We treat the animal,not onlythe diagnosis.
Your note reaches Dr. Voss directly — not a booking queue.
An animal is not a chart.It is a life with a history,a body, and a home.
Integrative medicine is not an alternative to conventional veterinary care — it is conventional care, widened. We start where good medicine always starts: a thorough exam, the right diagnostics, and an honest read of what's happening. Then we ask the larger question most fifteen-minute visits never have time for — what would actually help this animal live well, today and through the years ahead?
Sometimes the answer is a medication. Often it is also movement, food, rest, acupuncture, and a household that understands the plan. We are evidence-aware and plainly honest about what each modality can and cannot do. We do not sell miracles. We build careful, patient plans — and we revise them as your companion changes.
The whole animal
Pain, mobility, appetite, sleep, mood, and the home around them are read together. A limp is rarely just a leg, and a plan that ignores the rest of the life rarely holds.
Evidence first
We reach for complementary modalities where the evidence and the patient support them — and we say so plainly when something is comfort care rather than cure. No mysticism, no overclaiming.
Time to think
Good integrative medicine cannot be rushed. Our visits are long on purpose, so we can examine, listen, and explain — and so you leave understanding the why, not just the what.
A shared plan
You know your animal better than anyone. The plan is built with you, written down, and adjusted as life and the body change. You are never handed a prescription and sent off alone.
“The art of medicine is in caring for the patient between the visits, not only during them.”
These are not à la carte add-ons. Each modality is chosen for a reason, sequenced with the others, and woven into the conventional care your animal is already receiving. Most plans use two or three together.
Modalities, joined into one plan.
Every modality is offered alongside — never instead of — appropriate conventional medicine and diagnostics.
Built for the long, complicated middle of a life.
We are not a fast clinic for vaccines and a nail trim, and we are not an emergency room. We are the practice families come to when an animal is aging, slowing, or living with something chronic — and the standard fifteen-minute visit isn't enough.
Aging dogs who've slowed down
The dog who hesitates at the stairs, rises stiffly, or has simply lost their spark. Arthritis and age are not a sentence to the couch — a layered plan often gives real years of comfortable motion back.
- Stiffness & slowing
- Stairs & jumps avoided
- Arthritis & joint pain
Cats with chronic conditions
Quiet, stoic cats hide illness well. For kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, chronic GI trouble, or arthritis they never show, we build calm, low-stress plans you can actually keep up with at home.
- Kidney & thyroid disease
- Hidden chronic pain
- Low-stress home care
Companions in recovery
After surgery, an injury, or a neurologic event, the weeks that follow decide how much function returns. Structured rehab and pain management turn a fragile recovery into a confident one.
- Post-surgical rehab
- Injury recovery
- Neurologic support
Families facing hard chapters
When the goal shifts from cure to comfort, you deserve honesty and a steady hand. We plan quality of life carefully and walk with you, plainly and gently, through the decisions that come with it.
- Quality-of-life planning
- Comfort-focused care
- Honest guidance
Conventional medicine, widened — not replaced.
Integrative care only works when it's disciplined. Here is how a plan actually comes together, from the first exam to the steady years that follow.
A full, unhurried reading
We begin where medicine should: a thorough physical exam, your animal's history, and the right diagnostics. Nothing is added until we understand what's actually happening in the body.
The conventional foundation
Where conventional medicine is the right tool — a diagnosis, a medication, a referral to a specialist or surgeon — we say so clearly and put it first. Complementary work is built on a sound footing, never instead of one.
The complementary layer
Then we add the modalities that fit this patient and this evidence — acupuncture, nutrition, rehab, comfort measures — sequenced deliberately so each supports the others rather than competing.
Measure, revisit, revise
A plan is a hypothesis. We track how your animal responds, keep what's working, drop what isn't, and adjust as the body and the life change. The relationship is the medicine.
If a problem belongs in conventional medicine alone, we will tell you so. We would rather refer you well than keep you for the sake of it.
Dr. Marin Voss
Founding Veterinarian · DVM, CVA
Dr. Voss practiced conventional small-animal medicine for nine years before founding Sage in 2009. The turning point was a fourteen-year-old retriever named Juniper — medically managed, technically stable, and quietly miserable. Conventional medicine had done its job and stopped short of the animal in front of her.
She trained in veterinary acupuncture and rehabilitation to close that gap: to keep the rigor of conventional medicine while finally having the time and the tools to treat comfort, mobility, and the whole life. She is evidence-aware to a fault, allergic to overclaiming, and happiest explaining a plan until a worried owner finally exhales.
- Doctorate
- DVM, Oregon State University
- Acupuncture
- Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist (CVA)
- Rehabilitation
- Canine rehabilitation training (CCRT track)
- Focus
- Geriatric, chronic & pain medicine
- Member
- AHVMA · IVAS
- In practice
- 23 years · 15 years at Sage
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine · Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
First consultations run about 60 minutes. We'll always tell you the likely cost before we begin — no surprises.
What a first visit actually looks like.
No conveyor belt, no rush. Plan for a calm hour. Here is roughly how it unfolds — though we follow your animal's pace, not a stopwatch.
Before you arrive
We read up first
Send your animal's records ahead and we'll review them before you walk in — history, prior diagnostics, current medications — so the hour is spent on your companion, not on paperwork.
First 20 minutes
Settling & listening
Animals get time to decompress in a calm room — often on the floor, on a mat, treats on hand. We talk through what you're seeing at home, what worries you, and what a good day looks like for your companion.
The middle
A thorough exam
A careful, whole-body physical — gait, joints, posture, pain mapping, and the conventional workup the case calls for. We explain what we find as we go, in plain language.
The last stretch
Building the plan together
We lay out options — conventional and complementary — with honest pros, costs, and expectations. You leave with a written plan you understand and helped shape, and a clear first step.
Quiet wins, told plainly.
No miracle cures — just steadier mornings, recovered stairs, and good days returned. These are the wins we measure.
“Willow had stopped taking the stairs and we'd quietly made peace with it. Six weeks of acupuncture, a new diet, and a home plan, and she trots up to bed again. Dr. Voss never once promised that — she just kept adjusting until it happened.”
Dana & Pri R.
Willow, 13 · arthritis & mobility
“Our cat's kidney numbers had us terrified. Sage gave us a plan we could actually keep up with at home and explained every piece of it. Marlow is calmer, eating, and we finally stopped feeling like we were failing him.”
Theo M.
Marlow, 11 · chronic kidney disease
“After his back surgery I thought our dog would never run again. The rehab program was patient and exact. The honesty was the part I didn't expect — when something wasn't working, they said so and changed it.”
The Okafor family
Boone, 7 · post-surgical recovery
“When it became about comfort instead of cure, Dr. Voss was the first person to be fully, gently honest with us. She planned his last good months with the same care she'd planned everything else. I'll never forget it.”
Sam L.
Atticus, 15 · comfort & quality of life
Start with a note, not a number to call.
Tell us about your companion — their age, what you're seeing, and what worries you — and Dr. Voss will read it herself, usually within two business days. We'll tell you honestly whether an integrative plan is likely to help, and what a first visit would look like.
Write to us
care@sagevetwellness.comTuesday–Saturday · 9:00–5:00 PT · We take a limited number of new patients so every plan gets real time.
After you write
- Read by Dr. Voss herself — not a queue
- An honest reply within two business days
- A clear sense of cost and next steps, up front
Helpful to include
- Your companion's name, age, and species
- What you're noticing at home, in your own words
- Any current diagnoses or medications
Is holistic care a replacement for conventional veterinary medicine?
No — and we'd be wary of anyone who said it was. We are licensed veterinarians who practice conventional medicine first, then add complementary modalities where the evidence and the patient support them. Diagnostics, medications, surgery, and specialist referrals all stay firmly on the table.
Does acupuncture actually work, and is it safe?
For chronic musculoskeletal pain, certain nerve conditions, and comfort, there is meaningful evidence and decades of clinical experience behind veterinary acupuncture. It's very safe in trained hands, and most animals relax or doze through it. We'll always be candid about where it helps and where it doesn't.
Why email for a care plan instead of just booking online?
Because the first note tells us your animal's situation in your own words, and lets Dr. Voss decide whether we're genuinely the right fit before you make a trip. It sets the tone for how we work — directly, and without a queue. You can also request a consultation online if you prefer.
What kinds of patients are the best fit?
Aging animals, pets living with chronic conditions, recoveries from surgery or injury, and families navigating comfort and quality-of-life decisions. If your pet just needs routine wellness or an emergency, we'll happily point you to the right kind of practice.
How long are visits, and how much do they cost?
First consultations run about an hour because integrative work can't be rushed. Cost depends on the exam, diagnostics, and the plan — but we'll always give you the likely figure before we begin. No surprise bills.
Do you make 'cure' promises?
Never. We promise rigor, honesty, and time. Many animals get real, measurable comfort and function back; some conditions we manage rather than fix; and when the goal becomes comfort rather than cure, we say so plainly and plan it with the same care.