to find the best aspects of both Western and Eastern medicines to find the best care for her patients. Dr. Yokota is a Fear Free Certified Professional.

Raquel

Acupressure and Massage Therapist

Raquel grew up in Washington State and has had a passion for the well-being of animals since before she can remember. She was always seeking out animals in need of a little extra TLC, from volunteering in rescues to wildlife tracking with Conservation Northwest. From a very young age, Raquel was able to understand the needs of animals by interpreting their energy, body language, and vocal cues. Her Aunt, an alternative healing practitioner for humans, provided Raquel with guidance, as she navigated the world of holistic healing. This helped her gain a strong understanding of herself and her connection with animals.

It wasn’t until her dog KC was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma and given a diagnosis of three months to live, that Raquel turned for support to a well-known acupuncturist in the Seattle area. A three-month diagnosis turned into over two additional years of joy and companionship with her girl, KC. 

After KC passed in 2019, Raquel’s passion for looking after the well-being of animals (and their humans) was reignited and she made a decision to educate herself and obtain certification in animal bodywork. She attended the Northwest School of Animal Massage where she received her advanced certification in animal massage in 2021 and certification in animal acupressure in 2023. She began her Massage, Acupressure, and Human/Animal Bonding practice to help bring balance and harmony into this world, as KCs acupuncturist did for her and her girl.

In addition to her bodywork certifications Raquel has been serving the animal community as a caretaker, dog trainer, and foster parent for over 15 years, and in 2023 she became a Fear-Free Certified Professional.

In her free time, Raquel enjoys traveling, yoga/pilates, hiking with her cattle dog mix (Einstein), reading, creative endeavors, and learning from the new and amazing people she meets.

Erica, LVT

Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing Coordinator

Erica is a Licensed Veterinary Technician and Harmony’s new Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing Coordinator. She attended veterinary nursing school, took a national medical board exam and obtained a license from the state of Virginia to practice veterinary medicine as a technician. She has worked in the field since 2008, and has experience in a number of areas including general practice, mobile practice, exotics, oncology (about seven years) and most recently hospice and palliative care.

After joining the Harmony team in 2021, Erica became Fear Free Certified and is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional as well. She completed the CAETA (The Companion Animal Euthanasia Training Academy) Master Training Program in euthanasia best practices and end of life care. She is currently finishing an extensive certification program through IAAHPC (The International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care) in hospice, palliative care and advanced pain management, which requires over 140 hours of hospice specific education and training.

Erica is excited to be developing Harmony’s hospice and palliative care service and will be working closely with Drs Fowler, Kuo and Hagner, to ensure that patients receiving hospice or palliative care- and their families- will have their needs met and be supported throughout this difficult process. Erica also has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in writing.

In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, gardening, reading, writing, visiting National Parks, cooking, traveling, and relaxing with a nice whiskey. She and her husband, Matt, currently share their home with two young dogs, River (adopted from WTAR) and Fern (adopted from HART), but have also loved four fantastic rabbits (Snicket, Boo, Edgar and Fergus) and a hamster (McNugget).