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!

Emily opened our very first Whole Pet practice in Davidson and has been a leader in our team since day one. She is responsible for organizing all new hospitals as well as leading and training the medical teams in Davidson, Wilmington, and Mountain Island. She brings her expertise, compassion for the animals, and commitment to excellence to each of our practices.

graduated from Gaston College in 2020 and became a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) in 2021.
When she is not at work, she enjoys mountain biking with her husband and friends. She normally spends
her time hiking and camping with her Belgian Malinois, Sasha, and her black labrador/ terrier mix, Howl.
She loves traveling and visited Japan with her husband in 2023 and would love to tell you all about it if
you ask. When she is home, she enjoys cozy hobbies like knitting, and playing video games and will always
be joined by Jiji or Calcifer (pictured above) on her lap to supervise.

Bio Coming Soon!

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!