Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Smith.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Colleen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a holistic veterinarian and originally started practicing in Stone Mountain, GA right out of vet school. My first job was a holistic practice so I started working with both conventional and alternative veterinary therapies. It gave me an introduction as to how to diagnose and treat animals the most effectively and naturally way as possible. After moving to Chattanooga, I worked at primarily conventional practices and realized it was very limiting to the options that I could offer my patients. Eventually, after eight years of practicing I wanted to practice with the most freedom of options for both me and my patients. I started my clinic on the South side of Chattanooga and have been pleasantly surprised at both the client interest and success of our therapies.
Practicing holistic veterinary medicine has completely convinced me of the treatments that can be used for cancer, chronic diseases and many diseases that have poor prognosis but can be helped naturally and holistically.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a rather rocky road. The medical field in general sticks to book knowledge and does not seem to give empirical data much credit. As I was training in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary food therapy, colleagues of mine not only disparaged my therapies but me as well. There are actually thousands of studies done on human and veterinary patients for acupuncture and new information is released daily on how nutrition affects overall health, healing and the disease process.
Being female, it was also very difficult to obtain a loan for my business and that it seemed extremely risky to those who didn’t understand the effectiveness and validity of the medicine.
I still meet people today who, not understanding what I do and why, will make comments or criticisms based on the fear of something new or lack of education about the medicine.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
CHAI is a holistic veterinary practice that specializes in alternative therapies for pets. Some of the treatments we offer are acupuncture, chiropractic care, canine rehabilitation, stem cell therapy, laser therapy, eastern and western herbal therapy, nutrition education and consultation. We even use leeches for a few specific issues!!
We do also use conventional treatments such as surgery, x-rays and medications for acute and emergency cases.
I’m very proud of the fact that not only do we offer these great natural modalities to our clients, is that we also practice what we preach. My staff is educated in herbal medicine, massage therapy, laser therapy and they all understand when it comes to diet, who we are feeding is different than what advertising is trying to sell us.
We have many clients who seek us out because they use acupuncture or have changed their diet and realized how successful it’s been for them. They just don’t get answers to their question and look for us for guidance. Often we will get an animal in for a specific treatment and the pet owner decides to bring their animal to us for all of the health concerns due to our holistic approach.
What were you like growing up?
I’m pretty sure my mother thought I would grow out of it, but I spent my childhood outside in the mud collecting all the critters she would let me bring into the house. I had hermit crabs, newts, snakes, gerbils, rats, fish and of course the best dog a kid could have.. I was definitely an outdoor science nerd, and was lucky my parents let me follow my curiosity. My father is an engineer so anytime he fixed something or took it apart I was right in the middle of it. I guess it gave me the perfect background of loving animals and wanting and understanding how to fix things.
I was also obsessed with horses (what little girl isn’t?) and would spend hours cleaning out horse stalls to be able to have just a one-hour riding lesson.
Being outside with animals has also given me the appreciation for nature and loving outdoor sports. Even as a kid the protection of our environment and all the beings that live on the planet I believe are precious and is our responsibility to protect.
Contact Info:
- Address: 918 E. Main Street
Chattanooga, TN 37408 - Website: www.chattanoogaholisticvet.com
- Phone: 423-531-8899
- Email: chaiholisticvet@gmail.com
- Instagram: chaiholisticvet
- Facebook: Chattanooga Holistic Animal Institute (CHAI)
- Twitter: Chai_Vet1
Image Credit:
Colleen Smith
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