Spring has sprung and it couldn’t have happened soon enough. But before you spring your cat from the comforts of home or let your dog bound through the yard here are some healthful hints to make sure your furry family member is ready for the rising temperatures.
In addition to your direct support of the Companion Animal Fund, we invite everyone to show us your own very special companions to earn additional animal assistance at the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center.
Just send a favorite pet pic (you know your phone is loaded with them) of your furry or not-so-furry friend(s) to vetmeddev@iastate.edu.
Join supporters of the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center for our first-ever Forever True Day, a 24-hour online giving celebration to assist the hospital in continuing to provide the very best care for your pets.
The celebration will start at forevertrueday.com, so mark your calendars for noon CST on Tuesday, March 1, to join in on the online celebration!
The path from a kid who loved animals to a veterinarian owning her own clinic has been met with a few twists and turns along the way.
But Dr. Dianne Beal always knew she wanted to work with animals and in the sciences. She just didn’t think she would become a veterinarian.
“It wasn’t necessarily my dream to be a veterinarian,” she said, “actually at one point I considered being a marine biologist.”
That dream never materialized and for a while it didn’t appear veterinary medicine would be in her future either. The upstate New York native earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was working in the sciences as a researcher at a pharmaceutical company.
With a master’s degree in cell biology, that would seem to be the career path she would take. Yet something was missing.
“I remember thinking that was so boring and tedious. Sitting under a flow hood all day was rather isolating,” she said. “Now I never know what I’m going to be walking into on a daily basis.”
So Beal decided it was “now or never” to get her DVM. She spent her first two years studying at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and although she enjoyed the experience she wanted to get back to the United States.
“Out of the blue, Iowa State wrote me asking if I was still interested and would like to transfer,” she said.
The rest of her career came together. After graduating with her DVM from Iowa State, she completed a small animal internship with a focus on emergency medicine in Springfield, Virginia. After her career military husband retired, she worked at small animal practices in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Then five years ago, she and her husband purchased a clinic in Mystic, Connecticut.
“Actually we bought a building that used to be a practice,” Beal corrects herself. “The practice had closed.”
Beal is the sole practitioner at Northeastern Veterinary Care Center. She treats the patients where she has a soft spot for her older patients and a special interest in dermatology. Her husband does “everything else.”
“Everybody loves a puppy,” she said. “I’m on the floor cuddling with them as much as anyone. But to be able to ease older pets into their later years and understand their special needs is what interests me.
“I tend to take a more practical approach with my clients that have older patients. I always treat them like they are my own pet and I will be honest with them. At times I feel a little guilty when I know how much it is going to cost to treat their pets.”
When Beal says she treats them like her own pet she means it. When she moved across country she brought along seven dogs and three cats. Today her and her husband have two dogs and a pair of cats.
Her pets have come from rescue leagues she has been affiliated with and from clients who couldn’t care for them. One is her pit bull, Rosie.
“Rosie was an abused case,” she said. “Even though we had said no more pets, I just couldn’t let this dog go back into that situation.
“To me it is a commitment.”
Name the animal and Dr. Lesha (Eggers) Dawson has probably not only treated and cared for it, but has welcomed it into her home.
Even her sixth grade photo featured a baby opossum that had nearly drowned in a storm.
“I brought the baby opossum home to my parents, begging them to help me help her,” Dawson said. “My parents graciously tolerated most of the creatures I brought home, and always knew I would end up caring for them as I have for all of my life.”
Today the tolerant person is Dawson’s husband Matt.
“One of the first things I told my husband was if you marry me, it’s not just me,” Dawson said. “My menagerie is part of who I am and where I go, they go.”
A good example is when Dawson moved from a mixed animal practice in Kansas after graduating from Iowa State to Texas and the Bastrop Veterinary Hospital near Austin.
Dawson describes the trip from Kansas to Texas like this.
“I drove down with a squirrel asleep on my shoulders, one cat on my lap, one cat beside me, a yorkie on the seat snuggled up with the cat, and a brilliant red parrot on my other shoulder,” she said. “You should have seen the toll booth lady when I rolled down the window!”
We should note that Dawson was traveling legally with the squirrel – it was one of her wildlife rehab patients. She served as a wildlife rehabilitation substitute in Kansas for years with experience working with and raising baby raccoons, foxes, beavers and many other wildlife creatures.
Over her veterinary career, Dawson has also cared for giraffes, camels along with the cows, birds, dogs and cats that come into her practice.
“All of these creatures brought and still bring such joy to my heart not to mention the entertainment value,” she said.
If anything since she moved to Texas, Dawson’s menagerie has grown. Her yorkie, Tuffy, who was with her throughout vet school, is now over 17 years old. The parrot came from a client who moved and couldn’t take her with them.
“She was my patient and we had a great bond. Bunnies I have had all my life, so I guess I just keep accumulating them because I love them,” Dawson said.
The latest addition is a calf named Bradley who had a severe infection and an open fracture on his hind leg.
“His owners just were unable to care for him in the way that he needed to heal, and he had a terrible prognosis period. They were so very grateful that I was willing to just try and I was so grateful for the opportunity,” she said.
Bradley is now one of Dawson’s three “dog-cows,” along with Vinny who was attacked by a pack of dogs as a young calf, and Herman, a Brahman steer whom Dawson flushed joints on repeatedly.
“My rule is that everyone must live in harmony and they all abide by that, so it works, right down to the parrot and the cats sitting side by side,” Dawson said. “It may look like chaos, but it works and I love every second.”
The vast majority of her animals are what Dawson lovingly calls “clinic rejects.” The owners are unable to either physically or financially care for the animals and they ask if there is anyone at Bastrop Veterinary Hospital who would like a project.
As an owner of the clinic, Dawson says that staff member “usually ends up being me.”
Bastrop Veterinary Hospital is a seven doctor clinic with patients including dogs, cats, exotics, livestock and horses.
“Just yesterday I saw a macaw, cattle, dogs, cats and consulted on several other things,” she said. “It’s never boring with our variety around here.
“We focus on letting our doctors grow and practice the way that they are most comfortable with, and we provide a support network that ensures that even new graduates can gain confidence and have mentorship and the opportunity to consult with another doctor at any given time.”
Right before this interview, Dr. Kristin Baumgartner Gentile had an 18-hour day at the Pet Vet Animal Clinic in the western Chicago suburbs.
Several emergencies came through the door all at once. She had to do an emergency surgery because nearby emergency veterinary clinics were not staffed adequately.
It sounds like a horrible day.
But not to Gentile.
“In hind sight, although I am exhausted today, I’ll admit it was fun,” she said. “I genuinely want to help my patients and figure out what is causing their symptoms, although there is the frustrating aspect of not always being able to get to a definitive diagnosis due to client constraints.”
Gentile is an associate veterinarian at Pet Vet Animal Clinic in Huntley, Illinois. She works relief emergency shifts at an area clinic as well as conducting vaccine clinics “on the side.” She has also served as an emergency veterinarian and associate veterinarian at three other clinics since graduating.
Small animal wasn’t the career path Gentile envisioned. She had dreamed and worked hard to be an equine practitioner and did an internship at the Merritt Equine Hospital.
“I wanted to gain more experience and real life knowledge,” she said of her internship. “It didn’t entirely prepare me for the small animal world that I ended up in, but it was still a good learning experience.”
And she’s still learning at her new clinic, a small, non-corporate business.
“What sets Pet Vet is that it’s family focused,” Gentile said. “I’m able to work around my kids’ schedules much more easily now.”
Which is good when you have an 18-hour day. Or a day filled with tough cases with difficult questions.
One such case in particular has stuck with Gentile over the years. It was her first exploratory surgery, which was ultimately successful.
“It stands out because it wasn’t like anything we learned in vet school,” she said. “While we did have actual foreign body surgeries in school to practice on, they are all different.”
This case concerned a boxer puppy who had ingested the foam bedding from his dog bed. He didn’t appear sick other than vomiting. He was still bouncing around the room and was super active.
“We learned in school that these guys are typically uncomfortable and lethargic, but not this guy,” Gentile recalled. “He had dying intestine by the time we got into surgery and he needed a resection and anastomosis. This taught me that not every obstructed foreign fits the picture in the text book.
“The joy that comes from helping patients like this is what keeps me coming back to the office.”
She grew up on a farm in rural western Nebraska. Went to vet school at Iowa State before moving to Missoula, Montana, for her first job.
But Dr. Stephanie Blackstone has found a home in Colorado where she works as a small animal veterinarian in suburban Denver.
“I learned so much in Missoula working overnight on call alone that I never would have otherwise,” Blackstone said. “But the proximity to specialty hospitals in Denver and the mentorship I have received made being a young veterinarian so much easier.”
In Missoula, Blackstone worked for three years at a six doctor practice. The only problem was the job was 80 hours a week and included overnights on call. The potential for burnout and the desire to move closer to family made her decision to move to Caring Hands Veterinary Clinic in Thornton, Colorado, a no brainer.
Blackstone says the feedback she received from associates and visiting specialists was irreplaceable during her eight years at the ten doctor practice
“Over the years, I have established close working relationships and friendships with veterinarians all over the Denver metro area,” she said. “It makes getting my patients the care they need extremely easy if I can text a specialist to get them in right away.”
Today, Blackstone is treating patients at Mountain Ridge Animal Hospital, also located in suburban Denver. It’s a smaller practice where she sees patients three days a week with another day scheduled for surgeries.
It’s a career she has always wanted.
“I love what I do,” Blackstone said. “I love the animals and feeling like I am doing my part to keep them happy and healthy and with their families for as long as possible. The relationships I get to build with clients and their pets are my favorite part of my job.”
Blackstone says she even enjoys the routine appointments.
“My favorite days are the ones where a simple vaccine appointment becomes life-saving,” she said. “A casual comment or observation by the family about a specific behavior or symptom they have noticed, leads us to find a condition or problem that can be treated but may have otherwise been fatal.
“That’s a good day.”
Make no mistake about it, Dr. Kelly Wathen Keymer is veterinarian.
But she is also a Navy spouse and her husband’s frequent transfers continue to take her around the United States. Everywhere from Virginia Beach to Seattle and now back to the East Coast in Maryland.
Her career has ranged from a mixed animal practice to a small animal emergency practitioner. When she spent three years in the Seattle area after one of her husband’s transfers, she started a small animal relief practice which she maintained when the couple moved to Maryland in early 2020.
“I’m a believer that if you practice good medicine, are kind to staff members, as well as the clients, and work hard, the details will work themselves out,” she said. “So far that has proven to be true for me.”
While most of her career has been focused on small animals, Keymer has a passion for equine medicine. That passion includes equine rehabilitation and she got had a career altering experience when her equine companion of 15 years, Johnson, acutely came in from the pasture neurologic one morning.
“Johnson was a spectacular teacher throughout his life on so many levels,” Keymer said. “He had a talent for random injuries and mystery ailments.”
Her horse was in severe pain and had difficulties moving. Local equine veterinarians couldn’t figure out what was going on with Johnson and couldn’t figure out how to make him more comfortable.
Keymer turned to Dr. Posie Magurn, a local veterinary equine therapist.
“Dr. Magurn gave me hope, but did not mince words on how challenging Johnson’s case was and that she couldn’t predict the future,” Keymer said. “On that first visit and many after, her patience with Johnson and me, her openness on not having all of the answers, and her insistence that I could help him myself were absolutely some of the most valuable lessons I have learned in work and life.”
Keymer was so impressed with Magurn and her methods, that she obtained her veterinary acupuncture certificate. And when Magurn retired in 2019 and gave Keymer access to her equine clients, it allowed Keymer the ability to start Solis Veterinary Care. The practice is exclusively equine and Keymer offers pain management, acupuncture and soft tissue manipulation services.
“I enjoy horses so much and there is just so much to learn that my time is best spent focusing on how I can help these amazing animals,” Keymer said. “Taking good care of horses is the only thing I had ever wanted to do, so it was a natural transition.”
In addition to Solis Veterinary Care, Keymer still maintains her small animal relief practice.
“The biggest challenge for me as a military spouse is that it takes time to build a practice and when you move every three years that is a huge obstacle,” she said. “That is a big part of the reason I keep my toes in small animal practice.
“But ultimately, like most veterinarians, I’m here for the animals. They deserve to be well cared for and I am in a unique position to do just that for them.”
The four years Dr. Magda Rosol Gauvin spent in Iowa studying at the College of Veterinary Medicine is a geographical outliner in her life.
After graduating from Iowa State, the Massachusetts native returned to New England to complete an equine internship in New Hampshire. She’s held other jobs in a two-doctor practice and at an area animal shelter.
But she never thought she would live in Maine. Yet that’s where you will find her today as the owner of Alfred Waterboro Veterinary Hospital (AWVH).
“Moving to Maine was never something I intended but I ended up here,” Gauvin said. “After my equine internship, I moved to Maine for a job opening.
“Then the opportunity came up to purchase a long-established veterinary hospital. The current owner was retiring and I felt that this would be an excellent opportunity to further my career.”
Gauvin, who is expecting her first child (girl) in April, purchased AWVH in 2017 where she is currently the solo practitioner. The clinic sits on the small town’s (population 8,000) Main Street, just a half an hour drive to the Atlantic Ocean. It is a small animal general practice, but Gauvin says she does see occasional farm animals, exotics and pocket pets.
At AWVH, Gauvin says she is booked solid seeing patients for preventive medicine, surgery, dentistry and sick pet visits, Monday through Friday. The clinic doesn’t offer emergency after hours work and is closed on the weekends.
“This schedule allows me to provide care for my patients and it also allows my staff and myself some time to recover,” she said. “It can be challenging, but rewarding being a practice owner.”
Even in small town Maine, Gauvin daily confronts many of the same issues veterinarians are across the country. Staff are leaving the profession. She has had to deal with disrespectful clients.
Despite the issues, she enjoys what she does.
“I very much enjoy soft tissue surgery, especially abdominal foreign bodies,” she said. “Complex internal medicine cases are also of interest to me. It really gets me investigating, thinking and learning.
“I enjoy a challenge and there are many challenges to being a veterinarian but also a practice owner.”
