At Kingsview Animal Hospital, Loving Pets Can Be Terrific and Traumatic

Despite the sign, you could almost miss the small, white house sitting back from busy Beulah Street. Step inside, and there’s still a bit of the cozy air it must have had when it was the family home on a horse farm. Most people know it now as the Kingsview Animal Hospital.

Dr. Roger Hart and his first wife renovated the “kind of abandoned” property, and then opened the animal hospital 24 years ago. “It’s worked out real nicely,” he said.

The Ohio native didn’t dream of being a veterinarian, but his love of science led him to a work-study job at a veterinary teaching hospital. A friend there suggested he apply to veterinary school with one of those “famous last words” types of questions: What’s the worst thing that can happen?

“The worst thing is you could be accepted,” Hart laughed. He quickly added, “I was very fortunate, because it is quite competitive to get into veterinary school.” According to Hart, at that time there were only 18 schools in the United States and every state still does not have its own veterinary school.

“I was very fortunate to be accepted, and have enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think there’s anything else I could do … It’s worked out really well, and I enjoy it terrifically.”

However, there are times when things are not terrific. There are accidents, but many can be avoided. Hart reminds pet owners, especially those with youngsters who may have received a pet over the holidays, to remember that pets can’t eat everything humans eat. Pets can also be harmed by house and garden plants, as well as many medicines.

No matter how healthy you keep your pet, you may have to face its final days. A veterinarian is the rare doctor who can be with a patient through his or her entire life span, and the end can be challenging.

“It’s very often a case of relieving the suffering of the pet,” Hart said about a pet owner’s decision to put a pet to sleep, ending its life, “and somewhat relieving the anguish and suffering of the owner, the client, because they suffer along with their pet."

Hart said there are as many ways to deal with the loss as there are pet owners. Some get another pet immediately, some wait longer, some never get another pet, and others choose to care for pets that are aged or ill like the one they lost. Many utilize grief groups and hotlines. How does he deal with it?

“There’s certainly an emotional attachment to both pet and the client-owner,” Hart said. “Yeah, it’s difficult. I don’t know how to say it. Sometimes it’s emotionally draining, exhausting, difficult. What can I say? But, that’s a service we provide for the pet and the client. Try to make that as least traumatic as possible.”

The fear of potential heartbreak is never as strong as the power of a love affair, including the one with animals. Maybe that’s why, even with everything he knows, Hart said that in his family, “We always have pets.”

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Kingsview Animal Hospital, 7434 Beulah St., Alexandria, VA 22315, 703-971-9292, KingsviewVA@verizon.net

www.KingsviewVA.com

 Hours: Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Saturday 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Sunday Closed.