Meet Dr. Lathan

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Dr. Laura Lathan

Dr. Laura Lathan grew up in North Carolina and graduated from NCSU’s vet school in 1995. (Go Wolfpack!) She settled in Matthews, NC, in 2007 and lives there with her husband, 2 sons, pit bull Smithy and snakes Scarab, Sphinx, and Patty.

She’s always had a passion for exotic animal medicine and had a variety of critters growing up. She is happy to see almost any patient with fur, feathers, or scales. Her caseload has been about 50% exotics, including rabbits, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, parrots, toucans, snakes, lizards, and even scorpions, so she is comfortable seeing your “special” pet!

Her other veterinary passion developed later in her career: She discovered to her surprise that she loves teeth. It’s a strange interest, she knows, but for some reason, she finds dental work deeply satisfying. She attended dental conferences regularly to stay up on all the latest treatments, and she is happy to jump into your pet’s mouth!

Except for her first year in practice, she has always practiced at holistic hospitals, and she believes that an integrative approach is definitely best for her patients. She believes in using the gentlest medicine possible, and she has seen firsthand the power of a good diet combined with Eastern and Western treatment. She also believes strongly in a fear-free approach with patients and is Fear Free certified with birds, cats, and dogs!

When she’s not at Whole Pet, she can be found backpacking with the Scouts, cooking, playing Munchkin with her family, decorating cakes, and twisting balloon animals.