found itself in need of more and
more space. “We just kept expanding
until we ran out of room here, and
then we had to build a breeding facil-
ity four miles west of the main hospi-
tal. I think that was five or six years
ago that we did that. “Foland said
WEMC has continued to expand
its business and has hired additional
vets to help take care of the growing
caseload. One is Dr. Heath Qualls,
Weatherford Equine Medical Center’s
Internal Medicine specialist who
oversees all the hospitalized and
neonatal cases.
“As an internal medicine special-
ist, I take care of critical patients in
the hospital,” he explained. “I come
into the hospital every day of the
week to assess their progress and
make treatment changes as needed.
The spring is, of course, the busi-
est time of the year due to foaling
season. I see a lot of critical foals and
mares with post-partum complica-
tions during this time.”
Other problems he typically
sees are acute or chronic diarrhea,
anemia, or bleeding disorders, diseas-
es of the nervous system, and more.
Dr. Qualls has an awesome set of
referring veterinarians that trust him
with their client’s horses.
“I work hard to support their
work and keep them updated on the
patients they send me. I do a lot of
over the phone consultations, and
perform advanced diagnostic test-
ing and treatments for them. I also
oversee externs and interns at the
hospital. The externs come in from
around the world to learn and expe-
rience equine practice. Our interns
are veterinarians who are recent
graduates that come for one year of
intensive training. They are able to
receive the experience equivalent to
that of a veterinarian 3-4 years out
of vet school in general practice,” he
explained
For Dr. Qualls, the most difficult
thing he does is deliver bad news to
the owners that are emotionally and
financially invested in their horse.
“It’s hard, especially when I’ve
become emotionally invested as
well,” he explained.
When asked the most excit-
ing development in his business,
he said “there’s a lot of research in
place right now that will affect how
I practice in the future, but probably
the most exciting is the potential
of a drug treating different forms of
cancer.”
Dr. Ian Devick is another one of
Weatherford Equine’s newest doctors
who is also one of their surgeons.
Most of the cases Dr. Devick sees
on a day to day basis include lame-
ness and pre-purchase examinations,
wounds, and elective or emergency
surgical cases. He also sees all types
of cases of general equine practice
Dr. Heath Qualls and Dr. Ian Devick
along with routine herd health. For
Dr. Devick there really isn’t necessar-
ily one most difficult thing he does,
since every patient presents with a
unique set of issues and challenges to
be worked through to achieve a posi-
tive outcome with the case.
When asked the most rewarding
thing he does, he said it is to “be
able to discharge a patient from the
hospital to the care of the owner after
being treated for a life-threatening
condition.”
Bowie Drive Animal Hospital and Pet Resort
Taking Care Of All Your Pet’s Needs
D
Dr. Smantha Means and Dr. Christy Rutherford
r. Christy Rutherford is a native of Parker County and attended
Weatherford and Brock ISDs, but graduated from Brock High
School in 2003. She attended Abilene Christian University for her
Bachelors in Animal Science, soon to become a proud Aggie, graduating
from Texas A&M with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2011. After
graduation, she worked at a mixed animal practice and a small animal
emergency practice before purchasing Bowie Drive Animal Hospital in
October of 2015.
Dr. Rutherford wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as she could
remember, starting with her grandfather.
“My grandfather, Billy Parker, DVM, was a veterinarian in Fort
Worth and owned Berry Street Animal Hospital,” she explained. “I
worked for Dr. Parker’s partner, Bobby Daggs, DVM, in high school and
remember growing up thinking that my granddad was the coolest man
to walk the earth and [I] wanted to be just like him.”
During her undergraduate years, she worked for Randy Lewis, DVM
in Abilene at an equine practice and enjoyed every minute of it.
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