That first day came and went and I’d figured how to sweep the floor and disinfect the examination table between patients. This endeared me to the veterinary assistants that worked there as those were tasks they did not have to do when I was around. Before you knew it the assistants were allowing me to help with evening and/or morning kennel work. Poop scooping is step one in becoming a veterinarian. By that time I’d become a fixture and even the doctor started letting me restrain patients for examinations and treatments of hospital cases.

Things were much different back then and there was not a concern that the practice would be sued if a volunteer was injured. I got my share of bites and scratches — and kicks and shoves and butts as the practice was mixed at that time and I was occasionally allowed to accompany the doctor on farm calls. This man, who grudgingly allowed me to “hang around” that first day became my second father. He taught me the joys of assisting at Caesarean sections, the pain and responsibility involved in performing euthanasia, and all things in between.

High school graduation came and went and I left home for college — Pre-Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University. The required classes for the pre-vet curriculum were in the school of Agriculture, a male-dominated area. Women were tolerated but not always welcomed. All you had to do as a woman was to stand your ground, make your grade, and not wimp out. Those of us women in those classes in the 1960s, who proved we could do the same work that men could, did more for women’s rights than all the bra burners put together.

After Veterinary School graduation, I returned home and worked for 12 years at the practice where I had volunteered and worked through high school and college. I married my soul mate, Dan, in 1979.

2 1⁄2 years were spent out of the area and upon return home, CARE-PETS ANIMAL HOSPITAL was started. Dan was instrumental in remodeling the building for the “first” Care-Pets…just 1 mile from the present location. He managed the construction of our present building and managed the practice until his death in 2010. The past 54 1⁄2 years have been filled with a lot of joy, some sorrow, and always chances to learn something new and exciting. Wonderful staff members, clients, and awesome patients have made my time as a veterinarian one that I would not have changed for the world. The plans for continuing the practice are awesome. Please stick around, watch, and be a part of it.