Meet Dr. Sheehan

Veterinarian, Hospital Director

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 also alternative treatments such as acupuncture, she sought different opportunities to improve her medicine and also her 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 environment that is encouraging and supportive. Being free to learn and try new treatments, her clients were pushing 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 common diseases in animals. The mainstay of her practice 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 as well as 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, as well as new holistic veterinary hospitals in the area to serve more animals and people!