In January 2018, Dr. Jeff Judkins of Animalkind Holistic Veterinary Clinic in Jacksonville was joined by Dr. Carolyn Love. The Review caught up with her to learn more about her and to talk about what brought her to Jacksonville.
Carolyn graduated from Texas A&M vet school in 1986 where she studied traditional veterinary medicine with additional study in avian and small exotic animals. “I was one of the fortunate ones who knew what they wanted to do with their lives at the early age of seven and I’m grateful for that and love what I do to this day,” she said.
Similar to Dr. Jeff Judkins, Carolyn started her career practicing traditional western medicine. She notes, “I had my own discovery with holistic medicine and alternative approaches to western medicine when my own health was challenged over 20 years ago.” After an injury to her lower back which included intense pain, she went to the doctor for X-rays. When nothing showed up, she was given pain pills. “This did not help the real problem which was a misaligned vertebra. I missed four weeks of work which was unheard of for me. Then, my sister convinced me to go to a Chiropractor and that was the magic I needed to heal my body…I felt amazingly better after that first treatment, but it did require several more treatments and a regimen of herbs to last.” This medical experience opened her eyes and changed her career path.
A few years later, Carolyn says she had another personal medical experience related to a poor diet and, “was eating frozen dinners and drinking cold fruit smoothies. I did this for several months and eventually my energy level went way down. I had extreme fatigue and had to sleep on the weekends just to make it through the week at my job.” After a visit to her doctor produced no defintative results, a friend suggested acupuncture and herbs. With nothing to lose, she tried it. “After one treatment and a major diet change that has lasted to this day, I was cured.”
This “human” medical experience got her thinking about her animal patients and started her journey to become a holistic vet. Over the next few years, she took courses and became accredited in acupuncture for animals, Chinese Herbal Medicine, animal chiropractic, and other non-western disciplines. She has studied Ozone therapy, massage therapy and holistic allergy, all of which are useful in the treatment of pets!
During a visit to the area, Carolyn spent time with Jeff Judkins and realized that Animalkind in Jacksonville was exactly what she’d been looking for. When the space next to the clinic became vacant, Jeff called and informed Carolyn that there was now room for her to join the practice. “The planets aligned and I didn’t hesitate to make the move…and Jeff didn’t hesitate to cut a door in the wall and join the two spaces!” After 23 years in Austin, Texas, she sold Love Pet Hospital to her junior partner (with 30 employees) and headed to Oregon. “I am very grateful to be in such a great place doing the work I love in such a nice peaceful clinic…everyone here is wonderful!”