2017 March April

Just So.
The
Angels
by
My Side
by W. Jean Dodds, DVM
December 2017
with
Elizabeth M. Jarrell , Esq.
Kensington, Maryland
I have had the joy
of spending my life
with lovely dogs.
While I enjoy all animals,
I feel a special affinity
with dogs, always have.
Throughout my life, my dogs
and I have always taken care of
and loved each other.
My younger sister, brother and I grew up with Beagles.
They were my best friends. Once I started veterinary
school, I explored several sporting breeds which had
always attracted me. I started with Vizslas Cee-Cee,
Dani and Genie; then had Pointers Maggie, Cameo, and Winnie;
and later had English Setters Tippy and Simmie. I guess being in
vet school and watching dog shows as a hobby gave me an eye for
conformation because all the dogs I had in all three of these breeds
were of excellent quality. So in between classes and studying, I
decided to try owner-handling them at conformation shows.
I had never handled a dog and I was definitely not a natural
handler. In fact, at first I was downright awful! So I studied the
other handlers in the ring and paid close attention to our instructor.
I worked hard, applied myself and eventually became a team with
all of my dogs. I am still thrilled that I won the accolade as most
improved handler in the class.
I am pleased and proud to report that I won National Specialty
honors with all three of my different sporting breeds. To be precise,
I won Best In Show Puppy with my first Pointer, Best of Breed
with one of my English Setters at their Canadian National, and Best
of Breed with one of my Vizslas at both the Canadian and U.S.
National. Not too bad for a mere novice!
Since today there are more women veterinarians than men,
it is almost impossible to comprehend how I felt as one of only a
handful of women at veterinary school in the early 1960s. We few
84 AUSSIE TIMES March-April 2017