Heal Veterinary Clinic is an in-patient companion animal care facility providing wellness, general medicine, and surgical care in a modern, efficient, and low-stress environment.

Dr Amanda K. Leef, DVM, Practice Owner
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.
In her free time, Dr. Leef enjoys caring for her evolving menagerie of pets and participating in a variety of outdoor activities.

Dr. Beth Waisburd DVM
Dr. Beth Waisburd received her undergraduate and veterinary degrees from Cornell University, then went on to complete a rotating internship in surgery and medicine at Purdue University. Beth practiced all over the country before landing in Boston in 2008. Even with more than twenty years of experience, Beth welcomes the opportunity to expand her knowledge and learn new techniques. She has advanced training in ultrasound and dentistry and gained her certification in veterinary acupuncture in 2014. Above all else, it is the relationship with her clients and patients which continually feeds Beth’s passion to practice. Outside of the clinic, you can find Beth enjoying yoga, eating new flavors of ice cream or spending time with the men in her life - her husband, her two teenage boys and her crazy dog, George.

Dr. Kristie Mientka DVM
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 has spent the last 3-1/2 years working as a vet at a small animal practice in Sydney, Australia. Having just moved back to Boston only a few months ago Kristie enjoys exploring her new South End 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. Leigh Davis VMD
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.

Arianna Enos, Front Desk Team and Office Admin
Arianna grew up watching 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.

Ashley Cunningham, Front Desk Team
"I grew up in central mass but Waltham has been home for about 8 years now! I managed a small kennel for years then decided to try corporate world... I quickly realized that wasn’t for me!
I have a small zoo at home consisting of 4 dogs, a cat, 2 snakes, a bearded dragon and a leopard gecko. Our family wouldn’t be complete without them! When we’re not home with the pets, my daughter, my wife and I love to be out exploring! We love the water and swimming anyplace we can. Exploring and traveling new places is one of our favorite things to do!
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Capricia Graves, Front Desk Team, and Technician Assistant
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 and is now studying to be a vet tech.
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.

Lauren Ulm, Front Desk Team, and Office Admin
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 has two pets — a goofy 12 year old retired racing greyhound/dinosaur mix named Hadley, and smart and cuddly brown tabby rescue named Bisti. Outside of work, Lauren is usually cooking, fermenting, teaching herself food microbiology, going for a run, or playing fetch with her cat.

Amy Cameron, Head Technician
Amy comes to Heal with many years of experience in small-animal practices and animal shelters, with a focus on surgery. In addition, she has worked as a dog trainer in private settings. A voracious learner, she is currently continuing her veterinary technician education to complete the requirements for certification. Amy has completed the Fear Free Certification for veterinary professionals. She looks forward to utilizing her skills and ever-expanding knowledge to ensure that we provide the very best care for your pet.
In her free time, she is happiest when going on long runs in the woods. She fantasizes about being able to do this while eating ice cream and carrying armfuls of puppies and kittens.

Carol Leung, Veterinary Technician
Carol was born and raised in Hong Kong. From a young age she’s always been an animal lover. After high school she immigrated to the US in pursuit of a better education and a career in the veterinary field. When she finally got to work as a technician, it was clear that this was her calling all along.
With over a decade and a half of experience in general practice, she was very excited to join the team at Heal. She looks forward to making every visit a pleasant experience for fur-babies and their families. During the weekends, you can find Carol and her husband Ray relaxing at Cranes Beach or cheering for the Patriots in the colder months.

Erin Leroy, Veterinary Technician
Erin joined the team Heal with three years previous experience working at in small animal practice. She studied Biology and Psychology at Northeastern University and is now attending The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
Since joining the team at Heal, she has had a passion for learning more about surgery/anesthesia, as well as the strong shelter connections we have formed in the area. She also hopes to complete her Fear-Free certification to ensure an easy, low-stress experience for each patient. Outside of work, she also volunteers with the New England Aquarium's medical center, spends time with her family and friends, and hangs with her two dogs Teddy and Penny and her cat Gillie.
No, Erin is not a cat, but until she gives us a picture we will represent her with this cute kitten with a slightly intense look in her eye.

Jamila Mirzazade, Technician, and Front Desk Team
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.

Jessie Haestad, Veterinary Technician
Jessie is a current student at the The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. After starting her career in human medicine she realized that veterinary medicine was a better fit for her after one of her cats fell ill in 2015. Jessie entered the field as an assistant at an emergency and specialty hospital in New York, where she eventually became a technician. After moving to Cambridge she began working in general practice, and she continues working as a technician to help hone her clinical skills and to keep herself grounded throughout her veterinary education.
If Jessie isn’t in class or at Heal, you can find her at the local climbing gym. She also enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her adorable cats – Potato and Smudge.

Jude Aboukhater, Veterinary Technician
We loved having Jude her as an intern this summer, so we hired her! She is at Heal part-time around her scheudle of pre-veterinary studies at Boston College where she is double majoring in Biology and Philosophy and expects to graduate in 2020.
Jude left her war-torn country of Syria only four years ago; traveling to Guatemala, volunteered with a Veterinarian in Antigua, and this year will be going off to Belize for yet another Veterinary internship.
The source of her passion for this career is her yellow Labrador Roxy who came with her from Aleppo. In her free time she practices the piano, plays tennis with her friends, and eats noodles.

Leah Pappas-Barnes, Veterinary Technician, Shift Leader
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, graduating in 2020. Leah began at Heal as an intern in 2019 and couldn’t be happier to have found her place here. She is currently studying for the Veterinary Technician National Exam and has 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.

Lindsay Webster CVT, Veterinary Technician, Shift Leader
Lindsay comes to Heal with more than ten years of experience working in various aspects of veterinary medicine, including small-animal general practice, emergency and specialty care practice, practice management and staff training. She has specific interests in surgery, emergency medicine, and inpatient care with a passion for client education. Lindsay looks forward to pursuing her Fear-Free Certification.
In her free time, Lindsay enjoys the beach, scrap-booking and photography. She loves spending time with her husband and son doing anything outdoors. In addition to the two men in her life, Lindsay shares her home with a dog and two cats.

Samantha Pattie, Veterinary Technician
Sam grew up in Tucson, Arizona and has been around animals her entire life. At age 19 she attended a medical institute for veterinary assisting where her formal career working with animals began. Sam moved to Boston in 2017 and brought along Gideon (her cat) Shinji (her Shiba Inu) and Michael (her human partner.) In the vet clinic, Sam enjoys seeing appointments but has recently been mastering veterinary surgical support.
In her spare time, Sam loves reading, writing, cooking and singing. She enjoys exploring the Boston area and spending time with her animals and partner.

Sarah Leger, Veterinary Technician, Shift Leader
Sarah was born and raised in the Metrowest area of MA and has always had a love for animals. She first entered the veterinary field as a receptionist in 2009 at a busy general practice. From then on Sarah knew this was a career path she wanted to take. Her experience grew from working in a kennel setting, training to be a technician assistant to becoming a veterinary technician at 24 hour emergency hospital. She has spent the last few years working in a general practice and is eager to advance her skills and knowledge.
In her free time Sarah loves being outdoors, going for walks with her husky Niko, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Sue Miller CVT, Veterinary Technician
Sue brings nearly two decades of veterinary technician experience to Heal. She has worked in a variety of settings including general practice, shelter and high volume spay/neuter programs, and the surgery and anesthesia department of referral hospitals.
Sue likes to make sure her patients are as happy and comfortable as possible while at the clinic, whether that means employing low-stress handling during an exam or providing a cozy bed during recovery from surgery. She has always had a passion for helping animals, and her entire career is a reflection of her dedication and compassion.
When not at work, Sue likes to spend time with her husband, daughter and several pets. She especially enjoys hiking with her new dog and getting her hands dirty as a member of her local community garden.

Dr. Xuan Mai Vo, DVM
Dr. Vo decided to pursue her career in veterinary medicine as a young lass growing up in Switzerland and the Boston area when she realized she preferred to treat horse wounds rather than actually prepare for her riding lessons. She is a graduate of the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and has earned additional professional certifications in veterinary acupuncture and pain management. Throughout her career, Dr. Vo has worked in private practice, shelter medicine and academia. She maintains a deep commitment to improving the quality of life in animals and supporting the bond between animals and their families.
Dr. Vo is off duty for while she travels in Europe and Washington State, but we look forward to her return in the future. Learn more about her on her website: www.vox.vet.