The Integrative Veterinarian

Dr. Ava Frick was raised on the family farm outside of St. Louis, Missouri and knew from an early age that she wanted to be a veterinarian. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Missouri in 1980 and went into mixed animal practice in the Lake of the Ozarks area of Missouri after graduation. She then transitioned to traditional small animal practice, honing her surgery and emergency medicine skills. 

She moved to Arizona in 1980 and worked both at the Humane Society and as a locum in area small animal practices. She moved back to Missouri in 1985 and worked in shelter medicine before transitioning into holistic practice. Her holistic practice includes chiropractic, rehabilitation, exercise, and nutrition. She is an expert in veterinary microcurrent therapy and has consulted for the Standard Process Company, developing the Clinical Animal Nutrition Survey (c) to help doctors prioritize organ system function through nutrition. Dr. Frick also designed the first Laser Spinal Pad (R) for animals. 

Her career has involved sharing her knowledge through teaching, writing books and articles, and creating instructional videos. She has been honored as a Runner-Up for Hartz Veterinarian of the Year, the Franklin County Humane Society Visionary Award, and as one of the first inductees into the Animal Chiropractic Hall of Fame. 

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Ava Frick as we discuss her childhood, her education, her journey into holistic medicine, the stages of her veterinary career, being honored by your peers, and her current life in Cave Creek, Arizona. 

Dr. Renee James was raised outside of Brisbane, Australia. She developed an interest in veterinary medicine and after deciding to forego being a chopper pilot (for now!) she earned her veterinary degree with honors from the University of Queensland in 2003. 

She entered mixed animal practice after graduation and soon after recognized that she had an interest in using integrative modalities with her patients. She studied homeopathy and then earned a Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine from CIVT. During this time she had transitioned into exclusive small animal practice. 

She partnered with Dr. Henry Stevenson and in 2015 they co-founded their Integrative practice, The Natural Vets, in Forest Glen Australia. That practice has grown rapidly to employ six veterinarians and offer a wide range of holistic modalities. Their tag line fits their practice philosophy perfectly- "At the Natural Vets we do normal stuff. Differently."

Dr. James uses Nutrition, Homeopathy, and Chinese Herbal Medicine and has a special interest in Dentistry, Palliative Care, Integrative Cancer Care, and Client Education. She has spoken to the Integrative Veterinarians of Australia group on vaccine titers, minimal vaccine protocols, and Integrative Veterinary Oncology. 

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Renee James as we discuss her education, her interest in holistic treatments, her practice experience, and her thoughts on managing a thriving integrative veterinary practice.  

Dr. Jodi Van Tine was born in Washington DC and raised in Arizona. She got her bachelor's degree in Microbiology and began work with monoclonal antibodies in industry afterwards. She then earned a Master of Science degree in Cellular Immunology from San Jose State in 1990 while continuing to work in industry. 

She decided to attend veterinary school and earned her DVM from the University of California Davis in 1994. She went into mixed animal practice in Auburn California for a few years before moving to exclusive small animal practice in 1997 at the Folsom Animal Hospital. 

In 2004, a cancer journey with her own dog led her to integrative medicine and she began her own holistic education. She was certified by IVAS in acupuncture in 2006. At the same time she was working as an associate veterinarian at the Integrative Veterinary Center. She went back to Folsom in 2007 and worked there until 2018, when she moved to the Sterling Pointe Veterinary Clinic. 

She was certified in Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine by CIVT in 2009, and has also earned a Graduate Diplomas in Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine and Veterinary Acupuncture from CIVT as well as completing the CIVT Advanced Certification in Veterinary Neuroacupuncture. She is also certified in Chinese Food Therapy by Chi University. 

She is a highly respected Professor at CIVT, working with students in both the Veterinary Acupuncture and the Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine courses. 

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Jodi Van Tine as we discuss her education, practice experience, holistic journey, and her roles at CIVT. 

Dr. Carol Falck was raised in Maryland. She was interested in attending medical school, so she got a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology and discovered that she had an interest in Marine Science, which led her to earn a Master's Degree in that subject. She started a PhD program in Biological Oceanography when she decided to attend veterinary school.

She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. While a veterinary student, she was introduced to veterinary acupuncture by one of her anesthesia professors. After graduation, she completed an Internship in small animal practice at the Friendship Hospital for Animals. Afterwards, she moved to Florida and worked as an associate in small animal practices and began studying holistic medicine. 

She was certified in veterinary acupuncture by IVAS in 2001, followed by Chinese Herbal Medicine, Tui Na, and Chinese Food Therapy by Chi University. During this time she founded one of the first integrative veterinary clinics in Florida, the Friendship Animal Wellness Center. 

Dr. Falck sold her Florida practice and established her current mobile practice, Petwise, in Cleveland, Georgia in 2012. 

A client introduced Dr. Falck to Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, and she completed a course offered by the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy in 2017.

Dr. Falck has been active in the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and currently serves as the Chair of the Conference Program Committee. 

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Carol Falck as we discuss her education, introduction to holistic medicine, practice history, and the Essential Oils course that she teaches for CIVT. 

Dr. Jane Fraser was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1973. She then went into mixed animal practice in the north of England, followed by locums in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and New Zealand before returning to Scotland.

She then worked as a government veterinarian in Papua, New Guinea for two years followed by positions in Australia and Kenya. She moved back to South Africa to do locum work in 1985 and has been there since. 

She became interested in therapeutic alternatives for her patients, and attended the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association conference in 1984. Afterwards, she traveled around the United States, visiting the holistic practices of Drs. John Limehouse, Allen Schoen, and Ihor Basko. She began a Vet MFHom program in London in the early 1980's as well, and also did locums for Dr. George MacLeod. She did the IVAS acupuncture course in the UK in 2000 and has attended a number of IVAS and AHVMA conferences over the years. 

In South Africa, she and some colleagues formed a Complementary Veterinary Medicine group that hosted continuing education lectures from a number of doctors including Barbara Fougere, Joe Demers, and Allen Schoen. 

Dr. Fraser started a holistic practice in her home in South Africa, and she still sees patients there today.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Jane Fraser as we discuss her education, early practice life, holistic education, and get her advice on how to have a long and fulfilling career in veterinary medicine.  

Dr. Amy Hayek was born in Cedar Rapids Iowa. She got a BS in English and an MA in Technical Writing from Iowa State University in 1986 and 1987. She spent some time teaching English at the University level while also working with horses before earning her DVM from Colorado State University in 1998.

After graduation, she started working in clinical practice and began to study holistic medicine. She was certified by Chi University in Acupuncture in 2000, followed by certification in Animal Chiropractic after attending the Healing Oasis for both the basic program and other advanced coursework. 

In 2012, she partnered with Dr. Bill Ormston to start their Animal Chiropractic program, Animal Chiropractic Education Source (ACES). Theirs was the first chiropractic program to employ extensive online coursework to make the program more convenient for working students. ACES also offers a complete catalog of approved animal chiropractic continuing education online. She and Dr. Ormston also maintain a clinical animal chiropractic practice in Meridian, Texas.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Amy Hayek as we discuss her education, founding of the ACES school, how ACES embraces a chiropractic philosophy of health, and her business coaching services for animal chiropractors.  

Dr. Ann Hutchinson was raised in Glasgow, Scotland. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Glasgow in 1980. Afterwards, she entered mixed animal practice and after a few stops, spent the majority of her career in a small animal practice in Ayr.

Her holistic journey started with an MFHom course for humans, followed by a short veterinary acupuncture course. She then completed the IVAS acupuncture course in 1999, and then spent time with Dr. Maria Glinski in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and two other Midwestern United States practices getting her acupuncture internship hours. Afterwards, she completed a 3.5 year course in human Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading, UK while working in small animal practice. She is also one of the few veterinarians in the UK to be certified in rehabilitation by the Canine Rehabilitation Institute.

Dr. Hutchinson has lectured both nationally and internationally on various rehabilitation and acupuncture topics.

She retired from practice in May of 2020, but joined Herbal Vets Scotland in October of 2021 and practices solely holistic medicine there.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Ann Hutchinson as we discuss her veterinary education, early years in general practice, her time in the United States, adding holistic modalities to her practice, and the benefits of not having to muzzle humans in order to treat them with acupuncture.

Dr. Gisela Novaes was raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a veterinarian and spent lots of time tending to local animals as a child.

While in veterinary school in Brazil, she met a veterinary homeopath while trying to help her sister's dog that was suffering from chronic skin disease. That experience kindled an interest in natural healing techniques.

After graduation, she studied homeopathy, earning a Master's Degree in Homeopathic Medicine from the Brazilian Institute of Homeopathic Studies. She is also certified by the Brazilian Association of Anthroposophic Medicine.

She began working in the reproductive section of the veterinary clinic at the Sao Paulo Veterinary School, using homeopathy to work with patients. That work extended to using natural methods to treat cancer as well.

Dr. Novaes partnered with a commercial company to investigate the effectiveness of Viscum album in treating Transmissible Venereal Tumors in dogs. This work resulted in scientific publication of the results and research awards. That partnership has given her both experience in clinical research as well as expertise in using Viscum album in the treatment of a variety of cancers in animals.

She has relocated to Nova Scotia, where she is the founder and owner of Nature's Pet, a business dedicated to providing products and information in the use of natural methods to promote animal health to both veterinarians and animal owners.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Gisela Novaes as we discuss her education, clinical and research experience, her CIVT webinar, and her life in holistic veterinary medicine.

Dr. Kim Samuelsen was born outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. He earned his veterinary degree from the University of Copenhagen in 1981.

After working in bovine practice, he discovered acupuncture from a colleague as a way of treating uterine torsions. He transitioned to equine practice and was certified by IVAS for acupuncture in 1997, and was certified by the International School of Osteopathy in 2003. In 2006 he studied indirect osteopathy with Dr. Patricia Kortegaas.

In 2015 he began to use acupuncture to treat small animals, horses, and humans at his home. Earlier this year he transitioned out of being a collective of equine practitioners that shared emergency call and is concentrating solely on his acupuncture practice.

Dr. Samuelsen has long been active in organizational medicine. He has served as Treasuerer for NoVAS since 2004, has been involved with the IVAS Examination Committee since 2008, has served as an IVAS Board Member and as IVAS President.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Kim Samuelsen as we discuss his childhood, his discovery of acupuncture, practice life, and the freedom that comes from not having to take emergency equine call duty.

Dr. Madeline Yamate was born in California. She got her Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Amherst College in 1982. Deciding against attending medical school, she worked in business and then earned her MBA in Marketing and Organizational Behavior from Northwestern in 1991. Returning to work in business for a bit, she then graduated with her DVM from the University of California Davis in 2005.

During her veterinary school years, she helped to develop three courses on holistic medicine for veterinary students at Davis. After graduation, she worked in an integrative practice, then at the urging of Dr. Xie from Chi University, she served as an acupuncture Intern at the University of Florida. She is certified in Acupuncture, Herbal medicine, Food therapy, and Tui Na from Chi University and in Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapy from the Healing Oasis.

Dr. Yamate solidified her training by teaching for Chi University both in the United States and Europe.

After her internship, she founded the Center for Integrative Animal Medicine in Davis, California, where she continues to practice. She has also served as Treasurer of both the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation.

Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Madeline Yamate as we discuss her education, her work developing holistic courses for veterinary students, her acupuncture internship, and her thoughts on the future of holistic veterinary practice.