2TAILS VET - Key Persons
Dr. Julie Stafford is a veterinarian with a passion for the outdoors. After spending 5 years in a clinical veterinary setting, she decided to take her skills to the road as 2 Tails Veterinary Services with a sprinter van that travels a 12,000 sq mile swath across Alaska. As a vet she focuses on education and preventive health, believing that teaching clients animal wellness is the best antidote to illness.
Dr. Stafford is passionate about many fields of veterinary medicine but is especially tenacious on communication within an animal healthcare team because it is paramount to providing the best veterinary care. While often overlooked, communication is of the utmost importance in the care of our animals; if a veterinarian prescribes a medication to be given every 6 hours but the owner works 12 hour shifts, the treatment plan is doomed from the start. If a client doesn't mention the patient is drinking more water than she used to and is a ravenous eater then the vet may not catch an underlying cause for a resistant infection. Because animals can't speak for themselves, a veterinarian is dependent on information from clients to know what the issues with a patient are, in return clients must trust that a veterinarian has the animal's best interest at heart and is willing to listen and discuss any problems that they may have in following the recommended treatment plan.
Melissa joined the team in early 2021. She works remotely; helping with appointment scheduling, client communication and more.