Medical Assistant Camilla Christiansen (left) helps Dr. Whitfield (right) with furry friend and patient “Moose” (center) as he receives his medical checkup. Photo: AMC of Asheville
Medical Assistant Camilla Christiansen (left) helps Dr. Whitfield (right) with furry friend and patient “Moose” (center) as he receives his medical checkup. Photo: AMC of Asheville

Three months after visiting last May, native New Yorker Dr. Kimberly Whitfield  decided to make Asheville her home. “I felt an immediate connection to this town and decided to move here,” she says.

Dr. Whitfield graduated from Washington State with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree nearly 15 years ago. “I’ve always had people tell me I couldn’t do something; I couldn’t go to veterinary medical school because I was a non-traditional student, and  separated from my husband with a five-year-old son; or I couldn’t finish medical school because I had my daughter while finishing my senior year,” she mused. However, never being one to shy away from a challenge, Dr. Whitfield accomplished all that she set out for and more.

During a busy final year of medical school she became a certified acupuncturist from the Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine simultaneously. Since graduating she has focused her life and her career on bettering the lives of companion animals, and strengthening the human-animal bond. Dr. Whitfield’s extensive background includes serving as veterinary medical director on Manhattan’s prestigious Upper East Side, chief of staff at a Connecticut hospital, and teaching surgery at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. She is also an experienced veterinary emergency practitioner.

Now Dr. Whitfield is the owner of the Animal Medical Center of Asheville at 167 Merrimon Avenue. Her vision for the hospital is to provide a warm and comforting atmosphere for patients and clients alike. One step inside and you can tell it is different from what you expect a traditional animal hospital to feel like.

On entering the clinic the visitor is greeted with a cozy waiting area, painted in warm colors and furnished with plush arm chairs. There are separate waiting areas for cats and dogs, a cat-specific exam room, and a canine exam room large enough to examine even the biggest dog comfortably on the floor.

Dr. Whitfield says, “I understand the importance of the human-animal bond. My patients feel the anxiety [of coming to the vet] being radiated from their owners and vice versa. I want both my patients and their owners to be comfortable and relaxed when they come in.”

Dr. Whitfield practices integrative medicine. She offers traditional modalities such as vaccines, radiology, dentistry, lab work and all aspects of surgery, in addition to nutritional counseling, acupuncture, and stem cell therapy. She is also in negotiation with an animal behaviorist and Reiki master to share her 7,000 square foot practice.

“I believe to completely treat a patient you must offer everything that can help them. It is the epitome of ‘holistic’ medicine by treating the whole patient.”

When it is time, Dr. Whitfield can perform end-of-life services in a quiet relaxing atmosphere in the hospital, or in the comforts of home. “I firmly believe the last thing any pet deserves at the end of their life is to be on a cold, sterile exam table.” Her bereavement room in the hospital has a futon where you can rest comfortably together with your pet.

One of Animal Medical Center’s top priorities is to make sure your pet enjoys a long and healthful life. Dr. Whitfield explains her philosophy this way: “You are our neighbors and, in many cases, our friends. We are also pet owners ourselves and deeply value the human/animal bond that is created when a furry friend enters our lives. For these reasons, we are sincerely committed to helping you provide the one thing your pet so richly deserves – a long, healthy and happy life.”