Dr. Hughes began her studies with a Bachelor of Science in Foods and Nutrition at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia way back in the ’80’s.When the youngest of her children began school, she decided to pursue her real passion which was working with animals.  After attending University of Prince Edward Island, she entered Atlantic Veterinary College  graduating in 2007.  She worked for a time in Canada, but then knowing that she could live and work anywhere in North America, she chose St. Petersburg because she had fallen in love with it’s beautiful Gulf and it’s perfect climate.