Amy Van Dyk, DVM, EEBW

I am a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 1999. My 1995 Bachelor of Science degree was focused on Zoology.

As with all veterinarians, I was taught how to examine, conduct diagnostics and treat dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, pocket pets, exotics, and birds. Since then, my focus has been only on dogs and cats with the occasional pocket pet/small exotic pet.

After graduation, I returned to my home base of Niceville, where I had proudly attended Okaloosa-Walton Community College, Niceville High School, and Ruckel Middle School. Dr. Scott Harris of Bluewater Bay Animal Hospital taught me the basic survival skills every veterinarian should know.

The San Francisco SPCA was my next destination. I worked 14 hour days at a 9 doctor hospital seeing high numbers of emergencies and critical care cases. Working with so many experienced veterinarians, a critical care specialist and board-certified radiologists increased my knowledge base and ability to help other animals. After 4 years, I moved on to other small animal hospitals, including Arguello Pet Hospital and Animal Health Center.

We all look forward to advances that can make our lives better. However, there are still large gaps in what modern medicine can do and what we want it to do. My heart goes out to those who suffer from chronic incurable diseases, and especially those who suffer from chronic, unrelenting pain. I started adding acupuncture to my toolbox to augment what I was already doing. Although a veterinarian doesn’t need to be certified in order to practice, I decided to enroll at the Chi Institute of Veterinary Medicine where I eventually became a fully Certified TCVM Practitioner.

I am happy to be able to bring acupuncture, tui-na (therapeutic massage), herbal formulations, and food therapy to dogs and cats of the Emerald Coast. (Source)