When Eric Shuffelbottom Jr. was a young child, he dreamed of one day providing medical care to animals in need and helping people's pets and families by becoming a veterinarian. On May 10, Shuffelbottom, a 2015 graduate of Penn Manor High School, achieved that dream and received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Prior to attending veterinary school, Shuffelbottom obtained his Bachelor of Science in biomedical and pre-veterinary sciences with minors in chemistry and psychology from Lock Haven University. While attending Lock Haven, Shuffelbottom received several scholarships and numerous academic honors and awards, and he was a member of the Global Honors Program. He also had the opportunity to take part in a nationally recognized cooperative research effort between Lock Haven University, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and Temple University studying the effects of and treatments for white nose syndrome in bats. White nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has decimated the bat population, affecting the ecosystem in Pennsylvania. As a result of the team's research efforts, the project was featured in National Geographic in November 2018.

Following graduation from Lock Haven and prior to being accepted into veterinary school in 2020, Shuffelbottom was employed by the Army as a research fellow for the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. While there, he took part in research for the development, testing, and evaluation of medical chemical warfare countermeasures, including therapies and materials to treat casualties of chemical warfare agents.

While attending veterinary school, Shuffelbottom participated in clinical studies and internship programs in New York City, Houston, southern Florida, and Washington, D.C., and he was able to return to local veterinary assignments at Willow Run Veterinary Clinic in West Lampeter. In the fall of 2023, Shuffelbottom had the opportunity to practice medicine directly on various sea life and exotic animals at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The National Aquarium not only houses several exhibits for public display and education, including exhibits focused on the rainforest, coral reefs, and Australia, as well as an open-ocean shark tank, but it also conducts events to clean up the Chesapeake Bay wetlands and operates the Marine Animal Rescue Program, which rescues, rehabilitates, and releases marine mammals.

In late June, Shuffelbottom and his fiancee, Dr. Mercedes Smith of Madison, Miss., announced their engagement. Smith is also a 2024 graduate of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine with a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine (DMV).

Shuffelbottom has decided to focus his practice on small animal medicine and has accepted a veterinarian position at a veterinary emergency hospital located in the area of Austin, Texas. Smith has also accepted a position as a veterinarian in a veterinary clinic in Austin that specializes in exotic and small animal medicine. They relocated together to Texas in late June and will reside in the Austin area.