Group brings new veterinarians to town

A grassroots group trying to improve the health of Las Cruces’ pets created a program last year that led to five new veterinarians relocating to Las Cruces this summer.

Animal Companions of Las Cruces was started by a group who have suffered through a sick pet on a weekend or late at night and struggled to find a place to take the animal.

Board Chair Nancy Sharp told the Bulletin she found herself driving at 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning along Interstate 10 with a dying dog in her car trying to reach the 24-7 veterinarian clinic in El Paso.

“She died in my arms as we pulled in,” Sharp said.

Sharp is not the only one with that kind of story.

Jaye Williams realized her very elderly Boston Terrier, Leo, had reached the end of his life and needed to be euthanized.

“It was 4 a.m. on a Monday when we realized he was really in distress,” Williams said.

She found a veterinarian in Truth or Consequences who was able to talk to her by 6 a.m.

“That was great but it took us an hour to get there,” she said. “Our dog was dying and he was elderly.”

Sometimes needing to find an emergency veterinarian can also prove to be costly.

Mary Helen Ratje told the Bulletin she had a pet emergency on a Saturday with her Shiatzu, Millie. Ratje said she and her husband had to drive Millie to three different veterinarians that weekend before they found one in El Paso who could operate. Millie was diagnosed with problems with her urethra and needed an operation.

After the surgery, Ratje had to drive Millie to a fourth veterinarian for recuperation. Ratje said the overall cost for that weekend of care amounted to more than $5,000.

“We paid for four vet bills. We sold a truck to pay the vet bills. It was pretty traumatic,” Ratje said.

Ratje said she worries that others who might find themselves in a similar situation might make a different decision.

“Most people would have to make the decision as to whether they could pay it or put their animal down,” Ratje said.

So with stories like those, Animal Companions of Las Cruces formed in an effort to find a solution to alleviate overworked veterinarians in the area and address that there is no 24-7 veterinarian clinic in town.

Sharp said the group began collecting contributions under the aegis of the Community Foundation of El Paso and were able to use those donations to hire externs to work in veterinarian clinics in Las Cruces for two-to-four weeks starting last summer.

There is no veterinarian school in New Mexico, so the externs came from Washington State University, Sharp said.

The group resumed the externship this past spring and summer. Already, it has had an effect.

Jean Berlowitz, Recruitment Coordinator for Animal Companions of New Mexico, told the Bulletin that one of the externs who worked in Las Cruces last year returned to Washington State University and recruited among the graduating veterinarians. Now five new veterinarians, who have just received their diplomas in veterinary medicine, have relocated to Las Cruces, Berlowitz said.

Berlowitz said Animal Companions of Las Cruces is excited that its efforts have paid off so quickly and the group already is hoping a sixth veterinarian will make the leap to Las Cruces. Berlowitz said having more veterinarians will help alleviate the stress placed on the local veterinarians who have more sick animals than they can handle. Though it still doesn’t solve the problem that the second largest city in New Mexico lacks a 24-7 veterinarian clinic.

“When do all pets have their problems?” Berlowitz said. “On Friday night, of course.”

But, Berlowitz said that while building a new clinic that could house a 24-7 veterinarian is “beyond our means,” Animal Companions of Las Cruces hopes that by alleviating staffing for local vets, that might lead to the veterinarian clinics already here to form a consortium to staff a 24-7 clinic amongst themselves.

“A lot of clinics are not accepting new patients,” Berlowitz said. “That’s why we’re working so hard.”

For more info: animalcompanionsoflascruces.org