Dr. Jacqui Snell was born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. Veterinary Medicine was a career aspiration from childhood. She earned her veterinary degree from Massey University in 1988. Afterwards, she worked in a small animal practice in Wellington before spending a year doing locum work in London England.

After returning to New Zealand, she worked at Taradale Veterinary Hospital in Hawkes Bay for 21 years, spending 16 years as an owner of the practice. She started her holistic practice, Veterinary Holistic Healthcare, in 2018, after earning a Western Herbal Certification. She completed a Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine through CIVT in 2019.

She worked part time in a holistic practice as well as a companion animal practice. She also worked part time for the Raw Essentials company, providing nutritional advice to pet parents who were transitioning their pets with health issues onto a raw food diet.

Currently, she focuses completely on her holistic practice, seeing patients in person and via telemedicine.

In addition to her clinical practice, she has lectured at the New Zealand Veterinary Association conferences and is the current newsletter editor for the Complementary Branch of the NZVA.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Jacqui Snell as we discuss her education, various clinical roles, and her current holistic practice.

Dr. Lisa Melling was raised in Chicago and Northern Illinois. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a Veterinarian, gaining experience working at a horse stable and having a number of childhood pets.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Iowa State University in 1999, and her DVM from Tuskegee University in 2004. After graduation, she entered small animal practice in Michigan. In response to a large commercial pet food recall in 2007, she began prescribing fresh food nutrition and started her journey into Homeopathy. She was certified by the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy in 2011 and was certified in Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapy by the Healing Oasis in 2019.

She left traditional small animal practice in 2007 and started a house call practice in the Ann Arbor Michigan area emphasizing fresh food nutrition and natural healing. She has since relocated the practice to a brick and mortar location in Northern Michigan.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Melling has been heavily involved in education of new Veterinary Homeopaths. She was a faculty member for the Pitcairn Institute of Veterinary Homeopathy from 2011-2022, and since then is a Co-Founder and Instructor for the Veterinary Homeopathy Institute. She has also lectured and written extensively about Veterinary Homeopathy.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Lisa Melling as we discuss her education, clinical practice, transition to natural medicine, and her teaching career.

Sophie Tieu is a third year veterinary student at the Ontario Veterinary College. She has been interested in veterinary medicine since she was young

She did her undergraduate studies at the University of Guelph, majoring in Animal Biology. Before entering veterinary college, she participated in research projects involving canine nutrition, Vitamin D metabolism, and swine physiology. This work has yielded four publications.

Since becoming a veterinary student, Sophie has worked as a Research Animal Technician on the Veterinary campus.

Please enjoy this conversation with Sophie Tieu as we discuss her education, preparation for her veterinary education, her life as a student during the pandemic, and her activities volunteering in veterinary clinics in the Galapagos and a wildlife sanctuary in Peru during the summer of 2024.

Dr. Elizabeth Cutright was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a Veterinarian.

She did both her undergraduate studies in Animal Science and her DVM at the University of Illinois. She earned her DVM in 2001.

After graduation, she worked in small animal practices, becoming introduced to integrative medicine and developing an interest in Nutrition Response Testing as well as advanced dentistry.

In 2016, she started her own practice, Healthier Pets Naturally, which focuses on Nutrition Response Testing and Nutrition Consulting.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Cutright as we discuss her education, introduction to holistic medicine, practice history, and her involvement in organized veterinary medicine.

Dr. Debby Burnett was raised in Greeley, Colorado. She was interested in Veterinary Medicine, but a high school teacher told her that she wasn't good enough in science to pursue it. She started University in Journalism, then switched to Kinesiology and later earned a Master's Degree in Physical Therapy in 1995.

As a Pediatric Physical Therapist, she rekindled her interest in Veterinary Medicine when working with her patients using hippotherapy. She earned her DVM from Texas A&M in 2003. Afterwards, she did an Equine Reproduction Internship, then transitioned to mixed animal practice in Wyoming while still working as a physical therapist part time.

After completing the CSU Acupuncture course in 2006, she starting using it in mixed animal practice in Wyoming and Colorado. Looking for a change from traditional practice, she completed the chiropractic training program at ACES in 2024 and has established her own practice, Burnett Animal Chiropractic in Gunnison, Colorado.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Debby Burnett as we discuss her education, practice life, holistic education, and the evolution of her clinical practice.

Dr. Cindy Maro was raised on a farm in Northeast Ohio. She earned her veterinary degree from Ohio State University in 1987, ten years after her brother Rob.

After graduation, she joined her brother's mixed animal practice in Northeast Ohio, then started her own small animal practice in Western Pennsylvania, the first companion animal Integrative practice in the region. Since then, she has started a total of six practices in the Western Pennsylvania region and has enthusiastically promoted integrative medicine to her colleagues as well as the public.

She holds certifications in numerous areas including acupuncture, chiropractic, rehabilitation, NAET, and Medical QiGong.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Cindy Maro as we discuss her education, practice history, and involvement in various facets of veterinary medicine.

Dr. Katie Woodley was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Notre Dame, and earned her Veterinary Degree in 2010 from Massey University in New Zealand.

After working in small animal practice in New Zealand, she moved back to Colorado Springs to work in small animal practice there. She had some exposure to holistic medicine in veterinary school, but a health challenge with her husband and her own curiosity started her journey into integrative medicine.

She was certified in acupuncture by OneHealth and has earned a Graduate Diploma in Chinese Veterinary Herbal Medicine from CIVT. She has additional training in Veterinary Natural Nutrition and Chinese Food Therapy.She started her mobile holistic practice in Ft. Collins, Colorado in 2018 and during the pandemic expanded her practice online to share her knowledge with both pet parents and veterinarians.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Katie Woodley as we discuss her education, practice history, and expansion into online education as well as her participation on the AHVMA's Board of Directors.

Dr. Tracy Duffner was born in Michigan and raised in Northern Ohio. She earned her undergraduate degree from Otterbein University and her DVM from Ohio State in 2006.

After graduation, she moved to South Carolina and worked in small animal primary care practices, then transitioned to emergency medicine and back to primary care.

Looking for a change, she was certified in acupuncture by Chi University in 2019, in animal chiropractic by the AVCA in 2021, and is currently completing coursework in veterinary homeopathy. She started a mobile holistic practice in 2019, partnered in a brick and mortar integrative practice for a few years, and now has returned to mobile exclusive holistic practice.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Tracy Duffner as we discuss her education, practice experience, and her role as an AHVMA Board Member.

Dr. Bill Ormston returns to the podcast, having been a guest on Episode 59. In this episode Bill and I discuss some of the factors that have influenced the acceptance and growth of the Animal Chiropractic profession. Starting with a working definition of Chiropractic, we discuss the historical barriers to natural medicine education in the United States, and finish with our thoughts on the ideal legal landscape for the practice of Animal Chiropractic in the United States.

Please enjoy this second conversation with Dr. Bill Ormston.

Dr. Bart Iaia was raised in Florida. He did his undergraduate education at the University of Vermont in Animal Science, and earned his DVM from Tufts University in 1992. After some time in small animal practice on the East Coast, he moved to Seattle Washington and worked in a number of small animal practices and in industry prior to purchasing an integrative practice in the area.

His holistic education began with the study of Lomi Lomi, a Hawaiian healing art. He has since been certified in Acupuncture by Chi University in 2009, and then by IVAS in 2019. He has also studied Chinese Herbal Medicine at A Time To Heal in Vermont. He earned his Fellow status from the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture in 2022.

He currently does relief work and serves as the Medical Director at PetZen, an Integrative practice in Gig Harbor, Washington. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Bart Iaia as we discuss his education, career path, holistic education, and thoughts on the future of Integrative Veterinary Medicine.