Page 15 - Coffee County

really knew what kind. This opened the door to realizing her dream in a way she never imagined. Wanting to be around larger animals came as no surprise to her fellow students and the faculty at her high school. Many days she would drive up to the school with her enormous Great Dane sitting in the vehicle next to her. It was quite a novelty to the students but to Laura, it was just one of her special friends. As soon as she completed high school, she began her college career at the local institution, South Georgia College. Obtaining her two-year degree at SGC gave her the opportunity to get a good solid foundation in higher learning and do so close to home. After graduation in 2003, she made the move to Athens and attended the University of Georgia fnishing her undergraduate degree in Biology in 2005 and continuing on to veterinary school at UGA. She graduated with a degree in veterinarian medicine in 2009. She remembers learning from Dr. Mike Lowder at UGA about large animal teeth. They would perform a procedure called “animal teeth foating” on horses, rhinos, and zebra. This meant that they would fle the long projections or points of the animal’s teeth. This was one of the things among many that prepared her for moving into the real world of veterinary medicine. After graduation, she moved to Tallahassee, Florida for an internship for a year with the AVS Equine Hospital. As she began thinking of her next move, her thoughts turned to home. Not only did she know she would have support from her family, but she knew there was a great need in her community for a large animal vet. Before Laura returned home, the owners of large animals would normally have to call a vet that might live one or two hours away. Now these owners would have the experience and expertise of a local resident who not only knows her craft but also has a special connection

to the clients she works with on a daily basis.

Laura returned to Coffee County in 2010 and opened her own practice. She is the owner and veterinarian of South Georgia Veterinary Services, LLC. No day is a typical day for her. She works from her truck so she can have all of the supplies she needs at her fngertips. She has a small offce at her home where she handles the business end of her practice, and is thankful to have her mom as her offce manager. Most of her time is spent in the feld. This is not a nine-to-fve job. Laura stands ready to assist at any time, day, or night. It may at times be extremely tiring but it is never boring. Her hours are never the same. Her calls are never the same. It is the perfect career for a person as passionate as Laura is.

Much of her time is spent in handling

emergencies with large animals in the immediate area. There is a great diversity in the things she experiences while working. In the morning, she may be handling a dystocia case in which a cow is in distress and having trouble giving birth. Midday might bring her to a farm to treat a horse that has caught its leg in loose barbed wire from a fence that has caused lacerations. Evening might be spent performing artifcial insemination on a horse for breeding purposes. She laughing says that she aids in births and assists in making births happen. It is very rewarding for her to do a 16-day check on a horse she has bred and fnd out it is pregnant. Breeding for horses that are part of barrel racing or are cutting and reining horses is an important business in our area. Laura takes pride in knowing she has helped extend the life of a family’s