Dr. Michelle Schraeder grew up in New Jersey and received her Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1985. In 1986 she and her husband moved to Bellingham.
Michelle practices integrative medicine, utilizing Traditional Chinese Medicine with conventional Western medicine. During her veterinary career, she has encountered cases where conventional medicine by itself was not helpful. This led to her interest in alternative medicine. In 1996-97 she took the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society’s (IVAS) Basic Acupuncture course and exams and became an IVAS-certified veterinary acupuncturist and a charter member of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture (AAVA). She also completed a three year course in Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine and a course in veterinary Tui-Na, a Chinese massage/manipulation therapy.
In January 2006, Michelle was one of the first veterinarians to become a Fellow of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture (FAAVA), which is an advanced acupuncture certification process. She obtained a Masters of Education in College and Continuing Education in 2009 from Western Washington University. Presently she is chair of the IVAS International Education Committee, an IVAS board member, and a member of the AAVA Advanced Certification Committee. Dr. Schraeder is a regular speaker at various US and international veterinary conferences, and teaches at several veterinary acupuncture courses, nationally and online.
