Dr. Shoemaker's equine and companion animal veterinary practice focuses on complementary medicine and holistic therapy - integrating chiropractic, acupuncture, and other alternative modalities. Judith's equine patients include thoroughbred and standard bred race horses, pleasure horses, draft and gaited horses, top level competition horses in dressage, open jumping, endurance, western sports, and combined training. Over the last six years, Judith has been affiliated with a premiere Equine Sports Therapy Center providing comprehensive maintenance, therapeutic management, and consultation to equine competitors in the US and internationally. Many of Dr. Shoemaker's canine patients are competitors in performance events such as obedience, agility, lure coursing, and tracking. She also provides therapy and maintenance support to service dogs and to search and rescue dogs.

Judith's non-medical experience with animals is wide-ranging - breeding, training, farriery, and showing all figure into her background. The challenges she encountered in those endeavors have led her to her current concentration on lameness, dentistry, biomechanics, applied farriery, immunology, and sports medicine for large and small animals.

Dr. Shoemaker has taught anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She has advanced education in both small and large animal orthopedic and internal fixation surgical techniques from Ohio State University and ASIF / AO, and advanced training in animal reproduction from College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the Colorado State University and from private internships. She is certified as a veterinary acupuncturist through the international Veterinary Acupuncture Society, in which she has also served as an instructor. In the 1980's she received private tutelage in chiropractic, and became a charter member of the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. In addition to having taught the AVCA's basic course from 1989 to 1994, Judith currently teaches the most advanced level of study available in animal chiropractic through the Diplomat program of AVAC. Judith's interest in teaching these sophisticated skills is guided by her background in animal training, her participation in competitive equestrian sports, and her interest in advanced psychological training, integrative psychology and spiritual practice.

Dr. Shoemaker's commitment to supporting the balance that allows optimal health to be experienced by all beings has inspired her to include, as an important aspect of her practice, professional referrals for bodywork and other alternative therapy to her human clients. Judith has found that treating her veterinary patients as whole beings requires consideration of family dynamics and the health of the honoring the significance of the human-animal bond and all it entails, Dr. Shoemaker is able to provide the means for both ends of the leash to benefit from holistic care.

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