Lowcountry Animal Advocate- Dr. Henri Bianucci

Dr. Henri Bianucci

Co-Owner Veterinary Specialty Care

Written by Julie Murray

Our August - September Animal Advocate is Dr. Henri Bianucci. Dr. Bianucci is a veterinary surgeon and co-owner of Veterinary Specialty Care, LLC. He is quite well-known in the Lowcountry animal rescue community as a skilled vet and a compassionate rescuer. His penchant for saving animals started early. “The earliest rescues I can remember were the live shrimp I would release from my dad’s bait box when I was about 3,” and he was constantly finding injured wildlife, dogs and cats to foster and nurse back to health over the years. Being a veterinarian seemed to be a perfectly natural progression of those early tendencies towards animal rescue. “When I became a veterinarian and then a surgeon, I gained the skill sets and resources enabling me to help animals in very special ways.” And while veterinary medicine is his profession and how he earns a living, he says that he doesn’t want to limit his skills to paying clients. “Rescue animal’s surgeries are in many ways the most rewarding ones I do. Other than their circumstances, these animals are no different than those of paying clients. To surgically restore a rescue to health and see it become the center of a loving adoptive family truly makes me feel like I’ve put at least one thing right in the world.” As you can imagine, Dr. Bianucci has many amazing rescue stories but his most memorable is saving a dog named Maisey, a skinny mutt that Dr. B’s wife found walking down Maybank Highway. “It was a freezing day and the wind from a passing car blew her over into the ditch. She was incredibly emaciated and could not get up.” His wife rushed Maisey over to the emergency clinic in Mount Pleasant and Dr. Bianucci and the VSC team went to work saving her life. “The dog had virtually no hair and was absolutely skeletal. She had a large anal mass which had spread to her abdomen, and she looked very old.” The medical consensus was to do the kind thing and end Maisey’s suffering via euthanasia. However, his wife disagreed; she saw this dog had clearly lived a life of neglect and told Dr. B that it just seemed wrong to let her leave this world having never been giving love or care. The team decided to continue her treatment and try their absolute hardest to save Maisey. “Ultimately we decided to press on, and as is often the case, we were able to accomplish more than we expected.” Maisey recovered and was even adopted by one of the vet techs who never stopped believing in the loving spirit of this beautiful animal. She lived with her new family for 9 . months and then peacefully passed away. “During that time, she got more love and care than most dogs get in a full lifetime!” I asked Dr. Bianucci what he would recommend to people who wanted to help animals. “Become a vegetarian, or better yet a vegan. At the very least, think about where your animal products come from and reduce your consumption. The meat and dairy industries are responsible for the pain, suffering and abuse of animals by the billions.” He also advocates rescue over buying pets, spay/neuter and supporting your local rescue organizations. “There are limitless opportunities to aid in animal welfare, but you can’t do it all. Pick an area you are passionate about and do what you can.” Dr. Bianucci understands the plight of animal rescue organizations. It’s often emotionally taxing and VERY expensive. “So many of the situations they deal with are manmade, ranging from irresponsible to criminal, and often they cannot provide the care they would like because of financial constraints.” Consider donating to your favorite rescue - even $5.00 can help.

So what drives someone to work this hard and advocate so passionately for animals? Dr. Bianucci says he thinks the key is that he doesn’t see a difference between his own dog and a pet in need of rescue, other than circumstance. “They may be mangy, starved, scared and broken, but I know that deep inside, they are a dog or cat just like mine that can become as special to someone as mine are to me. To be able to make that happen is just the best.”