our team

Certified Veterinary Acupuncture, Certified Veterinary Food Therapy, Certified Veterinary Chinese Herbs, Certified Meridian Autonomic Testing, Fear Free Certified

Special Interests: General medicine and surgery, acupuncture, herbal and alternative medicine, orthopedics, cardiology

Education: The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Hometown: Strongsville, Ohio

Pets: Cooper and Skippy (dogs), Kaya and Simon (cats)

Dr. Nicole Sheehan has always had a love for and ability to communicate with animals since she was a young girl. After graduating from veterinary school and moving from Ohio to North Carolina, she felt at home in the area but not in her profession. She was blessed with mentors as a new graduate who pushed her to practice detailed and advanced medicine, but she wasn’t happy with her quality of life. As she started a family and alternative treatments such as acupuncture, she sought different opportunities to improve her medicine and life. She found herself frustrated by inefficient systems and poor work cultures. Although her son was only one year old and she was pregnant with her daughter, she decided she had to do it differently. So she set up Whole Pet Veterinary Hospital in 2013 to create a place where she could pay her bills and still love going to work. Little did she know this would create so much more!

What resulted was a place where EVERYONE liked coming to work—where people are free to develop their skills and talents in an encouraging and supportive environment. Being free to learn and try new treatments, her clients pushed her harder and harder to move beyond standard treatments that weren’t working to discover new medications that actually reversed the disease. As animals were healing permanently from chronic diseases, she joked that she was “the worse business owner in the world” because her patients were getting better and only needed to come back for yearly check-ups. She was wrong—her results brought her new clients from all over the state and, eventually, phone consults all over the United States, as well as Europe, Australia, and Asia.

In seeing mostly second opinions (or what we lovingly call “sixth opinions”), with a careful history, thorough physical exam, and subtle changes in lab work, she has identified a handful of triggers for animals’ common diseases. Her practice’s mainstay is “Food First,” where high-level nutrition is used first to improve the health and balance of the body. Any signs of toxins or disease triggers are treated with herbal or pharmaceutical medication. While she identifies herself as a holistic Veterinarian, she is willing to use whatever treatments give the best results, and so she still does surgery and chemotherapy when necessary. In the hospital, she will often use laser, ozone, PRP, and acupuncture to improve mobility and treatment outcomes.

After years of reversing chronic diseases that typically are considered irreversible, such as skin allergies, autoimmune disease, kidney failure, and paralysis, she has become convinced all diseases are treatable, including cancer. For example, she has successfully and fully treated her own dog’s heartworm disease with homeopathy, her cat’s kidney failure and hepatitis with herbal medicine, and her own autoimmune disease with herbs and meditation. This outlook on healing has greatly impacted the outlook of her clients and coworkers on their own health and the health of their animals. A common saying you will hear around here is, “Once you see it, you can never unsee it.”

Advanced Courses and Certifications:

• Veterinary acupuncture
• Chinese food therapy
• Veterinary Chinese herbal medicine
• Meridian autonomic testing (muscle testing)
• Detoxification medicine
• Tick- and vector-borne diseases
• Abdominal and cardiac ultrasonography

Publications and Appearances:

• Glycoflex National Commercial
• VetriScience National Advisory Board
• Veterinary Practice News
• VetFolio Podcast
• Fox News Rising
• Charlotte Today

She recently has developed a way of sharing her treatment strategies outside of Whole Pet Veterinary Hospital through Nicole the Vet, where she highlights cases, offers classes to vet professionals, and speaks out about problems within the industry. Visit her on Facebook and Instagram at @nicolethevet and see videos on pet care and nutrition on YouTube at @nicolethevet. Be on the lookout in 2020 for her book on healing animals naturally, and new holistic veterinary hospitals in the area to serve more animals and people!

Pets: Nancy (dog) and Crew (crested gecko).

Jenna is born and raised in Charlotte, NC, and moved to South Carolina with her husband a few years ago. She has been in the veterinary field since 2007 but has had a love for animals since she was young. Jenna has a passion for wildlife and loves to work with exotic pets, and this has driven her to pursue a degree in environmental science so she can help preserve natural land for these native creatures.

Jenna is very excited to join the Whole Pet family to further her career in integrative veterinary medicine. She is also Fear Free Certified.

In her free time, she is usually cuddled up with her dogs or out exploring the city with her husband.

Contact: Email jenna@wholepetvets.com

Pets: Lilith and Bowden (Dogs), Frankie and Jules (Sulcata Tortoises)

Abbie is originally from England, but has lived in North Carolina most of her life and is now a dual citizen! She has always been fascinated by exotics and strange creatures, no seriously, some of her favorite animals are hyenas, pangolins and bats! That’s right, pangolins, a critically endangered species which you should look up! Her passion for all things animals has led her to a career as an RVT in veterinary medicine and we’re thrilled that it has!
When Abbie isn’t busy learning about exotics, she can often be found searching beaches and creeks for fossils, collecting shark teeth, checking out the latest fossil & crystal fairs or simply admiring her own mineral/crystal collection. If her day isn’t filled with hunting for fossils and crystals, it’s filled with a cup of hot PG-tips (her favorite British brand of breakfast tea) and a good fantasy book.

Vanessa has been working in the pet industry for over a decade. She joined the veterinary community in 2020 and found her unicorn clinic here at Whole Pet! She loves to go camping and hiking with her cattle dog mix, Cooper and her lab mix, Tesla. She also loves to cuddle up at home in her favorite blanket and love on her two domestic short haired tabbies, Karen and Tars. She loves her job as a CSR and loves creating lasting relationships with our clients!

Katie has lived in Mathews, NC her entire life. She chose to become a client care specialist in the veterinary field because she loves animals and loves to be able to help them! Katie has a mini Australian Shepherd named Arya (yes, from Game of Thrones!). In her free time, she loves staying active, traveling with her husband, playing video games, and spending time with family, including her pup!