HERE - the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society

Dr. Rebecca TomasiC:
‘Lucky’ to be at the Shelter
As a longtime veterinarian in private
practice, Dr. Rebecca Tomasic said she
thought she understood the plight of
homeless animals. But since joining the
clinic staff in November, the extent of
the pet overpopulation problem has
been stunning.
“I was aware there were some
animals not getting spayed or neutered
and there were unwanted puppies and
kittens every year,” she said. “But I don’t
think I knew a tenth of the problem. Everybody
knows, sure, there are cats running
around having babies, but I don’t
think they realize just how bad it is.”
Dr. Tomasic, a Pennsylvania native,
always knew she wanted to be a
veterinarian. Her father was a doctor,
and she was aware of medicine and
medical practice.
“I was 5 years old when I found out
that dogs and animals had their own
doctors and they were called veterinarians,
and that’s what I wanted to do,”
she said. “I took a circuitous route to get
here, but I did.”
After 28 years in private practice,
mainly at a Santa Fe clinic, Dr. Tomasic
decided to try her hand at animal
sheltering. She knew the pace would
be busy, she said, but the number of
animals that come to the clinic for altering
or injury is still surprising. But the
work is rewarding, she said, relating the
story of stray cat who came in recently
with a broken leg.
“We decided to get some x-rays for
a full assessment and it turns out she
was pregnant,” she said. “She wouldn’t
have been able to deliver those with
a broken pelvis. Every day it feels like
you’re doing something good – maybe
just being kind to an animal that hasn’t
had anyone be kind to it before. I just
feel lucky.”
body do a lot of the healing on its
own.”
The variety of cases at the Shelter
keeps Dr. Snook hopping.
“I saw more trauma here in my
first few weeks than I did during my
entire four years in Los Angeles,”
he said. “The people who work
here are amazing. They have a lot of
compassion for animals. It’s great to be
around them.”
U U U
All animals that come into the
Shelter get a veterinary examination,
no matter what their circumstances,
and vaccinations. Keeping infectious
diseases out
of the Shelter
is critical and
something the
entire staff considers
one of its
primary duties.
Hands are
washed often,
towels are
plentiful and
clean, and trays
of disinfectant
are spread
throughout
the Shelter for
people to step
in to coat the
soles of their
shoes. That
helps stop the
spread of disease.
“You take a bunch of animals
that are previously unvaccinated and
you put them together in a shelter
environment, you’re going to have
some type of infectious diseases,” said
Dr. Steketee. “Obviously sanitation
is really important and trying to keep
the stress levels as low as possible,
because stressed animals, just like
people are going to get sick.”
Few people realize just how much
effort goes in to the well-being of
every Shelter animal, Dr. Steketee
Marcia Krebs, left, and Jane Lively are
two longtime clinic volunteers who enjoy
the fast-paced environment. The former
medical workers find their volunteer
work rewarding. “You really are helping
animals,” Marcia said. Added Jane:
“The staff here is super.”
said. That’s why keeping companion
animals healthy and in their homes
is important. She encourages people
to have a relationship with their
veterinarian to prevent health issues
from becoming serious and expensive.
“There are a lot of people who
really care about animals,” Dr. Steketee
said. “But there definitely needs to be
better education about how to care for
animals appropriately.”
Aside from a healthy diet and
protection from weather extremes,
making sure an animal is safe and not
roaming about is equally important,
she said, along with spaying and
neutering. Animals that are inside or in
a secure yard are
safe animals.
“That’s
how most
animals end up
here,” she said.
“They went
out wandering,
got hit by a car
or got in some
trouble and are
at the shelter.
If you take an
animal that’s
not spayed or
neutered and
they are not
contained, they
will roam. That’s
their nature; it’s
going to happen
and they will be putting themselves in
harm’s way.”
Every department in the Shelter
works hard to care for each animal that
needs attention, Dr. Steketee noted.
“We are a team, and I hope
people realize just how many people it
takes to take care of animals here,”
she said. “From the kennel workers
to the behavior team and to our
technicians who run all over this place
transferring animals from the clinic to
adoptions to the intake building. It’s a
major effort.”
6 | Animal TRACKS