Dr Snell was born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. Veterinary medicine was a career aspiration from childhood. She earned her veterinary degree from Massey University in 1988. Afterwards, she worked in a small animal practice in Wellington before spending a year doing locum work in London, England.

Aftern returning to New Zealand, Dr Snell worked at Taradale Veterinary Hospital in Hawkes Bay for 21 years, spending 16 years as an owner of the practice. She started her holistic practice, Veterinary Holistic Healthcare, in 2018, after earning a Western Herbal Certification. She completed a Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine through CIVT in 2019.

She worked part time in a holistic practice as well as a companion animal practice. She also worked part time for the Raw Essentials company, providing nutritional advice to pet parents who were transitioning their pets with health issues onto a raw food diet.

Currently, Dr Snell focuses completely on her holistic practice, seeing patients in person and via telemedicine. In addition to her clinical practice, she has lectured at the New Zealand Veterinary Association conferences and is the current newsletter editor for the Complementary Branch of the NZVA.