Dr. Amanda Leef’s journey to practice ownership started when she caught a snake as a small child. She graduated in 2003 from Michigan State University’s DVM program and since then has worked in rural mixed animal practices, high-volume spay-neuter programs, animal shelters, and urban small-animal practices. She has been involved in the animal welfare community including delivering training programs for animal service workers and collaborating with non-profits.

Dr. Kristie Mientka grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and completed her pre-veterinary degree at U-Mass. Before earning her veterinary degree from the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2014, she interned with the Humane Society of the United States in their farm animal welfare section in Washington, DC. During vet school, she traveled to Udaipur, India where she worked at an animal shelter and developed her passion for international veterinary medicine. Since then, she has worked at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals hospital in Dublin, Ireland and the Animal Rescue Kingdom in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She spent 3-1/2 years working as a vet at a small animal practice in Sydney, Australia before moving back to Massachusetts. Kristie enjoys exploring Boston neighborhood with her husband, Sam. She is also an avid runner, and has completed three marathons in the last year. When she’s not at Heal, you can find her teaching spin classes in Boston or hanging out with her two Aussie cats, Wesley and Trundle.

Dr. Davis grew up in nearby Carlisle, MA, riding horses and teaching riding lessons. She enjoyed geeking out about various equine diseases and how to care for sick or wounded animals, leading her to a veterinary career. After undergrad at Williams College, she attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2016. After graduation, Dr. Davis spent three years in Philadelphia at a veterinary hospital specializing in primary and emergency care for cats and dogs. There she focused on partnering with clients to form treatment plans best suited to their individual needs. Dr. Davis is thrilled to be back in the Boston area, joining Heal Vet in 2019. She lives in Newton with her husband and their dog, Ollie. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, cross-country skiing, and cooking.

Dr. Jiaming Huang grew up within the city of Boston and became interested in veterinary medicine after engrossing himself in James Herriot's novels in middle school. He began by volunteering his time at the MSPCA-Angell in Jamaica Plain and later found rewarding experiences caring for injured wildlife at NEWC and Tufts Wildlife Center. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his doctorate from Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2021. He is enthusiastic about practicing in his hometown, where he hopes to encourage and support the human-animal bond by connecting with people and their pets. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking new recipes, swimming and weightlifting, and playing video games.

Dr. Therriault grew up in Connecticut and received her undergraduate degree at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She then attended the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine for her VMD degree. Dr. Therriault previously worked at a primary care and 24hr emergency hospital in Baltimore, MD. Her professional interests include surgery, endocrine diseases and allergies in pets. While living in Philly, Dr. Therriault adopted a goofy red Golden Retriever named Ellie. In her free time, Dr. Therriault enjoys taking Ellie on hikes and swims, reading books on the beach, and trying out new recipes. She is an avid tea drinker and plant collector.

Nic is a Massachusetts native, and lifetime dog and cat dad. Nic has a diverse background outside of dog training, and uses his experiences to help families and their pets live their best lives together. Nic and his pup B’Elanna are inseparable, and you may see them practicing their disc skills at the park! Nic also has a big orange kitty named Danza, at home who he found and rescued in 2008.

Nic’s initial interest in force-free, positive reinforcement dog training started while working at a pet care company, where he saw how many people needed help with dog training, and whose relationships with their pets had been damaged by aversive dog training methods. Since then, Nic has dedicated himself to helping families have better relationships with their pets, through science based, force-free training.

Nic has taught and designed puppy, manners and sports programs for training facilities in the North Shore, South Shore and greater Boston area of Massachusetts. Nic also owns Flying Dingo Dog training, which specializes in at home visits for puppies, manners, sports, and moderate reactivity training.

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Arianna grew up avidly watching Animal Planet and taking care of many pocket pets as well as her beloved cat Ace, who was with her from crib to high school graduation. Her first dog was an elderly chihuahua mix her family foster-failed through the local shelter where she volunteered.

She transitioned from working in a primary care physician office to a veterinary hospital in 2018 and realized that's where she belongs. Her human medicine background helped her learn veterinary medicine with ease - she's accidentally referred to the client as a patient only once or twice! In her free time she can be found at home with her cat, Luna, in her lap at all times or out supporting the local arts scene in Boston.

Heather is a Massachusetts native who came to Heal by way of a local cat rescue where she volunteers with her daughter. She is passionate about cats and providing great care for the most vulnerable felines. At Heal you can find Heather working the front desk and helping with appointments as a technician. She is proud of all she has learned since joining the Heal team.

Heather shares her home with her husband, kids, and cats Maggie and Azula. When she's not at work she is working on rescue projects, baking with her daughter, or spending time in Maine.

Capricia is a West Coast native and has been interested in animals, mostly horses and other farm animals, from a young age. She moved to Massachusetts in 2010. Outside of vet work, Capricia loves sewing, videogames, seeing as many movies as possible, and hanging out with her cat, Pixel. She is pictured her with our hospital cat Phoebe - photo by Philip Bundman who you can reach on our Art page.

Chelsea moved to Massachusetts with her pit mix Augie after serving in the United States Army. She comes to Heal Vet with experience in animal sheltering, adoptions, and animal behavior. She has an extensive record collection and loves to find new albums in local records stores in her free time.

Annie hails from California and came to Boston for college, where she fell in love with her roommate's sweet Siamese cats when visiting them during spring break. Her goal after graduating was to find a job, an apartment and a cat. She now has two kitties and would love to hear all your quirky pet stories. Outside of work, she plays video games and collects cute art and plants.

Cameron is a New England native who has always had a passion for animals big and small. Some of his earliest memories include catching snakes and looking for frogs in the woods where he grew up. He has worked with animals ranging from fishes to horses. Cameron graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2022 with a Bachelors in Marine Biology and has since been working in the veterinary field. In his free time he enjoys reading, cinema, and woodworking. He is the proud parent of a colony of ghost shrimp, an axolotl named Zilla, and a shih tzu mix named Royce.

Carol is one of our most seasoned veterinary technicians. She has a deep fondness for chonky orange cats, kickboxing, world travel, wine tastings, and motorcycles.

Kaitlyn’s earliest memories are running through salmon filled rivers and watching Moose run down the roads in Alaska. Being surrounded by so much wildlife ignited her desire to learn more about our furry and feathered friends. Even though her time is Alaska was short, the focus on animals remained front and center her entire life. Kaitlyn has a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from Ball State University and an Associate degree from Purdue University’s Veterinary Nursing program. She passed the VTNE in April of 2021.

Kaitlyn moved to Massachusetts with her significant other and her dog, Albus, in January 2022 and joined the Heal team soon after. In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys bird-watching, hiking, obsessing over her houseplants, and writing novels.

Jennifer is from the north shore area originally. She enjoys music/movies/tv shows of all genres. She likes going for walks, fencing, playing video games, and trying new things. She particularly likes to try new things, and therefore ends up collecting a lot of hobbies! She enjoys traveling, and collects keychains and flags.

Jamila was born and raised in Baku, Azerbaijan and moved to the United States with her family in 2013. Her deep love for natural sciences, flora and fauna led her to pursue a biology degree at Clark University in Worcester, MA. during the summer before her junior year she traveled to Ecuador and volunteered at Yana Cocha Wildlife refuge in the Amazon rainforest. There she realized that working with animals can combine her passions of biology and exploring new places, interacting with nature and animals. Upon returning from her trip, she joined the staff of Worcester Cat Hospital and Bird Clinic and became familiar with many different species including reptiles, birds, rodents and cats.

Confident now that she wanted to work with animals, she finally had an answer to the question every college student faces: what to be as an adult. She moved to Boston area after graduation and joined our team at Heal. Here, for the first time, she was able to work with dogs and fell in love with them! Currently living in Boston, she enjoys volunteering, listening to music, dancing and spending time with her friends all while finding her place in the large and exciting field of veterinary medicine.

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Leah is a life-long Massachusetts resident who took a winding path to get to Heal. Her interest in veterinary medicine began after adopting her senior dog, Nana, in 2015 and helping her live out her golden years. Wanting to bring the same love and passion she had while caring for Nana-dog to others, she enrolled in North Shore Community College’s Animal Care program and then their Veterinary Technology program, and she graduated in 2020. Leah began at Heal as an intern in 2019 and couldn’t be happier to have found her place here. We are so proud of her for passing the Veterinary Technician National Exam earning her the title of Certified Veterinary Technician. She has also completed Sophia Yin’s Low-Stress Handling certification.

Outside of work, she enjoys dance parties, avant garde fashion, wicked long mountain bike adventures, figuring out how to eat potatoes at every meal and hanging with her two excellent kitties - Marcel and Olive. She not-so-secretly wishes she was in a prog rock band.

Keady Rascona graduated from Old Dominion University in 2023 with a bachelors in biology and plans to continue her education by applying to veterinary school in 2024. She moved from Virginia in 2023 and loves living in Massachusetts . She has worked in animal care/medicine since 2018 in both general and emergency practice and with domestic and exotic animals. She advocates for increasing the quality of life and providing excellent care for all animals, but has a particular fondness for exotic animals and wildlife.

Haley has been in the veterinary field since 2017, starting as a receptionist and then training as a veterinary technician. She has a special interest in surgery but also has a background in emergency and cardiology. When not at work, she loves reading, cooking, practicing and teaching yoga, as well as spending time with her cat, Freya.

Maya grew up in the Boston area. Her love for animals led her to pursue a biology degree in college. During her junior year of college she studied abroad in Panama, which further solidified her interest in both conservation and working with animals. Her interests led her to participate in research on corals, seabirds, and wildflowers, as well as intern at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Wisconsin. She hopes to attend veterinary school in the upcoming years and become a veterinarian. In her free time, Maya likes to hike, draw, and spend time with her dog Kayla.

Mackenzie grew up in the Boston area, and has loved all things animal related from a very young age. She pursued a degree in ceramics at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design for one year, but quickly realized that working with animals was where her heart was.

Mackenzie comes to Heal with an Associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology, which she received from North Shore Community College in the Spring of 2021. She has been working in the field since 2019, and is currently studying for the VTNE to obtain her certification.

In addition to working with dogs and cats, Mackenzie especially loves working with exotic patients - including birds! She has a Green-cheeked Conure named Ducky who loves to cause trouble! When she is not in practice, you can find her drawing, watching The Office, or watering her many, many houseplants.

Lauren is originally from the Midwest (Illinois and Wisconsin) and has been living in Massachusetts since 2001. She’s been in working in veterinary care since 2010, and her experience includes humane societies, house calls, nursing, high volume spay and neuter, private practice and non-profit management, and specialty orthopedics.

Lauren joined our team in August 2020. She loves people just as much as she loves animals, so working at Heal is “a dream come true.” Lauren shares her house with a smart and cuddly brown tabby rescue named Bisti, and very much misses the pair of rescue greyhounds she cared for over ten years. Outside of work, Lauren is usually cooking, fermenting, foraging for wild edible plants, going for a run, lifting weights, or playing fetch with her cat.

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