Veterinarian celebrates 25 years of practicing ‘personal touch’ care

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 5/21/15

A lot has changed for the Cowesett Animal Hospital in the past 25 years, except their dedication to helping animals.

Dr. Barbara Korry, who received her degrees from the University of Rhode …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Veterinarian celebrates 25 years of practicing ‘personal touch’ care

Posted

A lot has changed for the Cowesett Animal Hospital in the past 25 years, except their dedication to helping animals.

Dr. Barbara Korry, who received her degrees from the University of Rhode Island and the Tufts University’s Cumming School of Veterinarian Medicine, opened the animal hospital to add a “personal touch” to veterinarian medicine. Previously, she worked at a large 24-hour practice.

“We were a patch-up service and you never knew if you would see those animals again,” she said.

She said in opening her own smaller practice it was great to be able to make her own decisions on not only the care of patients but also her staff.

“I receive so many compliments on our staff; they are so dedicated, warm, giving, compassionate people,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Cowesett Animal Hospital has also been involved in the community from supporting the East Greenwich Animal Protection League and local Girl Scouts to mentoring high school seniors.

Korry said probably the biggest change in her practice over the past 25 years would be the evolution of veterinarian medicine and technology. When she first started, anesthesia was monitored solely by an EKG and watching an animal’s breathing. Now, she is able to measure an animal’s oxygen saturation, blood pressure among various other factors while an animal is under anesthesia.

The animal hospital has also improved their ability to manage pain in their clients over the last 25 years. Korry said she loves to get calls when a patient goes home after a surgery and their owners are surprised at how active their pets are and how little pain they are experiencing.

Korry has a myriad of imaging devices “readily available” and pets are given out patient care as much as possible, which was not common when Korry first began her practice. Korry said animals and families both fare better when pets are allowed to stay home where they are most comfortable.

Despite the complexities of veterinarian care, Korry says she “treasures” her role in navigating treatment options for her clients. She said “a medical record can only show so much” and that by getting to know her clients she can give better care. Korry can notice little differences in attitude or disposition when things are just “off” to advocate for an animal.

“Every year I find more and more satisfaction from how much these animals mean to their families,” she said.

She said when students first get out of school they are all about helping the animals, but over time after seeing the “bigger picture,” as she has, you appreciate the “holistic environment” animals live in and how important their health is to families. She said you’re helping people just as much as you are helping animals.

Korry believes the intimate relationships we have as individuals and as families with an animal, another piece of nature, is “good for our souls.”

She joked that dogs have learned to communicate with us while cats have learned to train us.

Korry loves when children come in and are so gentle and compassionate with their pets. She used an example of when children either soothe their pet while they are getting a shot or can’t watch the process at all because they feel so much empathy for their pet.

One thing that hasn’t changed at the Cowesett Animal Hospital is the love they have their clients. As tradition, the employees keep pictures of their clients around the office. Korry said it’s like coming home to a pet, “you light up with a big smile.”

“Seeing those pictures, we can remind ourselves why we do what we do,” Korry said.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here