Dr. Dana was born in Philadelphia, PA and grew up in many different towns along the East Coast. She even spent a little time in California as her dad spent 32 years in the Navy. Dr. Dana’s father’s best friend was an army veterinarian who left the army to start his own practice. He used to take care of the family pets. Dr. Dana visited and worked in his practice throughout her childhood. She realized she loved dogs and horses more than almost anything in the world and decided to attend vet school.
Dr. Dana received her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech, a Master’s Degree in soil science at the University of Florida, and then received her DVM from Auburn University where she received the class award for medical proficiency. She started her career at Atwood Animal Hospital in Cranston and then spent 23 years as an associate veterinarian at West Greenwich Animal Hospital.
Dr. Dana loves getting to know clients and their pets and especially enjoys managing old patients with multiple health concerns. Elderly dogs are her favorite! Dr. Dana’s husband Mark, is a professor and soil scientist in the Natural Resources Department of the University of Rhode Island. They have two children Sarah and Carter. Dr. Dana has several pets including a Whippet named Pickle, an overly affectionate former feral cat named Bruno, and a quarter horse named Rosie that she rides frequently. Dr. Dana also has a draft horse named Gordy. One year she and Gordy won the log pull at the North Stonington Fair! Outside of work, Dr. Dana is a member of a peace group in South County and a meditation group that started from an online class she took at the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico.
In 2016, she began learning Spanish and speaks Spanish at an intermediate level, practicing in multiple language exchanges each week with friends from Spain. Dr. Dana will complete her second year of seminary at One Spirit Interfaith and will be ordained as an interfaith minister in spring of 2023.