Dr. Mary Nicholson was born in Mississippi and grew up in Mobile, Alabama for a time. She would spend many weekends as a child on her grandparents’ country property; some of her first memories include her grandfather placing her in the pen with his foxhounds and going for rides along with him on the back of his horse. Dr. Nicholson always wanted to learn more about the care of pets so that she could best tend to her own companions—a career as a veterinarian simply made sense!
She began volunteering at an animal shelter when she was 20 years old, and it wasn’t long before her volunteer work turned into a paying job. She then enrolled in Hinds Junior College’s veterinary technology program, graduating with her degree in applied science and passing her state certification to become a Licensed Veterinary Technician. After working that summer as a Tech, she returned to junior college in the fall to finish her prerequisite coursework for veterinary school.
Dr. Nicholson attended Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, earning her doctoral degree in 1991 and practicing in mixed-animal care in the northeastern part of the state for two years. She then relocated to Homestead, Florida for a year before returning to Mississippi again—Dr. Nicholson would spend the next several years traveling back and forth between Florida and Mississippi, using her dual licenses to provide relief services to veterinarians in both states. In 1995, she joined a feline-only practice in Fort Myers, Florida. Over the years, she’s worked in exotic clinics, animal shelters, spay-and-neuter clinics, and even at a Greyhound racing track. Dr. Nicholson also launched her own house-call practice in 2006 while still performing relief veterinary work.
She has special interests in behavioral medicine and client education, and she especially loves learning new things. She holds special certifications in applied clinical behavioral medicine, advanced clinical behavioral medicine, and feline medicine.
In her time away from work, Dr. Nicholson enjoys working in her yard, observing wildlife, reading, visiting the Smoky Mountains whenever the opportunity presents itself, and spending time with her own animal friends at home. She has a multitude of cats, two of which are named after her grandparents.