Faculty

Lisa Melling DVM, CVH, CVSMT
Co-Founder, Faculty Instructor - VHI

​Dr. Lisa Melling received a BS in Animal Science from Iowa State University in 1999, and graduated from Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2004 with a special interest in animal behavior and emergency medicine. She practiced conventionally for several years in general practice, and then in emergency medicine and critical care for 13 years of her career.

In 2007 Dr. Melling co-founded Best Friends Pet Wellness, a house call practice serving the Ann Arbor area. Frustrated by the limitations of allopathic medicine to affect lasting curative treatments, Dr. Melling searched for alternative therapies that could heal her patients without the continued use of drugs. Intrigued by the curative approach of homeopathy, Dr. Melling enrolled in Dr. Pitcairn’s Professional Course in Veterinary Homeopathy in 2008. Encouraged by her personal experience with homeopathy as well as the restorative results it provided for her patients, Dr. Melling was recognized as a Certified Veterinary Homeopath (CVH) by the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy (AVH) in 2011, and became a faculty instructor for the Pitcairn Institute of Veterinary Homeopathy in 2012. In the fall of 2015, Dr. Melling moved to the Traverse City area of northwest lower Michigan and founded Good Harbor Holistic Veterinary Care, providing homeopathy, animal chiropractic and nutrition with an emphasis on fresh food diets. She is certified in veterinary homeopathy and veterinary spinal manipulative therapy.

Dr. Melling has been a guest lecturer for the Integrative Medicine Club at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and her topics have ranged from a holistic approach to vaccination to the treatment of illnesses and injuries with homeopathy. Dr. Melling has provided lectures on homeopathic prescribing for animals at the 2014, 2017, and 2019 AVH conferences, Michigan Veterinary Medical Association annual conference in February 2015, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) conferences in September 2016, October 2017, 2019, 2022, and the Midwest Veterinary Conference in February 2017. She has also presented cases annually at Dr. Pitcairn's Advanced Annual Veterinary Homeopathy meetings from 2012 through 2016; 2019 and 2022.

Dr. Melling has authored and co-authored several papers on animal behavior and the use of homeopathic remedies in veterinary medicine. She has been published in the Journal of American Holistic Veterinary Medicine, the Journal of Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, and the Integrative (now Innovative)Veterinary Care Journal. She has also been a contributing writer to Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, 4th edition, and Jan Allegretti's The Complete Holistic Dog Book, 2nd edition. You can find links to her most recent publications in the AVH journal and the AHVMA journal on the cases page of this website.

Dr. Melling is owned by a dog named Mouse, a variety of chickens (all with names, of course), and a Leopard Appaloosa named Badger.

Laura Weis, DVM, CVH
Co-Founder, Faculty Instructor - VHI

​Dr. Laura Weis graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Biology, and from the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in 1998 at the top of her class. She worked in small animal private practice in Pennsylvania for 24 years, purchasing a small practice 2 years after graduation with her husband, also a veterinarian. While dedicated to providing excellent patient care and staying at the forefront of medicine and surgery, Dr. Weis grew frustrated with the limited tools and options of allopathic medicine. She channeled her frustration into studying practice management and leadership strategies, growing the veterinary hospital and a large pet care facility. Her husband developed debilitating health issues in 2006 following repeated exposure to pesticides used as accelerators in surgical gloves, and conventional medical options were poor.
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Searching for answers, Dr. Weis began an intensive study of nutrition, which then led to exploring holistic medicine and homeopathy. After completing the Pitcairn Institute of Veterinary Homeopathy Professional Course in 2016, she now loves clinical practice again, using homeopathy and nutrition to help her patients. She has been a member of the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy (AVH) Board of Directors since 2018, and was recognized as a Certified Veterinary Homeopath (CVH) in 2022. In 2020, Dr. Weis began a four-year course of study in human homeopathy at the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy, and then at Prometheus Homeopathic Institute. These intensive programs have deepened her knowledge and practice of homeopathy. Dr. Weis currently treats both people and animals, and she is also the veterinary consultant for a wildlife rehabilitation facility that primarily uses homeopathy. 
 
Dr. Weis has written several articles about holistic pet care and lectures frequently to clients, pre-vet and veterinary students about nutrition and homeopathy. She has written articles for veterinary publications and presented at veterinary homeopathy conferences. She has an enthusiasm for teaching homeopathy, and together with Dr. Lisa Melling, recognized the need for another comprehensive post-graduate training program in veterinary homeopathy. Teaching the next generations of veterinary homeopaths combines her passions of mentoring and coaching with the healing wisdom of homeopathy.
 
 Dr. Weis shares her home in Pennsylvania with her husband (whose health is greatly improved with homeopathic treatment and is now a passionate advocate for homeopathy), three sons, and a number of dogs, cats, goats, and chickens.

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 Rosa Isela Ramirez MVZ, CVH
Faculty Instructor - VHI

Dr. Rosa Isela Ramírez graduated with honors as a veterinarian in 1998 at Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México. She practiced small animal medicine at a hospital in her hometown for 4 years. In 2003 Dr. Ramirez started her own conventional practice in Monterrey, México which became very successful, however she started to feel discontented with the outcome of conventional medicine. 
 
In 2009 her daughter was born with several allergic problems, including digestive troubles, poor development and growth. Doctors prescribed special medications and baby formulas which were not available in México at that time, only in Europe, making them very difficult and expensive to source. Over time, the doctors treating her daughter exhausted their options, leaving the family on their own without hope for cure. In 2010, Dr. Ramirez started doing her own research in  Orthomolecular Medicine and nutrition in an attempt to help her baby. After consulting with several holistic doctors, she found a good human homeopath who changed her daughter’s life. With homeopathic treatment, her daughter thrived cognitively and physically, removing most of her medications in a short amount of time. In 2014, Dr. Ramírez returned to work feeling inspired by holistic medicine and began treating her own dogs and some patients in this method of healing for acute cases of trauma, diarrhea, vomiting.

At the AHVMA conference in Oregon in 2014, Dr. Ramírez was approached by a homeopathic veterinarian and encouraged to take the veterinary training course. This felt like a calling for Dr. Ramírez and in 2015, she enrolled in the Pitcairn Institute of Veterinary Homeopathy course, which opened her eyes to a new way of practicing veterinary medicine. In Mexico homeopathy is widely known and accepted for acute prescribing. Dr. Ramírez was treated homeopathically as a child, and this method felt natural to her. As her training progressed, she felt excited to learn new ways of treating patients with apparently incurable diseases. She also donates her time to help local animal shelters with difficult cases using homeopathy. 

Now Dr. Ramírez exclusively uses homeopathy to treat her patients, and has been rewarded by the curative responses she has seen. She received her Certification in Veterinary Homeopathy (CVH) by the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy (AVH) in 2018, and has given lectures  at a National Symposium of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences in 2018, at the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy (AVH) conferences in 2019, 2020, and 2021. She has presented cases annually at the Pitcairn Institute of Veterinary Homeopathy advanced meeting in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Dr. Ramírez has shared her experience in how homeopathy works by collaborating with radio, TV, podcast and social media presentations. In 2019 the University of Nuevo León honored her with an award for “Professional Excellence”. She has been an active board member of the AVH since 2020.

In January 2020 she enrolled as a student in the field of human homeopathy at the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy, and then at Prometheus Homeopathic Institute. Dr Ramírez treats both people and animals with homeopathy, integrating the family systems and allowing the “whole” to flourish. Now she is exploring more technological tools like telemedicine in the treatment of patients not only in México but in the rest of the world in Spanish and English.

Dr Ramírez lives in her home town with her husband, daughter, two dogs, two cats and an urban veggie garden with lots of beautiful flowers.

 Linda Nurra, PhD, RSHom(NA), CCH
Faculty Instructor - VHI

Dr. Linda Nurra is a board-certified classical homeopath. In addition to clinical practice, she teaches homeopathy and flower essence therapy for professional homeopaths and serves as core faculty at the Prometheus Homeopathic Institute.

​Dr. Nurra received a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and advanced practitioner training from the School of Homeopathy. Her past roles include university teaching, training, curriculum design, and higher education administration. She has served on the Board of the California Homeopathic Medical Society and has contributed over a dozen publications to homeopathic and academic journals. She is passionate about creating learning and support communities for the next generation of homeopaths.