Dr. Christenson was born and raised in Fairfax, VA, so Town & Country feels like coming home in more ways than one. She’s dreamed of working as a vet since she was a young girl and prepared accordingly. Her pet menagerie now rivals hobby farms (3 dogs, 1 cat). All of her clothes are covered in pet hair before she arrives at the office in the morning.
Dr. Christenson was the captain of the lacrosse team at Taylor University. She hopes to someday play catch with Dr. Stahl. She completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree at Virginia Tech. Her approach to medicine has been called “magnetic” as she was kicked by an 800 pound gorilla in Uganda and was nearly bit by a saw-scaled viper in India while practicing abroad. She now brings that magnetism to dogs and cats rather than exotic animals. She’s Fear Free certified and passionate about delivering medicine that empowers owners and heals pets.
Dr. Christenson loves to be outside and active. She recently biked 450 miles across Virginia, is working toward hiking all 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks, and regularly takes her two hounds out for runs around the neighborhood.
When did you know you wanted to be a veterinarian?
There are lots of reasons to love this work. You're surrounded by animals all day. Probably the first time I thought, "Ooh, that's something I would love to do," was when I worked at a horse stable in elementary and middle school. I would muck out stalls for riding lessons, and there were six or seven horses; someone was always hurt, had gotten into something, caught something on a rusty nail, or a shoe was falling off. They would have their vet come out. I loved how she showed up, the barn manager outlined the problem, and she just knew she could fix it. She was great with the horses, and you felt how much she cared for us and the horses. That was cool.
What parts of your job do you like the most?
There are a lot of parts I like. I really like, similar to what I mentioned about the horse vet, hearing owners describe a problem, brainstorming, and helping find a solution. I love when owners come to me with a problem, need a solution, and are at a dead end. Maybe not the first time, but we get to an answer. That's my favorite thing. They're happy, their pet is healthy. That's the best.
What do you do in your free time?
Well, I like to tend chickens in my free time.
These are my pullets. They're a new batch of hens I got earlier this spring, so they're about to hit their egg-laying age. I just got a mix. I have six more at home, but I have a mix of all different chickens. I have some blue layers, some brown layers, and some white layers. I think they're cool. They look like dinosaurs and act like dinosaurs. I have three large breed dogs that I hang out with in my free time at my house, my cat, and I also have three young kids. My husband helps out with all of those. Between all of those things, that is what I do in my free time.
What are your professional interests?
I really enjoy discussing how to maintain good oral hygiene in pets with clients. I love doing dental work as well. Soft tissue surgery is a real interest of mine. I also really like helping pets to age gracefully, whatever that may involve for them. This is my first job postgrad, and I kind of hope it will be my last job. From what I hear from them, I think our team is really exceptional at problem-solving together and is really collaborative. I love coming to work here.