Small Town Specialist

Dr. Jessie Evoniuk doesn’t profess to be an expert on everything in veterinary medicine.

She even scoffs at describing herself as a jack-of-all-trades.

But geography and availability have evolved Evoniuk and her fellow veterinarians at the State Ave Veterinary Clinic in Dickinson, North Dakota, into small town specialists.

“One of the challenges of a rural practice is wanting to practice high quality medicine, but at the same time help our clients and patients find the assistance they need,” Evoniuk said. “None of us at my practice are specialists but we have to know a lot about everything since there’s not a specialty clinic within 12 hours of us.

“We do what we can for our patients and then send them elsewhere for additional treatment if necessary. They’ve come to expect a certain level of service from us.”

The State Ave Veterinary Clinic is a mixed animal practice. Evoniuk says she primarily sees small animals and exotics and has special interests in the clinic’s dentistry, chemotherapy and ultrasound services.

Even in Dickinson, North Dakota, Evoniuk given chemo treatments to dogs. She stabilized a tegu lizard so it could undergo surgery in Minneapolis. She’s been at the clinic long enough to see dogs and cats through their life cycles.

“I believe we are making a difference and improving the quality of life of the pets who come to see us,” Evoniuk said.

She has supplemented her Iowa State education with countless continuing education courses and her clinic has been active in purchasing new equipment so they could offer additional services. For instance, Evoniuk says her practice is the only one in the area that has a CT.

Evoniuk joined the State Ave Veterinary Clinic two years following her graduation and after working in a mixed animal practice in Rapid City, South Dakota. Dickinson was home to her and her husband, who reside on a nearby ranch with their two boys.

Her family’s ranch has about 200 head of cattle with 100 sheep. And although she may be primarily a small animal veterinarian by day, at night and weekends, Evoniuk does her fair share of treatments around the ranch.

“We probably do more in treating our animals than most ranchers in the area,” she said. “We have an ewe that has a titanium plate in one of its legs. We’ve done blood transfusions on a calf.

“It’s hard not to fix something you know can be fixed.”

At Home in South Dakota

Among the countless number of cases Dr. Heather Osnes has seen, one stands out.

“I always love the cases we see when the patient comes in just completely a wreck, and the owners are just sure they won’t be taking the home, but we work our magic and the patients heal,” Osnes said.

The one such case that stands out occurred at the Oahe Veterinary Clinic in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, the clinic Osnes joined right after graduating from Iowa State. 

One of Osnes’ patients was a German Shepherd she had been seeing for a while. When the owner called to say the dog was in bad shape, Osnes knew things were serious.

“The owner had to leave town for 48 hours and he told me to treat his dog as if it were my dog and do anything that was needed to make him well,” Osnes recalled. “When he walked out of the door of the clinic, he basically told the dog ‘good-bye’ for what he thought was the last time.”

Over the next two days, Osnes treated the German Shepherd like it was her pet. The care he received seemed to work, as the dog’s condition improved. When the owner returned late on a Sunday, Osnes was there to discharge the dog to him.

“The owner literally walked into the front door, hit his knees and started sobbing as this 100-pound German Shepherd met him at the door with his tail wagging and kisses ready for his owner,” Osnes said. “These are the cases that make it worth it.”

Over the past decade Osnes has practiced at the Oahe Veterinary Clinic seeing cats, dogs, horses, sheep and cattle. She is now a co-owner of the vet clinic. Her days are typically split between working with small animals at the clinic and farm calls to cow/calf operations in the Fort Pierre area with a little bit of equine work thrown in as well.

It’s a life Osnes says she was planning since she was eight years old growing up on a South Dakota cattle ranch.

“I love the variety of my day,” she said. “There is little room in this profession to get bored. If I get bored with what I do, there is always more to learn.”

Fort Pierre and the Oahe Veterinary Clinic are now home for Osnes. She is married, with two young boys “who have grown up basically in the clinic with me.” 

“I beat the odds of only working at the first clinic out of vet school for only one year, it’s going on 11 years now here at Oahe,” Osnes said. “I love the area and I enjoy going to our ranchers’ places and working cattle.

“I feel this clinic is such a good fit for me, both personally and professionally.”

Dedicated to the Profession

It was only a part-time gig, but Dr. Denise Larochelle must have liked what she saw in the Westfield Animal Clinic.

After graduating from Iowa State, Larochelle completed a one-year rotating internship at New England Animal Medical Center before accepting a full-time associate position in Connecticut.

Even though she had a full-time job, Larochelle was working a day or two a week at Westfield Animal Clinic in Westfield, Massachusetts. The timing was right and in 2013 she purchased the clinic and has been the owner and sole practitioner there ever since.

“As an associate you can punch in and punch out and concentrate on practicing medicine,” Larochelle said. “As a vet and business owner, I also have to work on the finances, the staffing and look at the image of my clinic. I put in more hours than I thought I would.”

Larochelle has put her heart and soul into her practice. As the sole practitioner, she rarely takes a day off as she puts in extra hours to accommodate her clinic’s clients.

“I take everything to heart more as this is my practice and what goes on there is a direct reflection of me,” she said.

Her dedication has been recognized. In 2018, Larochelle was selected for inclusion in the Trademark Women of Distinction Honors for “demonstrating dedication, leadership and professional excellence.”

The honor cited Larochelle’s “compassion and expertise that sets the standard in the industry. She has truly dedicated herself to her profession, representing humility and personal touch with everyone she does business with. Her kindness and willingness to always help others and find solutions to most questions is both exemplary and honorable.”

In addition serving the Westfield community, Larochelle also provides veterinary care for the Westfield K9 police dog, the Westfield Animal Shelter and Animal Control, and the Southwick Animal Shelter and Animal Control.

“Giving back to the community and being part of helping animals who need to find forever homes and may not have had the best care or were strays is rewarding,” she said.

Larochelle does take time away from her professional responsibilities. Married with two children, she plays on an adult co-ed soccer team. But even at home, she is around animals.

The family has four dogs, three cats, two ferrets, two rabbits and an Arabian Mixed horse named Elvis. The photo on her web bio gives a little hint of who is top dog within the family’s pets.

“Dogs will always be my favorite,” Larochelle said. “They are loyal and great companions. They give you love no matter what.”

Heading in a Different Direction

Sometimes things don’t work out like you plan them.

Dr. Carrie Wheeler is just such an example. Focused on equine medicine while at Iowa State, Wheeler set her goals on pursuing an equine surgical residency.

“I was always on the pathway that included an equine internship,” Wheeler said. “At the time I graduated, finding equine positions was very challenging and a residency even more so.”

Still, Wheeler didn’t give up. She completed an internship at New Jersey Equine Clinic and enrolled in a master’s degree program at Kansas State University where she focused on orthopedic surgical research. 

In that program, Wheeler worked with a large animal research group primarily with goats and some cattle. That experience and other factors led her away from seeking a residency and towards an equine ambulatory position.

“Jobs at the time were still very scarce but thanks to my internship I was able to find a position,” she said.

Wheeler worked at Edelson Equine Associates in her home state of Pennsylvania for eight years before a back injury and burnout has led her in a different direction.

Today, Wheeler is a supervisory public health veterinarian part of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service in Pennsylvania, a position she has held since May 2021. In her new role, Wheeler manages a team of food inspectors and consumer safety inspectors that monitor sanitary conditions to ensure the nation’s food supply.

Wheeler travels among multiple establishments to monitor the safety of meat and poultry production.

“My primary focus is the humane slaughter of cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens,” she said. “I am also involved with further meat product processing to make foods such as hot dogs, sausages and meat pies.”

“So far, I am very excited and engaged in my new job. It is certainly not what I ever envisioned myself doing with my degree, but the change has been welcome. That bit of random large animal experience at Kansas State has certainly helped the transition, but overall, it has been really rewarding to get out of my comfort zone.”

The fact Wheeler sought to be an equine vet in the first place surprises even her. She grew up in a very “non-horsey” family.

“I am really unsure what drove me to continue to ask my family to see horses,” she said. “After I began riding lessons at a young age I was hooked and began to not only learn to ride but learn horsemanship.”

She actively participated in 4-H and Pony Club. She has had her horse, Iron Image, since she was 14 years old. His complicated medical history was the spark that drove her to equine medicine. 

Today Wheeler doesn’t ride competitively after Iron Image was retired due to his injuries. Now given her own back problems, she doesn’t want to risk further injuring herself, so she has curtailed her own pleasure riding.

But with her new USDA position, Wheeler has more time to spend with Iron Image. 

“Now that I’ve gotten a break from practicing equine medicine and I am finding more free time in my schedule, I am certainly beginning to enjoy hanging out with my horse and grooming him.

“Perhaps my riding career will enjoy a resurgence in the future.”

Jack of All Trades

Never in his wildest dreams, did Dr. Brian Collins see himself as a teacher. And he certainly didn’t picture himself back at his alma mater.

“I never considered teaching,” Collins said. “I always assumed you need to be a specialist to teach at a veterinary school.

“I was more of a jack of all trades and master of none.”

Collins is selling himself short. He has worked hard to refine his veterinary skills, which he has put to good use as the clinical assistant professor with overall responsibilities for the College of Veterinary Medicine’s two Clinical Skills Laboratories.

It was a long and winding road on Collins’ return to Iowa State. After graduation, he worked in a mixed animal practice in his hometown of Elkader, Iowa, working primarily with dairy cattle. The U.S. Navy veteran is also a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, serving first with the 94^th veterinary detachment stationed in Ames and currently with the 4-414^th SROTC unit, also in Ames.

His wife, Jodi (’08), is also in the Army Reserves and the couple moved to Richmond, Virginia in 2015 where Collins worked at a “high volume, low cost” surgery and dental center, developing his surgical and dental skills.

“Over the years, I believe I’ve developed a diverse set of skills, which has come in handy in the Clinical Skills Lab,” he said.

Collins and his family moved back to Iowa in 2019 and he immediately dove into his job at Iowa State. In addition to his Clinical Skills Lab responsibilities, Collins is one of the instructors of the Junior Surgery class as well.

Both responsibilities fit perfectly with Collins’ skills and goals.

“The students want to be here,” he said. “It’s fun to work with them, they’re always excited to learn. It’s really wonderful when you see their faces when something clicks.” 

Most of Collins’ days are spent in the Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL), which was created to provide opportunities for students to become more confident about any number of procedures. It solves an age-old dilemma on having student veterinarians gain experience in the profession before treating a live animal for the first time.

The CSL is equipped with medical simulators and models, some of which are commercially made and have been purchased through private donations and college funds.

Collins supplements the purchased models with homemade items. Since arriving at Iowa State, he has utilized a 3-D printer to create skin pads and spay models among other items.

“I have been able to be creative in finding solutions so we can make new learning models, enabling the students to get their techniques down pat,” he said. 

“The Clinical Skills Lab bridges the gap between lectures and their labs and clinical year. It’s great because nothing dies or gets injured if they make a mistake.”