SOUTHERN BELLE

Dr. Melissa Tackett is excited to be such an advocate for positivity, the Fear Free movement, and the human-animal bond. She is originally from Knoxville, TN and a 2018 graduate from Lincoln Memorial University’s veterinary college. Dr. Tackett also attended undergrad at LMU to complete her Bachelor of Veterinary Medical Technology degree.

Like many veterinary doctors, Dr. Tackett knew from a very young age that she wanted to love on pets forever and make that her career. I mean, she did have a pretend clinic set up on her grandparents’ porch when she was in elementary school where the neighborhood kids would bring their dogs over for her to give a dose of love to, not much has changed as she still loves on every pet that she sees, but now she gets to actively participate and make their lives healthier and therefore happier- making medicine fun and less stressful.

Internal medicine cases, geriatric medicine (She is a SUCKER for a grey muzzle), and anything related to German Shepherds all fall under her umbrella of professional passions.

In addition to that, Dr. Tackett is a firm believer that teamwork makes the dream work which is why she loves client education. She feels as though when owners understand a medical condition fully, they are empowered to make great medical decisions for their pet. For her, forming a relationship with her clients is just as important as the relationship she forms with their baby/her patient. Dr. Tackett is also a big fan of chronic disease management because she gets to develop that bond, her client learns, and she enjoys being able to offer a multimodal approach to a disease process- another reason that she loves Paz.