Just Vetting with Peter Tanella, ESQ.
This program fills the gap in veterinary education by focusing on non-clinical skills like communication, leadership, confidence building, and real-world readiness — all essential to long-term success in practice.
Just Vetting with Peter Tanella, ESQ.
8 | Dr. Amelie McAndrews | From Foal Dreams to Equine Dentistry: Building a Career — and a Life — on Her Own Terms
🌿 Episode Description
In this episode of “Just Vetting,” host Peter Tanella, Esq. sits down with Dr. Amelie McAndrews, a board-certified equine dentist and owner of Garden State Equine Dentistry, to explore her remarkable journey from horse-obsessed childhood to leading a thriving mobile specialty practice in New Jersey.
Dr. McAndrews shares how early passion, mentorship, and perseverance shaped her path — and how an unexpected career pivot, just one week postpartum, launched her into business ownership and a decade of professional growth.
She opens up about:
✨ Discovering her calling in equine dentistry after years in general practice — and the “bright headlight moment” that changed everything
✨ Turning a failed practice buyout into an opportunity to build her own thriving mobile business
✨ The realities of launching a practice while raising a newborn — and why resilience (and good advisors) made all the difference
✨ What practice ownership really means: from defining your mission and team culture to setting your own hours and saying no to the wrong clients
✨ Balancing family, board certification, and business growth while leading one of fewer than 30 board-certified equine dental practices in the U.S.
✨ Why staying small but strong can be just as fulfilling as constant expansion — and how to redefine success on your own terms
🐴 From childhood horse dreams to national recognition in a rare veterinary specialty, Dr. McAndrews’s story is one of grit, gratitude, and growth — a reminder that sometimes the best path forward begins when life forces you to pivot.
Whether you’re a veterinarian considering ownership, an equine practitioner exploring specialization, or simply someone inspired by perseverance and purpose, this conversation offers insight, humor, and heart.
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