TARA ALWAYS DREAMED OF OWNING A Percheron, though she never imagined saving one. “All my life, I wanted a black beauty,” she said. “I love their large necks and how docile they are. They are one of those breeds that are low key.” When friends at the barn her son rode at heard of a Percheron for sale at an auction house, Tara was the first person they thought of who could save her. “They told me she would get sent to a slaughterhouse, or I could adopt her.”
There wasn’t much time to decide, so Tara and Bryan, the horse’s other owner, bought the horse sight unseen. “We were told she would be alright despite having some problems,” Tara said. However, the horse they purchased was not at all what they were expecting. Instead of the large stature Tara loved, she received a very underweight, under 800 pound equine with no mane or tail and extensive hoof problems. “She was a plow horse, and they believe she was left to starve after she injured her hoof.”
Despite her appearance, Tara and Bryan weren’t about to give up on the horse now named Portia. Two years later, Portia weighs over 1,700 pounds and loves her new home despite challenging health problems she will face for the rest of her life. “She is missing a third of her coffin bone, which is usually a death sentence, but she learned to compensate for it,” Bryan said. “Eventually, we want to fit her with a heart-bar shoe, which will put pressure along the outside of her foot and provide relief.” Portia will continue to need frequent farrier visits and veterinary assistance to maintain as much comfort in her foot as possible.
While Tara dreamed of having a Percheron to ride, Portia’s circumstances mean she will never be ridden. “I don’t mind that I can’t ride her. I love everything about her. I appreciate her kind soul and that she never gives up. After everything she has been through, she never stopped trying to survive. She wants to be here, and she’s only 11, so she has a long life ahead of her. I am willing to do whatever it takes to provide her with great years ahead. She is worth every expense.”
Portia loves to eat and sleep, and she has a new job as a model. “She loves having her pictures taken,” Tara said. “Portia is so peaceful to be around, and she is always there to listen to anything you need to talk about.” While Portia isn’t the exact image Tara had in mind when she wanted a Percheron, Portia is precisely the horse meant to be in her life.
THE WORD EUTHANASIA LITERALLY MEANS “GOOD DEATH.”
Emergency Veterinarians
PROVIDING CRITICAL CARE FOR COMMUNITY PETS
by SAMANTHA ST.CLAIR
If anyone has pets long enough, they know the stress, anxiety, and fear that comes with rushing their beloved companion to an emergency center in the middle of the night. It’s easy during this time to not fully notice the staff who greets you, the nurse who assists you, and the veterinarian who saves your pet. These dedicated individuals work long, demanding hours to provide critical care to pets in the community, all while understanding they are not someone people want to have to see.
EMERGENCY CLINIC LIFE Dr. Mark Huber has been a Lancaster County emergency vet for 12 years. His interest in veterinary medicine formed while spending time at his parent’s pet store when he was young. “Some people go into veterinary medicine because they love animals, but it’s a lot more than that. It’s equally important to enjoy working with people,” Dr. Huber explained. After graduating from college, a rural veterinary office in Upstate New York hired him. He worked with everything from dogs and cats to horses and cows. Because of its location, there were no emergency clinics nearby, so they also took care of all emergency cases in the area. “When I moved back to Lancaster 12 years ago, I had a ton of experience dealing with emergencies, and an emergency veterinarian position was open.” Since then, Dr. Huber has worked a grueling schedule of 8 pm-8 am a week in a row.
“I like that emergency work is challenging. ER practitioners have nights that are full of surprises because we never know what will walk in the door,” Dr. Huber said. “We see urgent cases, and we also see clients who need peace of mind to be able to sleep. That means everything from skin infections to bowel perforations. Emergencies are in the eye of the owner, so if a pet owner is concerned enough to bring them in, we will see them.” Emergency veterinarians have varying responsibilities, including caring for inpatients, treating patients that walk in the door, and reassuring owners every step of the way.
“Owners don’t want to be there. They don’t know you, so there is no established trust. You have to find some way of quickly connecting with them, and it has to be real. My mentor once told me: ‘Owners don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’ You have to care to perform this job.” Dr. Huber is a natural at consoling scared owners and values helping the people as much as the animals.
Emergency veterinarians possess strong confidence in common urgent surgeries. “We see a ton of C-sections, a lot of dogs with foreign objects in their intestines, and twisted stomachs,” Dr. Huber said. They also must possess a certain personality type to enjoy the long nights, hectic situations, and scared owners. “It’s not for everybody. Daytime practitioners are just as skilled and important as we are, but understandably, not everyone who gets into veterinary medicine wants to do this job.”
COPING WITH EMERGENCY WORK In any veterinary office, compassion fatigue is a very real concern. Compassion fatigue occurs when empathetic people, such as veterinarians, are continually exposed to traumatic, stressful, and challenging events. Veterinarians of all kinds have to help grieving clients and terminally ill patients. They form bonds with their clients, no matter how long or short the relationship, and have to help owners make impossible decisions regularly. In emergency work, working alongside emotionally charged owners occurs even more frequently, as do traumatic cases and euthanasia.
Dr. Huber and his wife, Stacey, recognized how difficult but important euthanasia was and decided to offer at-home euthanasia services. While Dr. Huber warned his wife about compassion fatigue, she knew Lancaster needed a service where pets and their family could spend their final moments together in a familiar and comfortable setting. “I’m impressed with how well she is handling it,” Dr. Huber said. “She copes with compassion fatigue through writing small tributes of qualities that stood out to us about the pet while we were with the family. She does an incredible job.”
For Dr. Huber, finding the good among the bad is one of the many ways he continues providing necessary services. “I enjoy getting an animal through a crisis. I enjoy that moment when everything is back under control following a hectic moment. There’s so much sadness that happens there that every time we can send an animal home with their owner, it makes me, the nurses, and the support staff feel good.” While it is often a thankless job, hearing happy or thankful owners makes the process easier and is a reminder that emergency veterinary work is essential.
Visit tillwemeetagain.com to learn more about the Hubers and the critical services they provide to the community.
