After graduating from Cornell, Dr. Whitehead rode with a wagon train as a farrier to Florida. During veterinary school, she became the third woman to achieve Certified Journeyman Farrier status.

She graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and started an equine practice. After a few years, she joined the Army as a veterinarian and served for 10 years. She attended the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and became board-certified in Veterinary Preventive Medicine. She especially enjoyed working with military working dogs, marine mammals, and family pets. A highlight of her veterinary career was serving as Socks Clinton’s veterinarian, as well as the veterinarian for the Caisson Platoon at Arlington Cemetery.

After retiring from the Army, Dr. Whitehead worked in Shelter Medicine at the University of California, Davis, and spent about a decade focused on shelter medicine, high-volume spay/neuter, and feral cat TNR.

In 2012, she earned certification in Animal Chiropractic through the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association and then delved deeply into Integrative Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Whitehead strives to incorporate the best of traditional (Western) veterinary medicine with a broad array of additional treatments, including acupuncture, Chinese herbal prescriptions, nutraceuticals, food therapy, Tui Na massage, and laser therapy. She is currently finishing her Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine at Chi University.

Dr. Whitehead moved here last year and is enjoying Alaska’s outdoor adventures with her family and rescue pets—Tigre, Missy, and Flower