Jessica Hathaway, DVM, CVA

Fear Free Certified

Dr. Jessica Hathaway was raised in the foothills of the Adirondack mountain range in central New York State where she developed a lifelong love of nature and outdoor activities. She knew that she wanted to be a veterinarian by the time she was in middle school.

Dr. Hathaway studied pre-professional biology at the Florida Institute of Technology and spent three years there prior to being admitted to veterinary school at Cornell University, graduating in 2000. She enjoyed working in the small animal ICU as a veterinary technician during her time at Cornell. 

She has lived in DeLand since her graduation, working at many clinics in both West and East Volusia County over the years. After the birth of her three sons she spent time providing relief services until the opportunity to work at FloridaWild presented itself in early 2017. She became certified as a Veterinary Acupuncturist (CVA) through Chi University in 2018. Dr. Hathaway enjoys urgent / emergency care, soft tissue surgery, dentistry, and ultrasonography including abdominal and cardiac imaging. She is trained in acupuncture and animal neuromyofascial release techniques to help improve the overall health and mobility of her patients. She prefers taking an integrative and whole patient approach when addressing medical concerns and is versed in the use of hyperthermia treatments, ozone therapy, and tumor specific electroporation chemotherapy as well as Chinese food and herbal therapies. 

Dr. Hathaway has served as both the secretary and president of the Volusia Flagler Veterinary Medical Association. She enjoys lecturing and mentoring others in the veterinary professions and meets online with new graduates from across the country once weekly to help them advance their clinical skills. She presented on the use of integrative veterinary medicine in emergency and critical care situations at the 2022 Annual International Conference on TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) and was awarded an excellent speaker designation. She has a special interest in neurodivergence in veterinary medicine and has trained as an ADHD / life coach which led to a three part lecture series on the topic designed to improve the mental health and job satisfaction of her colleagues in the veterinary professions. She is currently developing a webinar on integrative approaches to cancer and chronic diseases designed to introduce other veterinarians to the treatment options available here at FloridaWild and promote the notion that integrative medicine works best when combined with a strong foundation in western medicine, especially clinical and diagnostic skills.