Dr. Mary & Jack McDonald

Who I Am

Dr. Mary McDonald is a large-animal veterinarian and was formerly a CVM long-term fieldworker in Bolivia with her husband Jack and two children before returning to VA and becoming a CVM Regional Representative, spiritual director, deacon, and speaker. She has the gift of evangelism and loves to speak on this topic at Real Life/Real Impact conferences and retreats. She mentors students at the VA/MD College of Vet Med school where she graduated in 2003.

Dr. McDonald is currently employed with the Society for Anglican Missionaries  (SAMs), and runs her own business called Spend Yourselves, LLC where she teaches a course called F.A.R.M., which stands for Farm Animal Refresher for Missions. The course helps prepare people who are interested in helping others in the majority world by teaching basic farm animal handling, nutrition, health care, vaccination, deworming, and foot trimming, as well as cross-cultural and evangelism training. She currently raises money for goat revolving loans in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan and is planning a project in Uganda in the future.

In the past, Dr. McDonald was an Adjunct Professor at VA Tech where she taught  an Introduction to the Equine Industry class to undergraduate students. When employed with Christian Veterinary Mission, she spoke at national and regional conferences and veterinary schools including: UPenn, Tufts, Cornell, VA/MD, NC State, UT, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ross, and led short-term mission trips for both students and veterinarians to Bolivia, Uganda and Nicaragua. She was a Professor at the Rene Morales Veterinary Schools in Bolivia and developed the course "English for Veterinarians".

She is an author of two books, the best-selling Starting and Running Your Own Horse Business, and The Magnet: A Large Animal Veterinarian's Journey, a book about her life as a veterinarian in Virginia. McDonald lives with her husband Jack in Catawba, VA where they have an international student ministry with students from VA Tech and do conservation work in the valley and on their historic farm.