DR. MELISSA DETWEILER
Veterinary Medical Officer
I grew up in southern California but moved to Kansas right out of high school, intending to stay long enough to finish college and veterinary school. Nearly 30 years later and I’m still here! My husband is also a veterinarian, and we spent a few years in northwest Missouri right out of vet school, but an opportunity came to join a practice back in northeast Kansas, closer to my husband’s family farm and in 2006, we joined the Bern-Sabetha Vet Clinic and have been here ever since.
I had a couple passions as a child and young adult—riding horses and the performing arts. When it became obvious that my movie-star dream wasn’t going to come true, I began exploring other options. I remember watching the Kentucky Derby on television as a teenager and became obsessed when I watched them send the equine ambulatory team out on the track for an injured horse. I decided then that I wanted to be a veterinarian.
Two weeks after graduating high school in California in 1995, I moved with my parents to south central Kansas. I began my undergraduate career at Kansas State University in the fall of 1996 as Pre-Vet/Animal Science & Industry Major. I was fortunate to be accepted into the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine’s Class of 2003 and spend another glorious four-years in beautiful, Manhattan, Kansas.
I was in private, mixed-animal practice for nearly twenty years. I spent the first three years in Atchison, KS as an associate with a particular interest in equine practice. When we joined the Bern-Sabetha Vet Clinic, my emphasis evolved into building the companion animal side of that practice and in-house, bovine “urgent” care. Within a few years we became partners in the practice, and I took on more administrative responsibilities. I practiced full-time the entire 18 years, only pausing with the birth of each of our three children. Eventually, I discovered that I was being called to serve my veterinary colleagues (more so than my patients) and I left private practice to pursue a role as a Medical Director for a series of Midwest small animal hospitals. I joined Heritage Vet Partners in May of 2023, recognizing that my heart was still in rural, mixed-animal practice and my passions truly aligned with all of HVP’s core values.
I had a couple passions as a child and young adult—riding horses and the performing arts. When it became obvious that my movie-star dream wasn’t going to come true, I began exploring other options. I remember watching the Kentucky Derby on television as a teenager and became obsessed when I watched them send the equine ambulatory team out on the track for an injured horse. I decided then that I wanted to be a veterinarian.
Two weeks after graduating high school in California in 1995, I moved with my parents to south central Kansas. I began my undergraduate career at Kansas State University in the fall of 1996 as Pre-Vet/Animal Science & Industry Major. I was fortunate to be accepted into the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine’s Class of 2003 and spend another glorious four-years in beautiful, Manhattan, Kansas.
I was in private, mixed-animal practice for nearly twenty years. I spent the first three years in Atchison, KS as an associate with a particular interest in equine practice. When we joined the Bern-Sabetha Vet Clinic, my emphasis evolved into building the companion animal side of that practice and in-house, bovine “urgent” care. Within a few years we became partners in the practice, and I took on more administrative responsibilities. I practiced full-time the entire 18 years, only pausing with the birth of each of our three children. Eventually, I discovered that I was being called to serve my veterinary colleagues (more so than my patients) and I left private practice to pursue a role as a Medical Director for a series of Midwest small animal hospitals. I joined Heritage Vet Partners in May of 2023, recognizing that my heart was still in rural, mixed-animal practice and my passions truly aligned with all of HVP’s core values.