Emily Thomas grew up in Georgia and, by all accounts, never imagined she’d one day become a fan-favorite rural vet on national television. After completing her veterinary training at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, she entered mixed-animal practice, developing the large-animal skills that would later make her stand out on TV. Public records and show bios place her graduation from UGA in 2010, which aligns with her early career timeline before moving north.
In her own writing, Emily describes those first post-vet-school years as formative and, at times, grueling. She worked in mixed-animal practice in the South and has candidly shared that one early job came with a “difficult boss,” sending her back to the job market while she and her family faced a pending move out of a rental home. That honest snapshot matters: it shows a young clinician already balancing medicine, motherhood, and the realities of entry-level vet work — long hours, modest pay, and limited control over scheduling — while refusing to settle for a poor fit.
The unexpected call: how (and when) she joined Dr. Pol
The turning point reads like something out of a script — except it came straight from Emily’s blog.
A colleague spotted a posting for Pol Veterinary Services in Weidman, Michigan, and urged her to apply.
Emily sent her résumé “almost as a favor,” praying for direction and fully convinced Michigan wasn’t in the cards.
The next day, while driving home from visiting family in Colorado, her phone rang. It was Dr. Jan Pol’s office, inviting her to interview. She took it as a sign — and said yes.
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From there, the timeline tightens: Emily notes that she and her family moved to Michigan in mid-February 2014, arriving during a historically harsh winter. Within the show’s chronology, she began appearing in episodes that aired in early 2015 (Season 6), where on-screen summaries explicitly introduce her as “joining the Pol Clinic.”
Work at Pol Veterinary Services — and why viewers connected
On camera, Emily stepped into exactly the kind of medicine that fit her training: farm calls, emergency calvings, equine work, and the endless variety of a rural mixed practice — while also handling small-animal cases back at the clinic. Fans noticed the same things her colleagues did: calm under pressure, quick, decisive hands in the field, and a quiet empathy with cli
ents. Those traits — layered over long Michigan days, brutal winters, and the show’s fly-on-the-wall camera style — made her instantly memorable.
Her prominence is easy to trace in the episode archives and fan discourse. Mid-run episode descriptions highlight “Dr. Emily” by name (including a 2018 episode where her own early labor became part of a storyline), an uncommon visibility for non-family associates on the series and a signal of real audience attachment.
The hard part: pressure, filming, and the decision to leave
As her popularity grew, so did the workload. Rural mixed practice is physically demanding on its own; add TV production layers and the challenges compound. Emily has been frank that the hectic pace and filming environment were difficult, and that she needed a healthier balance for herself and her family. She frames the decision through a lens of faith and boundaries: you have to believe it will work out — and that even if it doesn’t, you’ll be okay. In a later reflection, she writes that being on TV brought financial stability she might not have achieved otherwise, but when it was time, she took “another leap of faith” and stepped away.
While exact episode-by-episode timing is best reconstructed from guides, the consensus — including show listings and fan documentation — places her departure in 2019, near the end of Season 15 broadcast. The show’s official channels and fan pages marked the goodbye at the time, underscoring how central she’d become to the clinic’s on-screen rhythm.
Image of Dr. Pol’s cast, Dr. Michele Sharkey, Diane Pol, Nicole Arcy, Dr. Emily Thomas, Dr. Brenda, and Dr. Pol, from left to right
After Michigan, Emily and her husband, Tony, chose Virginia very deliberately. As she puts it, they wanted mountains and coastline without “nine months of stifling heat like Georgia” or “nine months of dark depressing cold like Michigan.” She blanketed a handful of clinics with résumés, scheduled multiple interviews over a single family trip, and landed her next post by the end of that weekend.
By early 2020, the Thomases were settled in Front Royal, Virginia, where Emily appears on the roster for Warren County Veterinary Clinic — a small-animal practice formed from the merger of Warren County and Cedarville Veterinary Clinics. The clinic’s team page and social updates have featured her by name, and a family blog entry from the same period confirms the shift to small-animal-only medicine (and the fact that she misses the adrenaline of calvings and foalings)
Where is Dr. Emily Vet Moving?
Just a few weeks ago, Dr. Emily Thomas—the beloved veterinarian best known from The Incredible Dr. Pol—sparked excitement among her followers with a cryptic social-media post that hinted at another major life change. Sharing a photo of packed moving pods, she wrote, “Here we go again on our own… Well, along with the children. And six cats, two dogs, and an axolotl.” She ended the post with hashtags #moving, #pods, and #bittersweet, leaving fans speculating about what might be next for her family.
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Now, the mystery has been solved. Just two days ago, Emily shared a telling image of a roadside sign that read “Welcome to Colorado,” confirming that the Thomases have officially begun a new chapter out West. According to those close to her, the decision to move to Colorado wasn’t just about scenery—it was also about opportunity. Emily recently left the Virginia clinic where she had been practicing for several years after receiving a promising new veterinary job offer in Colorado. The move marks another courageous step in her journey as she continues balancing her passion for animal care with her family’s pursuit of a better life and new horizons.
