Urgent Care & Walk-ins are Welcome!
Dr. Audra O’Keefe
Owner & Medical DirectorDr. Audra O’Keefe was raised on a hobby beef farm in southwestern Missouri where she discovered her love for animals early on, preferring to care for the barn cats over the cattle. This passion led her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. She attended both undergraduate and veterinary school at the University of Missouri and graduated with her doctorate in 2018. Following veterinary school, Dr. O’Keefe decided it was time to escape the humidity of the Midwest and move to Montana where she practiced as an emergency veterinarian at a 24-hour small animal emergency clinic, and then became the medical director of a small animal general practice.
The COVID pandemic brought challenges and reflection, prompting Dr. O’Keefe to prioritize her family and return home to Missouri. She continued her career as a medical director and then transitioned to working as a traveling relief veterinarian where she gained invaluable experience working at several different veterinary hospitals. During this time, she realized her dream of owning a practice, which lead to her move in the spring of 2024 to Northwest Arkansas. To honor the memory of her late father, who passed away a month before she began veterinary school in 2014, she named her dream hospital after his favorite flowering tree, and thus Dogwood Trails was born.
Dr. O’Keefe is dedicated to practicing veterinary medicine with a compassionate and personalized approach, ensuring the health and well-being of each patient while building strong relationships with their human families. While she enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine, she has a special passion for caring for senior patients, ensuring they remain comfortable and happy in their golden years, and performing complex soft tissue surgeries. Beyond her clinical work, Dr. O’Keefe is committed to teaching and mentoring aspiring veterinarians, honoring the mentors who inspired her on her journey.
In her free time, Dr. O'Keefe enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and her three dogs and three cats.
Dr. Anne McAlister
DVMDr. Anne McAlister grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, surrounded by family members who worked in human medicine. While medicine was a familiar part of her upbringing, she was the first in her family to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, discovering early on that her passion lay in caring for animals.
Dr. McAlister earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas in 2016, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Poultry Science. She then traveled north to attend the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, where she earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2020. Graduating at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic led to an unconventional and formative start to her veterinary career.
Following graduation, Dr. McAlister practiced in Northwest Arkansas for three years before completing a six-month emergency medicine internship at a veterinary emergency hospital in New Jersey, which she finished in 2024. During this time, she gained invaluable experience, mentorship, and friendships while further developing her clinical skills. Ultimately, she realized that while emergency medicine was an important chapter in her growth, it was not where she envisioned her long-term career.
Dr. McAlister returned to Northwest Arkansas, where she started her own business providing relief veterinary services for clinics throughout the region for nearly a year and a half. She greatly valued the opportunity to work alongside and learn from the many veterinary teams in the area.
Dr. McAlister is dedicated to practicing high-quality medicine and believes in working closely with clients to provide thoughtful, compassionate care for their pets. She values the opportunity to build relationships with clients during annual and wellness visits, helping answer questions about daily pet care while walking owners through preventative health recommendations. Dr. McAlister also enjoys utilizing diagnostic imaging to help provide clarity and direction in more complex cases.
Outside of the clinic, Dr. McAlister enjoys spending time reading, sipping a good matcha latte, staying active outdoors, traveling, and attending concerts.
Dr. Ellie Carlson
DVMDr. Ellie Carlson grew up in the Kansas City area and discovered her love for animals through work in agriculture outreach at a local children's farmstead. She attended Kansas State University for both undergraduate and veterinary school. Go Cats! After graduating in 2020, she worked at a high-volume mixed animal clinic in Nixa, MO for 2 years where she became affectionally known as Dr. Ellie to the local farmers. While she really enjoyed her time outside with the pigs and goats, ultimately Dr. Ellie wanted to focus on her love for small animal surgery and career growth. She moved to a small animal urgent care in north Springfield, MO, where she worked as medical director for 3 years.
Dr. Ellie's husband is a poultry veterinarian and new jobs have led them to Northwest Arkansas. They are excited to be in the area and discover everything Arkansas has to offer!
Her areas of passion include soft tissue surgery, wound management and client education. Dr. Ellie believes that a well-informed pet owner is the key to a pet’s long-term health and well-being. Whether it’s explaining the details of a surgical procedure, providing insights on diagnostics, or walking clients through the signs of common health issues, Dr. Ellie takes the time to ensure that every pet owner feels empowered to make the best decisions for their animal.
In her free time, you will often find Dr. Ellie and her husband fly fishing in a trout steam. She loves to travel, hike and spend time with family. Dr. Ellie has a Greater Swiss mountain dog and two cats.
