Dr. Jody Thomas O’Brien attended Michigan State University where she received her B.S. degree in Zoology with a specialization in Neurobiology and Animal Behavior in 1998. After spending a few years as a zookeeper at the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan, she went back to school and graduated from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006.

Upon graduation she moved to Seattle and began practicing veterinary medicine in a small animal practice. She has been at Animal Hospital of Newport Hills since 2010 and became the Medical Director in 2016. She and her husband Justin have a 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter, a tailless cat named Otter, an Axolotl and many fish.