Page 17 - Coffee County

and can recognize when something is not going right as the animal heals. She realizes that she is doing all the things she considered doing as she was growing up and it is all wrapped up in one profession that she loves. She is a teacher for her clients on animal care. She is a pharmacist, a therapist, a dentist and a vet. One of her most treasured roles is that of mentor. As a young girl, she was able to tag along with local vets and soak in the knowledge they had. She wants to give young people the same opportunity now. She lets those interested in veterinary science spend time with her and see frst-hand what it means to work with animals. This can be a life-changing experience for them and she is honored to be a part of it.

When asked to share highlights of her work, she fnds it hard to pinpoint just one. Her experiences range from splinting a sweet foal with contracted tendons and helping it walk to giving shots to bulls that are angry and snorting as she tries to enter their personal space. While this is somewhat dangerous for her to work with such large animals, she says part of her training was focused on staying safe and avoiding injury. Out of all the large animals she has worked with, the only major injury she has received so far was from a miniature donkey. She was helping to load it at the stockyard when it became spooked and started kicking. She was holding a clipboard in her hand and when the hoof made contact with her hand, it crushed the bone. After hurting for a few days, she went to the doctor and had to have surgery. The doctor put a cast on it and she was back at work in just a few days. She, of course, felt obligated to get back into service and help the animals that needed her. Looking back over the path that brought her to where she is today, Laura says everything seemed to fall in place perfectly. Once when she was wondering if she should combine her love of animals with her career, her cousin, Lee Dorman, solidly put things in perspective for her. He said, “Laura, if you have the ability

to go to vet school, why not go?” This one statement stuck with her and caused her to get over her concern about combining her career and hobby. She has never regretted her decision. She says, “I enjoy working with my patients, but I also enjoy the people I work with on a daily basis. Large animal people are very entertaining and fun to be around. It is very rewarding to get to know these people as we work together to save their animals. Some of my best friends are my clients. I truly thank God for my job.” That is what makes her job not seem like a job at all.  CCM