1966-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1966 March Voice RS | Page 13

KAY OWEN giving the anesthetic and recording the pulse,
respiration, and flow of anesthetic. With her excellent school­
ing, training, and background, she is a vital member of the
surgical team. Note the specially designed padded hood for
the protection of horse's head and eyes.
Removing slad fracture of knee with Dr. HECHT and CHARLES
McGEE assisting.
and untiring in their willingness to help. Last but
not least is "PETE” ALEXANDER, the efficient and
helpful secretary who keeps the office running smoothly.
DeWitt Owen did his pre-veterinary work at Indi­
ana State University, where he played college base­
ball. From there he went to Michigan State Univers­
ity and later became a resident intern at Michigan
State University Veterinary Hospital, where he at­
tended classes all day and attended veterinary hos­
pital patients and made emergency calls after hours.
A member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, he was also
elected to Phi Kappa Delta, the national scholastic
and honorary fraternity, and to Phi Zeta, the national
scholastic veterinary fraternity in his junior year,
proof positive of this busy young man’s capabilities
as a student.
March, 1966
In 1953 DeWitt Owen graduated from Michigan
State and went to Franklin, where he interned for
one of the most respected and established veterin­
arians in the business, Dr. FRED SCHELL. After
this period of internship he moved to Terre Haute,
Indiana, to enter into partnership with a clinic. How­
ever, in 1956 he moved back to Franklin and pur­
chased the practice of Dr. Schell, who was leaving
to become the head of the Large Animal Clinic at
Auburn University.
Dr. Owen’s list of past patients in the Walking
Horse business reads like a Who’s Who of the breed.
He has been called to check, at various times and
for a multitude of reasons, such horses as Setting
Sun, Mack K’s Handshaker, Go Boy’s Shadow, Ebony
Master piece, Sun’s Delight, Triple Threat, Merry Go
Boy, and the world-famous Midnight Sun, for whom
he served as personal physician. He is considered
the official veterinarian for just about every major
breeding stable in Middle Tennessee, and over the
years has worked on countless numbers of mares,
foals, show horses and pleasure horses.
Dr. Owen has a considerable amount of business
from other breeds, including Thoroughbreds. Brent­
wood, Tennessee, is one of the centers for Thorough­
bred interest and he is chief veterinarian for many
farms there, including the famed Maryland Farm.
Trips to Lexington, Kentucky, to assist in surgery
at this heart of the thoroughbred industry are not
uncommon events.
On June 26, 1954, Dr. Owen and KAY HUTCH­
INSON were married in Terre Haute, Indiana. Kay
is a R.N., with a B.S. degree from Indiana Univers­
ity, and assists in surgery at the clinic. They have
a daughter, CINDY, born in 1956. Kay and Cindy
share Dr. Owen’s love of animals, and the family
operates as a close threesome. The latest of the many
interests of this attractive family is flying, and next
on their schedule of events is the purchase of a plane,
which will enable the doctor to give more and better
service to his clients and patients.
Situated near the entrance to the Owen Farm and
Veterinary Hospital is a lovely white brick home,
the family residence. The house, as well as the en­
tire farm, is trimmed with a white board fence de­
signed with the safety of the horses in mind. These
white fences surround some of the finest pastures in
Middle Tennessee.
The Owens have three brood mares, one Thorough­
bred and two Walking Horses. Midnight Dolly, who
produced a world champion yearling and a world
champion two-year-old, at present has a Sun’s De­
light filly by her side and is back in foal. Go Boy’s
Cindy Kay, his other Walking Horse mare, is in foal
to Midnight Sun.
It is indeed gratifying to the horse owner to know
that when trouble arises, and it surely will (especially
if you have a GOOD horse), that men of the caliber
and skill of DeWitt Owen are close at hand. The life
of the veterinarian is not easy and to the many who
have dedicated their life’s work in this field we are
sincerely grateful.
Again may we thank Dr. DeWitt Owen for allowing
us to reach into his personal life and practice for
this story.
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