Dr. Susan Whiton moved to Alaska in 1977 looking for adventure. She worked as a high school science teacher in Unalaska, Alaska on the Aleutian peninsula for 5 years. She moved to Trapper Creek in the Northern Mat Su Valley in 1982 to help her husband Vern Halter train and race the Iditarod sled dog race. Her work with sled dogs led her to apply to veterinary school in 1986. She completed the 1987 Yukon Quest and was accepted to the Veterinary Medicine program at Washington State University that same year. She received her DVM from WSU in 1992.

She returned to Alaska to work as a veterinarian and continued her career as a musher by completing the 1995 and 1996 Iditarod sled dog race. Her interest in athletic dogs led her to pursue further education in animal chiropractic techniques in 1998 and veterinary acupuncture in 2001. She uses both conventional and holistic medicine with her veterinary patients. Her true love is using all the tools in her toolbox to work with any athletic dog be it sled dog, agility dog, herding dog, fly ball, or show. Dr. Whiton’s holistic techniques also may benefit older dogs that need a bit more help than conventional medication is able to provide.