Stephanie was born and raised in Murfreesboro. After graduating from Oakland High School in 2010, she went on to college to become a human nurse. After a change of heart, Stephanie decided animal nursing was where she needed to be. She graduated from Volunteer State College in 2016 with a degree in Veterinary Technology. Stephanie has a special interest in feline behavior. When not in the clinic caring for animals, you can find her at home with her husband caring for her two children and her many, many cats.

 

 

Dr. Amy Shirley has desired to be a veterinarian since she learned about the profession in her early childhood. She feels very blessed to have been given the opportunity to pursue and achieve her dreams. Originally from Tracy City, Tennessee, she moved to Murfreesboro to go to Middle Tennessee State University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science in 2001. Dr. Shirley went on to graduate with her doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2005. After graduation, she was excited to move back to Middle Tennessee where she married her husband Michael who is a lifelong resident of Murfreesboro. Dr. Shirley has practiced as a small animal veterinarian in Murfreesboro since 2005 and enjoys being a wife and mother of 3 children. Currently, she has 2 dogs, 1 cat, and 4 horses. She loves all species but has a special devotion to the feline patient!

Dr. Shirley and her family moved to the Buchanan area of Murfreesboro in 2007 and fell in love with the community. The idea of having her veterinary clinic in this area was very appealing and is where she has dreamed of practicing. She is very excited about the opportunity to operate Black Fox Veterinary Hospital which has been serving the Buchanan community since 2001. Dr. Shirley strives to provide trusted care and be the family doctor for the pets in her community. She is committed to the Fear-Free approach to veterinary medicine which helps alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in her patients when receiving medical attention.

 

 

Dr. Jennifer Nunnery followed a winding path to small animal medicine at Family Pet Health. She grew up in Murfreesboro, attending Riverdale High School. She attended Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia and graduated with a BA in Biology in 1998. When she started veterinary school at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, she expected to become an equine veterinarian. Later in school, she found an affinity for small animal medicine and surgery, but also an interest in public health. After graduation in 2002, she participated in a fellowship at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. In Atlanta, she met and married her husband Mark. After completing the fellowship they moved to Chattanooga, TN for a short time before finding their way to State College, PA. In State College, she worked at Centre Animal Hospital for nearly 11 years. Though it was difficult to leave her clients and colleagues at the Centre, she was feeling a pull to return home to Tennessee. In 2017 she and Mark, her daughter Allison, two Golden retrievers and two cats made the move to Murfreesboro.

After working as a relief veterinarian in many practices around Middle TN, Dr. Nunnery has found a home at Family Pet Health. The Fear Free philosophy fits easily with her natural practice style. Dr. Nunnery loves cats and big dogs but feels that every breed has its special representatives.

 

 

Originally from Southern California, Zoey has called Middle Tennessee her home since 2005. A lifelong horse lover, Zoey spent many years in the equestrian world. After taking some time off to stay home with her children, in 2016, Zoey made the crazy decision to return to school. In 2019, she graduated from Columbia State with her degree in Veterinary Technology and in October 2019 she found a home at Family Pet Health. She lives in Murfreesboro with her husband, two children, three dogs, a feisty orange cat and a cockatiel.

 

 

Yousef moved to Tennessee in June of 2006. He then attended Volstate Community College where he graduated from the Pet Assistant Program in 2018. Yousef can be found on his Murfreesboro farm taking care of his variety of livestock or enjoying his days in the great outdoors camping, fishing, and hiking.

 

 

Melissa was born in Louisiana but has lived in Wisconsin and now Tennessee. She is aspiring to be a professional animal trainer with an emphasis on specialty dog training and horses. Her passion is to bring more positive and fear-free training to horses and their owners. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and her fur baby, Chloe.

 

 

Jenna recently moved to Murfreesboro in 2020 from Chicago, IL, where she was born and raised. In 2018, she began school at McHenry County College and went on to receive her veterinary assistant certificate. Her passions outside of work include spending time with her family, reading, spending time outdoors, watching movies, and spoiling her Golden Retriever, Tucker.

 

 

Elizabeth is a Riverdale graduate and first met the Shirleys as a student in one of Michael’s Agriculture Science classes in school. She is currently a senior Pre-Vet major at the University of Tennessee at Martin and works at the campus’ Animal Diagnostic Laboratory during the semester taking care of their resident sheep and goats. She has worked as a veterinary assistant for several summers and is currently working at Family Pet Health to gain more practical application of her coursework, especially when it’s a cute puppy or kitten to learn on! Elizabeth is currently applying to Vet schools this summer and will start in the fall of 2021.

Mahayla has worked at Family Pet Health since the day we opened. She helps clean rooms, care for patients in the hospital, and is the star of several of our Facebook videos. Mahayla wants to be a professional dog trainer when she gets older. She has trained her dog Dolly Barkin, and together they have completed the AKC Canine Good Citizen certification and the Tricks and Acting class with our friends at Wag It Better dog training.

 

 

Rebekah moved to Murfreesboro in 2016 from Forsyth, Georgia and joined our team in May of 2018. She is a student of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College where she is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in business management. After college Rebekah plans to continue her work in the veterinary industry by becoming a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager. She is a proud dog mom of her Labrador Zodi and Papillon Finn. She loves to spend her free time playing and writing music, riding horses and enjoying the great outdoors!

 

 

Stephen came to Family Pet Health in January of 2019 to help out his brother Michael with marketing and communications projects. Surprising nearly everyone who knew them as kids, the Shirley brothers are still going strong more than a year later as they explore opportunities to spread the Family Pet Health story to the greater Murfreesboro community. Stephen is currently working on his Master’s degree in communications and regularly uses his experiences at Family Pet Health for his assignments. One fun fact about Stephen is that he loves to sing along to boy band songs while giving his dog a bath in the clinic on his days off.

 

 

Katie recently moved to Murfreesboro from Illinois with her husband and youngest daughter Jenna (who also works at Family Pet Health.) Before joining Family Pet Health, Katie was an administrative supervisor for a mental health practice and is now happy to have the opportunity to help fur babies and their families. When not at work, she loves to read, watch movies, and spend time with her three other daughters and five grandbabies. Exploring our beautiful new state is another favorite pastime!

 

 

Michael is a life-long resident of Rutherford County. Many of you may recognize him from his days bagging your groceries at his family’s grocery store, Frank’s IGA. He graduated from Oakland High School in 1998 before attending Middle Tennessee State University where he graduated with a BS in Animal Science. He worked two years at Rutherford County PAWS as an animal control officer where he helped to develop a public outreach and education program for pet owners within the community. In 2007, he joined the UT/TSU Extension staff in Rutherford County and served as a 4-H Agent for eight years. He was in charge of the county’s 4-H livestock program as well as the shooting sports and digital media groups. In February 2015, Michael left Extension to become an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Riverdale High School. While at Riverdale, he taught classes in the Veterinary Science pathway and the Agricultural Engineering Pathway. Michael is married to Dr. Amy Shirley, and they live on a farm just a few miles from Family Pet Health. An interesting fact about Michael is that he served as the MTSU mascot, Lightning, for two years; Go Blue Raiders!