Rachel Starr, DVM
Dr. Starr earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology in 1996 from Kalamazoo College. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. She completed Advanced Clinical Training with Ulan Nutritional Systems in 2018.
Dr. Starr is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.
She began her work as a veterinarian as a mixed animal practitioner in rural Ohio and then as a shelter veterinarian in Columbus, OH. She moved back to Michigan in 2005 and became a small animal veterinarian in the Traverse City area. After an initial interest in surgery, she began to explore alternative therapies, learning Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation in 2010, and adding laser therapy in 2011. She also took an introductory course in Nutrition Response Testing in 2011. After starting to incorporate Nutrition Response Testing into veterinary practice, she decided to pursue Advanced Clinic Training and graduated from that program in 2018. After practicing in two small animal clinics in Northern Michigan for 18 years, where she specialized in non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical holistic therapies, she opened her own specialized clinic in May 2024 - Pets and Their People, Inc. - Nutrition and Laser Therapy Center.
Dr. Starr and her husband, Jay, have three sons, Abe, Jonah, and Ari. Their pet family includes two dogs, Esca and Puck, a ferret named Stix, and a horse named Mickey.
Her hobbies include hiking, traveling, and gardening; in fact, Dr. Starr just returned from hiking the Great Glen Way in Scotland.
She is a published author of “Nutrition Response Testing in the Dissolution of Persistent Cystoliths and Choleliths in a Miniature Schnauzer,” Journal of American Holistic Veterinary Medicine Association, 2023; 71:23-32. She has also been featured on two episodes of The Laser Light Show Podcast.