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Story by
Amy Daugherty
Photos by
Mike Fuentes
L ions, tigers and bears, oh my! Well maybe not bears, but
Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine has, on oc
casion, had the rare opportunity to treat lions and tigers
in the Large Animal Clinic.
The A&M vet school houses the Small Animal Clinic, which
treats a range of animals from dogs and cats to the more exot
ic — including birds, reptiles, mice and hamsters.
Dr. Kenita Rogers, a clinic employee specializing in internal
medicine and oncology, said the Small Animal Clinic has two
primary divisions.
A community-practice area is a division which has a large
local clientele.
“It (the community-practice area) closely mimics a local
practice,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the remainder of the hospital is primarily for re
ferral cases.
“The rest of the hospital is set up around patients who are
referred to see someone who works with a special type of med
icine,” Rogers said. “Most cases are referred from surrounding
states like Louisiana or Arkansas.”
Rogers said the patients are initially examined by a senior
veterinary student who then tells the animal’s story to a clini
cian. She said the animal is examined by the clinician, and to
gether the student and the clinician try to make a decision as to
what treatment is best for the animal. Rogers said that, ulti
mately, the faculty member gets the last decision.
The clinic houses several facilities including dermatology,
cardiology, neurology and has behavior specialists on hand.
Surgeries are performed at the clinic, such as orthopedic, soft
tissue and eye surgery.
The clinic also has an intensive care unit that is monitored
24 hours a day.
Rogers said the unit takes care of the animals in the most crit
ical conditions.
“The sickest of the sick come in here (ICU),” Rogers said.
Glenda Reed, a client of the clinic, said she has brought her
dog. Jinx, an 11-year-old white boxer, to the clinic on several
occasions.
“He (Jinx) had a lung tumor removed last week and is here
to get his stitches out,” Reed said. “It (the clinic) is not my pri
mary vet, but I’ve been referred for speciality stuff. Jinx has
seen ophthalmologists, heart doctors and neurologists here.”
She said she takes her dog to the clinic because the clinicians
are more accustomed to handling the larger surgeries and pro
cedures than her regular veterinarian.
“I get referred when there’s something bigger than they can
handle,” Reed said. “They’ve come through for me on several
occasions.”
Along with the typical small animals, the clinic sees some
cases that are not so typical. Patti Matejka, one of the clinic’s
registered veterinary technicians, said the clinic, which has ul
trasound facilities, recently had a lion come in for an ultrasound
and Caesarean section.
“She’s (the lion) bred and she’s due to have her kittens but
hasn’t yet, so they’re going to ultrasound her,” Matejka said.
“They’re going to see if they’re alive. They will rush a C-section
if they’re alive, but won’t rush if they’re dead.”
Clients come from all over to Texas A&M’s Small Animal
Clinic, sometimes for a routine checkup and other times to give
their beloved pets a chance at life, because of the respect the
clinic has garnered. Reed said her experience with the clinic has
been nothing short of miraculous.
“They did a miracle when they saved my dog,” Reed said.
“I’ll forever be grateful.”
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Counter clockwise from top right: Dr. Jerram (left) and Dr. Herron dis
cuss an orthopedic exam as fourth year veterinary students look on.
• Dr. Julie Ducotoe preps Cricket, a fox terrier, for a sonogram. Cricket suf
fers from a liver problem.
• Ducotoe holds Cricket during a sonogram.
■Brian Finnigan kisses his 5-year-old pug soon after learning his pet is
suffering from a tumor.
• Phillip Schwarzlose, a fourth year veterinary student, performs routine den
tistry.
■Susan Richards, receptionist at the Small Animal Clinic, checks in
Faye Raye, a yellow labrador retriever.