It is with poignant mixed emotions that I write this blog
post. As a young boy, a seed was planted
in my heart that I should pursue a career in veterinary medicine. It made sense; I was crazy about animals and
a job where I would be surrounded by them on a daily basis would be
heavenly.
I convinced my parents in 1970 to allow me to get a dog, Duke,
a beautiful Dalmatian. My friend Bruce
also had a dog and we loved to take our dogs walking in Sugarhouse Park on
Sunday afternoons, where they loved to romp and play. One early spring afternoon, Duke dashed
through the creek at full speed when he suddenly yelped in pain and began
limping on his right front leg. When we
reached him, we found blood spurting from a deep laceration just above his paw.
Dr. Coulter, Duke’s veterinarian, met us at his hospital and after a quick exam,
informed me that Duke had lacerated all of the tendons on the bottom of his
leg. This was a serious injury requiring
a surgical repair. After months and
numerous visits to the veterinarian, Duke finally healed, although throughout
his life he would always lift that paw when sitting.
Because of the many visits to the hospital, I had gotten to
know Dr. Coulter quite well. I was
ecstatic when he called that fall, offering me a job to work as a kennel boy at
his hospital. It was a dream come true
for me. I worked at Coulter Veterinary
Hospital on State Street in Salt Lake City until I graduated from high school
three years later. Although the job caused me to forego many of the
extracurricular activities associated with high school, I never tired of the
interesting things I saw and learned at the hospital. It was like Christmas to be called into the
hospital late at night to assist with a C-section or some other emergency
procedure.
I was soon off to college at Utah State University. I could think of no other occupation that
would interest me besides veterinary medicine. At that time, it was more difficult to be accepted into veterinary
school than it was to medical school. My
school counselors would encourage me to find some other major to fall back on,
should I not be accepted into veterinary school, but nothing else interested
me. In 1979, I was accepted into the
Washington, Idaho, Oregon regional program for veterinary medicine, as a member
of the first class of that new organization. Veterinary school was rigorous, requiring endless long nights studying,
but I loved it. It was everything I had
anticipated and more. A highlight was a
two-month externship at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
I graduated from the veterinary program in 1983. During that time, the country was in the
middle of a deep recession and jobs were hard to come by. I finally landed a job at Knowles Animal
Clinics in Miami, Florida. It was a
large and busy practice, but they had no avian or exotic pet patients. I had wonderful veterinarians as mentors who
allowed me to pursue my passion of exotic animals. I worked hard to develop a
clientele with birds and exotic pets, as well as dogs and cats. One of the veterinarians at Knowles, Dr. David
Wise, was a superior surgeon and he taught me much about veterinary surgery. It was a wild but interesting time at the
height of bird smuggling and legal importation. I had exposure to strange and exotic diseases brought in through these
activities.
While in Miami, I was given the opportunity to manage a
satellite clinic for the Knowles organization. It gave me the confidence--when the timing was right--to build my own
practice later on. In addition to
gaining valuable experience in Miami, I also found a wife and started a
family. In 1989; Sharon, our first child, Rachael, and I left Knowles Animal Clinics and move back West with the plan to
have our own veterinary hospital.
We eventually settled in Centerville, Utah and in 1990
opened Parrish Creek Veterinary Clinic in the Parrish Square shopping
center. Our first year of operation, I
didn’t make enough money to support us so I worked night shifts at an emergency
clinic in Salt Lake, and performed spay and neuter procedures at the Humane
Society of Utah to help make ends meet. The community embraced us though, and within a few years, the clinic was
thriving. Just as in Miami, I promoted
my passion of avian and exotic medicine along with caring for dogs and cats. The opportunity came up to become the
veterinarian for Tracy Aviary in 1994. I
accepted the position and have provided veterinary care for the Aviary birds
ever since. It has been a challenging
and rewarding experience. We added another veterinarian and in 1998, we
were called on to provide veterinary care--on an interim basis-for Hogle
Zoo. Suddenly, I was taking care of
exotic animals of every size and shape. That was an experience of a lifetime, but also a time of stress, because
we were also in the process of acquiring our own building, in which to expand
the practice. We purchased and renovated
the old Centerville post office, to which we moved in late 1998.
Early on we were contacted by Barb Schneiter to provide care
for injured and sick wildlife at her wildlife rehabilitation center. That led to contacts with the Ogden Nature
Center and eventually a new organization, Northern Utah Wildlife Rehabilitation
Center. These organizations provided us
with an endless supply of interesting native animals to treat ranging from
beavers, porcupines and bobcats to golden and bald eagles, owls and falcons. It has become a source of satisfaction to see
an eagle fly away free after recovery from a serious injury.
In 2008, I completed a rigorous program which culminated in
becoming a board certified avian specialist and in 2017 we began providing
veterinary care for the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. The practice has grown to have 3 doctors and
is the only facility in Utah to provide specialized care for birds. It has become the leader in avian and exotic
animal medicine and surgery for all of Utah.
It also has a reputation for excellent care of more traditional
pets.
Now the reason for mixed emotions. On February 1, 2019, I will be retiring from
Parrish Creek Veterinary Clinic. Veterinary medicine has been very good to me. It has turned out to be everything I expected
and more than a young teenager could imagine. I have had clients with wonderful pets. I have provided care for the most magnificent animals in the world. I have met incredible colleagues and friends
who have given me encouragement and guidance. I have been blessed with wonderful co-workers who have embraced the
vision of Parrish Creek Veterinary Clinic and have worked tirelessly to move it
forward. I will miss this this amazing
experience but I am excited for new adventures in the future. My wife and I
will be serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
in New Zealand. Who knows, maybe I will
get to treat a Kiwi, kakapo or tuatara. Thank you all for contributing to this grand
adventure.
