Steph’s favorite part of her job is educating the area’s pet owners on how to best tend to their four-legged friends’ needs, and she’s also especially fond of the hospital’s wildlife care program.Īt home, Steph shares her life with her husband, their five wonderful children, and a menagerie of pets.
In addition to her duties as a Tech, she often helps out with grooming, kennel work, and even some administrative tasks. Steph has been a member of the Guardian Animal Medical Center team since 2007. She’s been caring for pets long before she was a veterinary professional! When the time came for her to choose a career path, Steph had a thought: why not pursue her passion in the world of animal medicine? She hasn’t looked back since. Steph grew up on a farm in Grayson, Kentucky, where animal care was a natural part of life from day one. She will typically read anywhere between five and 20 books a month, and she’s published four books of her own. She also likes crafting and working with her Girl Scout troop. Wixsom loves to spend time outdoors and has gone rock climbing, kayaking, motorcycle riding, back-country camping, snorkeling, and scuba diving. When she has a spare moment between family life and her duties here at the hospital, Dr. The animal portion of the family is rounded out by two Amazon parrots, 17-year-old water turtles, chickens, pheasants, guineas, and bees! They have three Labrador retrievers-Whiskey, Tango, and Ryker-as well as a Malanois named Crash and three cats who go by Jarvis, Tigre, and Parker. Wixsom shares her life with a menagerie of pets. She’s also passionate about client education and loves to mentor her staff members to help them grow in their own personal veterinary journeys.Īlong with her husband, Matt, and their daughter, M’Kinzy, Dr. Wixsom is a believer in state-of-the-art progressive medicine and surgery, and loves to learn about new techniques whenever possible she makes a commitment to attend over 40 hours of continuing education courses per year. She came to eastern Kentucky for an externship during her senior year, and it wasn’t long before she was determined to open her very own clinic to serve the pets and people of the Flatwoods area, and she’s been here ever since.ĭr. Wixsom volunteered and then worked for a local mixed-animal practice during her veterinary studies, and also earned a Master’s degree in veterinary parasitology to become the first student at her university to earn dual degrees during veterinary school. Wixsom went back to school during her last tour of duty to receive a second Bachelor’s degree in biology and then headed off to veterinary school to earn her Doctorate.ĭr. After a knee injury sidelined her career at sea, she decided to return to her childhood passion: animal care. Wixsom spent four years as a member of the United States Coast Guard and was even in the first female graduating class of the Coast Guard Academy. Wixsom is able to do just that every day as the owner and chief veterinarian here at Guardian Animal Medical Center.īefore entering the veterinary field, Dr. Her early experiences with animals made one thing quite clear: she would love to help foster the special bonds between pets and owners by becoming a veterinary professional! Dr. The one constant was her family dog-she and Ike were practically inseparable.
MJ Wixsom moved around frequently while growing up.
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