Brittney

Brittney’s career has never followed a perfectly straight line—and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Her love of animals started early. As a teenager, Brittney worked two kennel jobs, getting her first taste of the hands-on, sometimes messy, always rewarding world of animal care. But after graduating high school in 2006, her professional path initially took her in a different direction. She spent the next 14 years working in massage and occupational therapy with humans, building a career centered around anatomy, observation, communication, patience, and individualized care.

All the while, animals remained close to her heart.

In 2017, Brittney enrolled in Animal Behavior College’s Veterinary Assistant program, beginning the education that would eventually become her second career. While the program included a strong foundation in animal behavior and handling, it was much broader than behavior alone. She learned the fundamentals of working in a veterinary hospital, including patient restraint, examination-room procedures, vaccinations, venipuncture, pharmacy and medication basics, surgical preparation and assisting, nursing care, laboratory procedures, and radiology.

After graduating in 2018, Brittney completed her hands-on externship at Hillcrest Animal Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee—and was hired there as a Certified Veterinary Assistant. That experience became the true beginning of her veterinary career. It was also where she discovered a particular interest in surgery, gaining her first exposure to orthopedic and soft-tissue procedures under the mentorship of Dr. Cary Ledbury.

Her veterinary career has taken her through general practice, surgery, hospitalized patient care, rescue work, and some pretty unforgettable adventures. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2018, Brittney traveled from Tennessee to Texas to volunteer with displaced animals, bringing a vehicle full of donated food, linens, and cages along with a $1,000 cash donation. She spent 10 hours caring for animals at a temporary facility that ultimately housed more than 100 dogs and 100 cats.

She has also volunteered with spay/neuter, vaccination, and microchip clinics, helping provide essential preventive care to animals who might otherwise have limited access to it.

Eventually, Brittney brought her veterinary career to Washington, where she continued expanding her skills while developing a particular interest in canine behavior and handling. She has worked extensively with reactive, fearful, and difficult-to-handle dogs, including rescued dogs with significant histories of abuse, neglect, and bite risk.

Her interest in helping animals feel safer in veterinary settings led her to develop a program specifically designed for reactive and hypersensitive canine patients. She later earned her Fear Free Veterinary Certification in 2024, adding formal training to an area that had already become an important part of her daily work.

Today, Brittney is a Surgical and General Practice Certified Veterinary Assistant at Wheaton Way Veterinary Hospital + Urgent Care in Bremerton, Washington. Her days can include just about anything: assisting with surgery, supporting general practice appointments, administering vaccines, caring for hospitalized patients, and helping facilitate urgent-care and emergency appointments. She describes herself as something of a Jane-of-all-trades—and that’s probably putting it mildly. If something needs doing, Brittney is usually happy to jump in.

In her free time, Brittney provides in-home medical grooming services for pets who have difficulty safely making it to a traditional veterinary or grooming facility. Many of her clients are very senior animals or extremely fearful, reactive, or potentially dangerous patients who simply do better in the familiar surroundings of home.

By bringing the service to them, Brittney can work alongside their owners to provide important grooming and hygiene care while minimizing the stress, fear, and handling challenges that can come with a trip to the clinic. It’s a niche service that allows her to combine her veterinary training, animal-handling experience, and the patience and body-awareness she developed during her years working in human therapy.

Her background in human therapy, veterinary assisting, surgery, animal behavior, rescue, Fear Free handling, and medical grooming has given Brittney a somewhat unusual toolkit. She brings a combination of medical knowledge, patience, adaptability, and a deep understanding of body language to her work with both animals and people.

And after all these years, one thing has remained consistent: Brittney believes every animal deserves to be treated as an individual—with compassion, patience, creativity, and, when appropriate, a very convincing bribe of treats.