Dr. Alissa Anderson
(Owner/Veterinarian)
Dr. Alissa Anderson grew up in south-central Texas. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology from Hendrix College. In 2014 she graduated from Oklahoma State University with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. She then started her veterinary career as an equine veterinarian at a referral practice in North Texas. From there she transitioned to a mixed animal practice, where she discovered that she really enjoyed working with all kinds of animals, including small animals! Being a mixed animal vet, she was used to making farm/house calls and quickly found out just how much in home end-of-life care can mean to families. Alissa next practiced with a small mobile veterinary practice learning how best to provide exceptional euthanasia and hospice services to dogs and cats. In early 2020, she moved to the upstate of South Carolina to found Faithful Hearts and provide these much needed services, and she is proud to have been the first veterinarian to provide in home hospice veterinary care locally. Alissa believes as a doctor one should always strive to learn and improve skills through continuing education and training. She has completed advanced training in companion animal euthanasia, including especially difficult euthanasias, and is CAETA-certified. Dr. Alissa has also trained/received certification on understanding the human-animal bond, providing pet loss grief support, and veterinary herbal medicine. Starting July 2022, Alissa is currently completing a 15-month course for certification in veterinary hospice care (there are currently only 229 of these specialist veterinarians in the world currently) through the IAAHPC!
Certifications:
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Curacore Veterinary Botanical Medicine (VBMC)
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Pet Loss Partners Pet Loss Bereavement Specialist
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HABRI Human-Animal Bond
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CAETA
Personally, Alissa has been through the end of life care and decision processes with her own pets, and she deeply believes that top-quality end-of-life care in the home should be available to all pets and their owners. A peaceful passing is the greatest act of kindness we can show our beloved animals when it's time and often humane euthanasia is the best choice to provide this peaceful transition. She has been providing in home end-of-life veterinary care for 4 years now.
Alissa’s family includes her husband Blake, four spunky dogs (Stetson, an Australian Shepherd; Bonnie, a pitbull terrier; Lucy Lu, a Pugapoo; and Aggie, a pitbull mix), a sassy potbellied pig named Hamlet, 2 opinionated kitties named Shelly and Itty Bitty, a paint horse named Denali, sugar glider (Anna), 3 chickens, and about 10 koi fish. Her hobbies include spending time with the above, horseback riding, camping, jigsaw puzzles, and learning new skills such as calligraphy.
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Blake Anderson
(Business Manager)
Blake works full time keeping Faithful Hearts running smoothly so we can help as many pets and families as possible! This includes driving anywhere from 3-10 hours a day for appointments, as well as helping with phone calls and comforting pet owners throughout their final journeys with their beloved pets.
Blake and Alissa have been married since 2010 and he has always supported her passion for veterinary medicine and having a small zoo of household pets. Blake has prior management experience in the real estate industry and has also owned and managed a saltwater aquatics company. Blake is a devoted fellow caregiver to their menagerie, and truly understands the strength of the human-animal bond.
Melissa
(Office Manager)
For over 2 years Blake and Alissa managed the phone with almost 24/7 availability. As we grew that became more challenging, as we spend a lot of our time in appointments or driving in areas with poor service. Unfortunately, that meant the number of calls we missed grew. And we were struggling with exhaustion often as well. We KNOW how hard it is to make the phone call, leaving a voicemail can feel impossible, and waiting to hear back is awful too.
So, when our friend Melissa became available to help, we were so excited to have someone we felt would be a
great, caring addition to the team. She is a fellow pet lover and knows what pet loss feels like.
Hamlet, Security
If you have been to our Comfort Room/Office, you may have met this guy. He takes his job seriously and will gladly take pumpkin donations as payment!