Veterinarian Overview
Dr. Drake grew up in Jacksonville, a small town in northeastern Alabama, where she knew at the tender age of five that helping animals would be her lifes work. She began her education at Jacksonville State University, married her high school sweetheart to become an Army wife, and then moved to North Carolina to continue her education. She completed her Bachelor of Health Science at Duke University School of Medicine. She earned her degree in Veterinary Medicine from Auburn University (WAR EAGLE!!!). Dr. Drake has practiced medicine in Fayetteville, NC, Key West, and Tampa, and she has worked as a representative for Hills Pet Products, the manufacturer of Science Diets. She has had the privilege of working with numerous species such as dogs and cats, horses, sea turtles, manatees, key deer, dolphins, and a variety of other exotics and birds including sea birds. Dr. Drake has also been published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association for her discovery of the first known case of proliferative sparganosis in a dog found in North America. In 1996, Dr. Drake purchased a struggling little veterinary clinic called Northwest Pet Vet and turned it into the success it is today known as Southpaw Animal Health. She lives in north Tampa with her significant other and her menagerie of pets including two Chihuahuas, two Chihuahua mixes, three cats, ten African Grey parrots, two cockatoos, a Sun Conure, and an Indian Ringneck Parakeet. She is tremendously proud of her daughter who is studying to become a physician at the University of Floridas College of Medicine
