West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass has named Gary Kinder, DVM, as new state veterinarian and director of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s (WVDA) Animal Health Division effective Jan. 1, 2009. Kinder replaces Dr. Joe Starcher, who retired from the agency last year.

Gary Kinder joined the WVDA Dec. 1, 2005, as assistant state veterinarian. He retired from a private veterinary practice he operated in Hurricane.

A Charleston native, Dr. Kinder graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School, where he was active in athletics. He then went to Marshall University and graduated from Oklahoma State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1974. He spent two years in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps handling public health and food inspection duties before opening Hurricane Animal Hospital.

Dr. Kinder may be contacted at (304) 558-2214 or gkinder@ag.state.wv.us.