Dr. Carly Bennett is the High Country Humane shelter’s full-time veterinarian. Dr. Bennett was born in Germany and came to Arizona at the age of 12. As an undergrad at Northern Arizona University, she started volunteering at Second Chance Center for Animals and says this is where her love of shelter medicine began.
“I’ve wanted to be a veterinarian as long as I can remember and worked as a technician at Second Chance for a year and a half before starting vet school. That’s when I really knew that I wanted to be in shelter medicine,” she said. “After completing my veterinary training in Dublin, Ireland, I returned to Flagstaff and have worked at Kaibab Vet Clinic for the last six years. I am incredibly grateful to the team at Kaibab for giving me the tools I needed to succeed and move forward to pursue my dream of shelter medicine. I’ve been blessed with wonderful people in my life who support me in everything I do, including my mother, Ann Bennett, my late father, and my partner Keith Hayes, so having this opportunity to help the people and the animals in Flagstaff means everything to me. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing endeavor at High Country Humane and cannot wait to get started!”
Dr. Bennett will handle all the shelter’s standard veterinary needs, including performing exams on all incoming animals, caring for those animals that come into the shelter with injuries or illnesses, and performing the spay/neuter surgeries required before an animal can be adopted.
Later this year, perhaps as early as summer, the shelter plans to open the clinic to low-income families for wellness exams, vaccines and ultimately spay/neuter services.
Celebrating a Grand Opening
The official Grand Opening Celebration of High Country Humane is scheduled for 1-4 p.m., Saturday, April 13. The public is invited.
“We want everyone to share in the fun and excitement that opening this new facility has brought,” said Executive Director Steve Conrad. “These past three months have been non-stop exhilaration, an awful lot of hard work and some trials and tribulations, but it’s been worth everything we’ve put into getting here. The rescuing, reuniting owners with their “escape artist” animals, and all the new homes that have been found makes every day at work a real joy!”
Conrad continued, “We’re expecting between 300-400 people and there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony, visits by dignitaries, food, drinks, face painting for the kids, and lots more! That adage about ‘it takes a village’ could not be more true for us. We’re very grateful to OneAZ, our event sponsor and to Nackard Beverages and Wal-Mart for supplying the food. It will take the continued commitment of the entire community to help fully realize what this shelter can mean to the people of Flagstaff and Coconino County.”
Pins for Paws: A One-of-a-Kind Auction
Starlite Lanes Owner Ron Getto lost a dear friend last year and was looking for a way to honor her. As an animal lover of the first order and a creative guy as well, he came up with the idea of having local artists paint bowling pins and then auctioning them off to raise money for the new shelter… and the results are amazing!
Ten pins were given to nine local artists who were asked to paint them in whatever way they envisioned. The pins are unique and incredibly beautiful and are being shown at three local galleries. Pins created by Shonto Begay and Connie Townsend are at West of the Moon Gallery; pins designed by Mary Carter, Karen Getto and Linda Quinn can be seen at the Artists Gallery (both galleries are located on San Francisco Street); and pins produced by Dudley Bacon, Rhonda Davis, Mike Frankel, and Carol Rackley are showcased at the Artists Coalition in the Flagstaff Mall. If you’re intrigued by this clever idea, check them out at accelevents.com/e/info33. FBN
By Pamela Tharp
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