THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607070070
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MATTHEW BOWERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 98 lines
It's summer. Schools are closed. Pools are open. Vacationing students are beckoned by air-conditioned movie theaters and tall ice-cream sundaes and, in the case of two Virginia Beach teens last week, the inside of a horse's mouth.
That was them the other evening, sweating outside a steamy horse barn in southern Chesapeake, tentatively poking fingers into the pink gums of a compliant Arabian mare once owned by singer Wayne Newton.
Why? These girls - Diane V. Baka and Stephanie N. Chambers, both 13-year-old eighth-graders - want to be veterinarians. At least, they think they do.
What will be more important is what they'll think a few weeks from now. That's when they'll have completed the first offering of the Virginia Beach 4-H Veterinary Science Program.
The project, financed by a grant from the National 4-H Council and Mallinckrodt Veterinary Inc., gives young students a hands-on crash course in the different things veterinarians do.
The six-class program includes making a house call with a horse doctor; behind-the-scenes looks at the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach and the Newport News Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which houses large jungle cats and other exotic animals; and visits to an emergency room for animals and a vet who treats endangered birds and birds of prey.
``Veterinary science isn't all dogs and cats, like many people think,'' said Joseph B. Hoffenberger, Virginia Beach 4-H extension agent.
After being exposed to the variety in veterinarians' work, the girls are expected in turn to conduct informal classes in animal health, safety and care for younger children in other 4-H clubs, day cares, after-school programs, Parks and Recreation Department programs and the like.
They'll also be expected to help out with community service projects, such as distributing information concerning animal health - leaflets about rabies, for instance, since Virginia Beach is in the middle of an outbreak - and participating in pet-shot clinics.
Hoffenberger hopes to expand the program in sessions already scheduled for fall and winter. Anyone can participate, he said, but it's geared toward teens considering careers in veterinary science or related fields, from animal-control officer to zookeeper.
``I remember when I wanted to be a vet, I had no idea there were all these things you could do,'' said the program's coordinator, Dr. Gwynne E. Kinley of the Animal Emergency Care Clinic in Virginia Beach. ``I wish I had a program like this.''
For Diane and Stephanie, handling a horse was nothing new. Both are horse lovers. Diane has a horse as part of a home menagerie that includes two dogs, five hamsters, a fish, an iguana and a ferret.
It only took a little coaxing from Dr. Craig L. Sweeney of Coastal Equine Veterinary Service in Chesapeake - who, like the other veterinarians, donated his time - for the girls to join in examining Savonta. Sweeney works with Susanne M. Mozley, who owns the 10-year-old gray horse with her husband, Claude D. Mozley Jr.
Diane and Stephanie - along with unofficial observers Patricia M. Edwards, a 19-year-old community-college student who's planning on becoming a veterinary technician, and Stephanie's 9-year-old sister, Lauren - were led through the steps of examining a horse before buying it.
``The reality is, they're all `used cars,' '' Sweeney told them. ``What's wrong with this `used car?' ''
Nothing much, to the Mozleys' relief. All looked Savonta over carefully, noting her posture, the wear on her hooves and, jokingly, even the number of legs she had. They pressed her gums to see if the pink returned quickly, as it should. They used instruments to check her eyes and listen to her heart and stomach.
They watched Savonta jog at the end of a lead, looking for signs of lameness. They smeared ice-blue ``goo'' - a water-based gel - on the horse's leg and side, then used a portable ultrasound machine to ``see'' her inner workings.
Diane rubbed Savonta's forehead comfortingly as the others wielded the ultrasound wand.
``I'm not sure exactly what, but I want to work with animals when I grow up,'' Diane had said earlier.
``I decided I wanted to be a vet when I was in sixth grade. . . . I know most of the stuff they do, but I'm not exactly sure of all the fields.
``If not that, I'm going to be a writer and write about animals.''
Her first hands-on session didn't change her mind.
``That ultrasound was pretty cool,'' she said.
Stephanie concurred. One class down, and she still was interested in the profession - depending on the creatures involved.
``I'm used to horses,'' she said. ``Mostly horses - not exotic animals.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Dr. Craig L. Sweeney lifts Lauren Chambers, 9, to look at a horse's
eye. Lauren tagged along when sister Stephanie took the course.
GARY C. KNAPP
Chesapeake veterinarian Dr. Craig L. Sweeney explains how ultrasound
captures an internal image of a horse. Listening are the Arabian
mare, Savonta; and, from left, Patricia Edwards, 19; Lauren
Chambers, 9; and Lauren's sister Stephanie, 13.
KEYWORDS: FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO APPLY, CALL VIRGINIA BEACH 4-H
AT 427-4769. by CNB