Dr. Susan Mende | DVM, DACVP

Owner, Breeding Specialist, General Medicine

Dr. Susan Mende grew up on a 1,000 acre crop and dairy farm in northern Illinois.  She attended Illinois State University for two years before transferring to the University of Illinois to complete her bachelors degree in Veterinary Biosciences in 1989. After her undergraduate years she then furthered her education to receive her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1991. After graduation and her internship she worked at Southern Illinois Equine Clinic before completing a mixed animal surgery fellowship at Mill Iron Clinic in southeast Ohio. 

When Dr. Mende first moved to Maryland she worked in a small animal exclusive practice for a few years while completing her veterinary chiropractic certification through the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. In 1998, Dr. Mende founded Wolf Creek Equine Clinic and the practice began to grow. Originally located in Centreville, MD the practice stayed small while Dr. Mende balanced veterinary medicine with becoming a mother to her son Nicolas in the same year. In 2005, the practice was relocated to Lothian, Maryland where it currently resides and has continued to have slow and steady growth throughout the years. With the support of family, friends, and the horse community; WCEH has grown into a large equine only practice and surgery center featuring many doctors, office staff, and technicians. 

Many know Dr. Mende for her special interest in equine reproduction as well as rehabilitation, chiropractic care, anesthesia, and business management. Although running a growing practice keeps her busy, she also breeds and raises warmblood sport horses and Labrador retrievers. In her spare time she and her husband Mark enjoy personal fitness, gardening, and caring for the property and animals.






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Dr. Melissa Larkin | DVM Associate Veterinarian, General Medicine Dr. Melissa Larkin grew up in the Hudson Valley region of New York state. She began riding at a young age and quickly decided she wanted to spend her life with horses and to become an equine veterinarian. In 2017, she graduated from Post University with her bachelor's degrees in Biology and Equine Studies with a veterinary track. She remained in Connecticut after her undergraduate studies and worked as an equine veterinary assistant to further her experience level and understanding of the career before attending veterinary school. She received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2023 from the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in central Massachusetts. Dr. Larkin then moved to Maryland for a mentored associate position, working as an onsite farm veterinarian for a privately owned standardbred breeding farm. With a population of over 1,000 horses, she gained rapid experience in reproduction, foaling, neonatal care, and emergency medicine. She managed the general medicine and the veterinary components of sales preparation for an annual crop of about 300 weanlings until their sale as yearling racehorse prospects.   Wolf Creek Equine Clinic welcomed Dr. Larkin in 2025 and she is very excited to now work in an ambulatory practice setting where she can provide compassionate care to owners and their horses. She has special interests in dentistry, emergency medicine, reproduction, and the maintenance and management of our beloved senior horses. In her spare time, she still rides her own “heart horse” Nadia, whom she has owned for 17 years and will never part with. They were once avid eventers, and eventing is a sport that Dr. Larkin would love to return to when time allows! She is also a huge cat-person and enjoys spending time and going on walks with her beloved cat, Ziti.