What Inspired Me To Become A Veterinarian

When I was about 10 years old there was a closed road near my house. Before it opened my mom and I would take walks up and down the long road just to get outside. One day we noticed a large lab mix that was stuck treading water in a large drainage pipe or sewer down next to the road. It was probably about 4-5 feet deep but you could tell that she couldn’t pull herself out. Another person had said they saw her in there the day before and couldn’t believe she was still in there. Instinctively my mom went and reached in to try to get the dog out. The dog was so exhausted that when she saw my mom I think she thought she’d been rescued so she quit swimming. She immediately started to sink. My mom couldn’t pull her out with her arm because the dog was so big. She could see that he dog was exhausted and about to drown so my mom then jumped down inside the well-type area and lifted the dog out with a neighbor’s help. Once she was out of the well she couldn’t move from exhaustion. I had to go get my wagon to get the dog back to our house. The soaking wet dog then slept for what seemed like an eternity on our floor in our utility room before she started to move. We then took her to the veterinarian to see how she was. Fortunately she had no issues secondary to her lengthy time exerting herself in the storm sewer and on top of that we were able to find her family.

The feeling I got from what little part I played in that rescue and reunion inspired me to continue to help animals for the rest of my life. Helping animals growing up was the foundation for the inspiration to pursue the field of veterinary medicine. Since that day as a kid I’ve personally rescued countless stray cats, dogs, birds, turtles, chipmunks etc. Now as a veterinarian I get to be the person that people bring the rescued animal to. Being a part of an animal’s amazing transformation from struggling to survive to one that is relaxed and joyful in a new life is one of my favorite things about being a veterinarian.

As the founder of Main Street Animal Hospital my goal is to build relationships with more people who have the same passion for animals that I do and work with them to do the best for the pets we love.

-Melanie (Mel) Wood, DVM

This blog is dedicated to Jessie- my first rescue I kept as well as my first dog out on my own. She was two days old when she was found on a road in North Carolina during a snow storm. Frost bite caused her to lose the tip of one of her ears. She was lifeless and suppose to be euthanized but I took her home and bottle raised her. She was my constant companion for 11 years before, during and after vet school. We lived together in North Carolina, the Caribbean, Wisconsin and Cincinnati. She is still missed today.

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