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In modern veterinary medicine, social media can sometimes save­­ the day.

It was a Saturday morning and a mare had ruptured a uterine artery while giving birth to her foal. The foal was healthy, but the mare died on the spot. Dr. Amy Eilbeck of Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital needed to find a nurse mare – fast.

chambers prairie veterinary hospital
This young foal was left without a mother, but through the support of the community was able to bond with a nursing mare. Photo courtesy: Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital.

The staff turned to social media and were able to quickly find a mare who had delivered unresponsive twins on Wednesday. “We involved the community, and that’s how we got our answer,” says Eilbeck. “There was this huge outpouring of support from our post on Facebook. It took about four days for them to successfully nurse together. It was exciting to see the little guy finally latch on.”

Chambers Prairie is a full-service equine hospital with surgery, hospitalization, an on-call surgeon and 24-hour equine care. Since Eilbeck became owner in 2013, they’ve started serving more small animals (i.e. dogs, cats, and anything not the size of a horse). “We’re getting a lot of neighborhood clients, people who walk here to see the horses,” she says.

Ah yes, the horses. Not surprisingly many of the staff bring their pets to work, but in Eilbeck’s case the pet weighs over 1,000 pounds and hangs out in the back paddock with a neighbor’s horse. “People like having the horses out there,” she says. “People are always telling me that they ride their bikes or walk over and try to pet them. If there had been any horses in bike riding range in the city where I grew up, I would have been doing the same.”

Animals from big to small are treated at Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital.  Photo courtesy: Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital.
Animals from big to small are treated at Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital. Photo courtesy: Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital.

Eilbeck’s passion for horses began in 1978, the year Affirmed won the Triple Crown. “I wanted to be a jockey,” she says. Pause. “I’m 5’11”. My mom said, ‘I don’t think that’s going to work for you.’ I said, ‘Okay, then I want to be a horse vet.’” But in Tampa, Florida, there weren’t many practicing equine veterinarians, so she started out cleaning cages at a local small animal practice. “I moved up to technician and worked there until my senior year of vet school every time I would come home from college,” she says.

She attended the University of Georgia, and after graduating she entered a mixed practice in the mountains of Georgia. “I was in a very rural place and it was a bit crazy,” she says. “You had to think on your feet. You’d be pulling out a baby over here and sewing up a cat over there. You can learn from everything, I think.”

chambers prairie veterinary hospital
Dr. Amy Eilbeck’s passion for horses began in 1978 in Tampa, Florida. Eventually her studies brought her to Washington. Photo courtesy: Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital.

Eventually she decided to focus exclusively on equine medicine, moving to Vancouver, Washington in 1999 and joining the existing team at Chambers Prairie in 2008 prior to purchasing the hospital.

The Pacific Northwest has a much better horse population and ‘horse economy’ than the southeast, she finds. There’s also much less infectious disease west of the Cascades. Here she deals with a lot of colic and lacerations, as well as breeding and foal medicine. “We’ve got a couple of specialists who come in and consult with us,” she says. “We get a lot of referral work from local veterinarians.” The team covers Pierce, Lewis, Thurston and Grays Harbor Counties.

Occasionally the size difference in the animals they treat can be the source of humor. Dr. Dave Cordray takes the lead with most of the smaller animals, and recently a three-pound Pomeranian needed a critical surgery. “I had to anesthetize the dog and I kept saying to myself, ‘Think small!’” Eilbeck laughs. The experience was a good reminder that Eilbeck and her team are capable of handling all animals – big or small.

chambers prairie veterinary hospital
Horses, cats and dogs aren’t the only beloved animals treated at Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital. Photo courtesy: Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital.

While practicing the best medicine possible is critical, being able to communicate effectively is equally important, she says. “You can be the best vet in the world and the most brilliant, but if you can’t convey to the pet’s owner what is or isn’t wrong, it doesn’t do you any good. This is really a people job. You’d be amazed at how much time I spend on the phone.”

One of the reasons she bought the practice was to create an environment with long-term employees where everyone knows the clients’ names. “Once people find a veterinarian family that they’re happy with, they stay there,” she says. “Everything has gone so corporate. A couple of big corporations are buying up all the small veterinary practices and it’s very strict what they can and can’t do.”

The hospital offers externships for veterinary students and hopes to bring in more. Practical experience is imperative for anyone entering the profession, she says. “I’m finding more and more recent graduates that have never worked in a functioning veterinary clinic. It’s a whole different thing. No, you can’t write up your detailed report the way you want to right now. We have people waiting with sick animals. You have to take care of them first.”

chambers prairie veterinary hospital
Since Dr. Amy Eilbeck took over the clinic in 2013, it’s had a greater emphasis on small animals. Photo courtesy: Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital.

As more people learn about the practice, either by dropping by to see the horses or through word of mouth, Eilbeck anticipates growth. “We look forward to our extended future in Thurston County,” she says. “We’re going to be here for a long time.”

For more information about Chambers Prairie Veterinary Hospital, visit www.chambersprairie.com or call 360-491-3800.

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