Our Team
We Care
I love my job. I love my clients. I love my patients. I love my staff. We care. And that transcends all else.
We care about our patients so we are honest and loving and trained to be a Fear Free Certified® practitioner so we could help alleviate stress in our patients.
We care about our clients so we work with them to find solutions that work for their lives, budgets, etc.
We care about each other so I pay my employees well and we work well together, supporting each other when we need it and listening to each other.
We care about the environment so we recycle, use non-toxic cleaners and are always looking for ways to keep improving the world we live in.
We care about the experience so we keep the clinic clean, light candles, have plants and a pleasant, peaceful, non-stressful ambience.
We sing to our patients. We listen and teach and explain so our clients understand what we recommend and it makes sense to them. Then they are invested in the outcome. We care.
—Dr. Tiffany Tapp
Dr. Tiffany Tapp
Dr. Tapp grew up in Oklahoma, where she was always the kid with the animals and collected frogs and hamsters, as well as having dogs and cats. Most veterinarians know what they want to be by the age of 12, and so it was with Dr. Tapp, who went on to receive her veterinary degree from Oklahoma State University. Afterwards, she completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery from Auburn University. After working in private practice on the West Coast for several years, Dr. Tapp then completed a residency in dermatology at the Animal Dermatology Clinic of Southern California.
Dr. Tapp was especially drawn to dermatology because she loves how the field combines her creative and artistic side with her scientific and mystery solving side. And the reward for solving the mystery of each pet’s skin problem is to have her patients feel better at the end! This improvement in their comfort level in turn improves their quality of life as well as that of their humans, leading to a stronger and healthier bond for all.
Dr. Tapp then became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology. Currently there are only about 300 board certified veterinary dermatologists worldwide and Dr. Tapp is the only boarded dermatologist in Rhode Island.
She has a passion for educating veterinarians about veterinary dermatology and teaching them when it is time to refer a patient to a specialist. She enjoys working with pet owners to help them understand and appreciate what is happening to their animals so they can become better pet owners. She strives to do things the way they should be done, and finds that pet owners happily do the right thing when they understand why they should do it. Dr. Tapp has been a Fear Free® Certified Professional since 2018.
Dr. Tapp was also instrumental in pioneering the compassionate use of trial drugs for dogs in America.
Dr. Tapp lectures widely in small animal dermatology and authors articles and book chapters. She has a special interest in canine and feline allergies, and treats skin and ear diseases of all types.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth graduated from the University of Rhode Island earning a Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences & Technologies. As a child, Elizabeth demonstrated a natural love and deep respect for all living creatures and continues to live with this philosophy. As a seeker of cultures and languages, Elizabeth has a passion for travel and living abroad, having lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as backpacking through Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia. She eventually joined the Peace Corps in Panama where she met her husband. Along with her husband and daughter, Elizabeth also loves her rescue Chihuahua, Noah, who has added so much joy and love to her family's life.
Elizabeth joined the Veterinary Healing Arts team in 2010 and continues to embrace her work and love for animals. She enjoys helping not only the animals that come through the clinic, but also giving comfort and guidance to their owners. Elizabeth became a Fear Free® Certified Professional in 2023.
Dina
Dina joined Veterinary Healing Arts in 2013. She has been a veterinary technician in Rhode Island for almost 30 years and has loved every minute of it. She looks on being a technician not as a job, but a passion, and our patients will agree she lives up to her mission on a daily basis: Always treat our patients like her own.
Her gentle touch and beautiful singing voice can tame the most nervous of fur babies! Dina became a Fear Free® Certified Professional in 2023.
Terri
Terri joined Veterinary Healing Arts in 2013 and is serving as our receptionist and goodwill ambassador! Terri has been in the veterinary profession for over 25 years serving as both technician and receptionist, and adding to her accomplishments, became a Fear Free® Certified Professional in 2023. She is a true ailurophile (Google it!). She loves Hello Kitty and Petterson and Findus. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, reading, cooking and composing silly rhymes, stories and songs. Terri will be sure to greet you with a smile on her face and a song in her heart!
Haley
Haley joined Veterinary Healing Arts in 2021 after graduation from the University of Rhode Island earning her Bachelors in Animal Science & Technologies. Since graduation, Haley has been working to expand her knowledge and gain experience in all aspects of animal care, including interning at Buttonwood Park Zoo as an animal care intern. There, she was able to provide care for various duck breeds, red pandas, red fox, North American river otters, and their black bear. In her free time she loves staying active and volunteering at zoos and wildlife sanctuaries. She became a Fear Free® Certified Professional in 2021.
Christine
Christine is a licensed professional engineer who spent 35 years designing roads and traffic signals. She began her veterinary career as a volunteer at Veterinary Healing Arts in 2013 and went on to become a certified veterinary technician and Fear Free® certified veterinary professional while working full time in a small animal and exotics general practice.
Christine’s love and appreciation of pets began when she adopted her first Newfoundland puppy in 1999 and developed as she witnessed the unique bond that forms between people and their pets. Becoming a pet owner changed her life! In addition to working full time as a veterinary technician, Christine volunteers as a licensed instructor and evaluator for the national Pet Partners® therapy animal program, and an advisory board member for Tufts Paws for People. She also serves on the board of directors for the Rhode Island Veterinary Technician Association. Christine was a certified crisis response team (along with her dogs Koda and Rafter) for 10 years with HOPE Animal Assisted Crisis Response. Most recently, she joined the Rhode Island Medical Reserve Corp as a veterinary professional and therapy dog handler. Through her volunteer work in pet therapy, Newfoundland rescue, and basic obedience and canine socialization classes, Christine developed a deeper understanding of animal behavior and the human-animal bond. She brings a caring, compassionate heart to working with animals and their owners.
Christine loves big, hairy dogs! She lives with her husband Joe and their two rescued Newfoundlands, Sawdust and Splinter (a Newf/Anatolian Shepherd Mix), in the house they designed and built themselves. In her free time, Christine enjoys volunteering with her therapy dogs, studying classical ballet, and vacationing with her family.
“They are a wonderful team—Dr. Tapp, Terri, Dina, and Elizabeth. Morrie [my miniature dachshund] is now going on ten years old and has been under the care of Veterinary Healing Arts for over eight years. The compassion, authenticity, and professional care given to Morrie throughout the years has greatly improved his quality of life! I am forever grateful to Veterinary Healing Arts for all they have done for Morrie and for always being there for me, as, at times, a very anxious pet parent.”