Community Q&A: Dr. Ashley Rice finds her calling as a shelter veterinarian

Henry, a senior cat at the Blue Mountain Humane Society, is the epitome of why Dr. Ashley Rice loves her job as medical director and veterinarian.

When Henry was left in a box outside the humane society, he had an abscess on his head and was extremely sick and a little grumpy.

Now, he has a couple bald spots, he has been diagnosed with feline immunodeficiency virus, he’s gained a few pounds and he’s the sweetest boy, Rice said.

“Part of his treatment is that he has to have a daily exam by me, which is really just an excuse for loving on him,” she said. “But it's required for his medical care.”

Rice has felt a connection to animals all her life, and she found her true calling in shelter medicine when she started volunteering with BMHS’s trap-neuter-return program in 2015.

She worked at BMHS temporarily, part time alongside Dr. Kenneth Norris. When he decided to retire, she took over his position. The transition happened in January.

In other past roles, Rice helped create a spay and neuter program for Benton Franklin Humane Society in Kennewick and served as their first shelter vet. With Pet Overpopulation Prevention in Pasco, she helped create a high-volume spay and neuter clinic.

Working in animal welfare is difficult but rewarding, she said.

“It's hard coming in and seeing these animals not get homes, but it's also what keeps us coming back,” she said. “You have to have that passion to want to stay in this field.”

Here are questions and answers with Rice. Responses have been edited for length.

Where did your affinity for animals come from, and how has it developed throughout your life?

From my earliest memories, I have loved animals. We had pets growing up, and I was the girl that was putting Band-Aids on my stuffed animals and wraps on the briar horse's legs. When I was 9, I shadowed our local mobile vet, and that was really the turning point for me when I realized I love this line of work.

Those veterinarians were like mentors to me — they still are. They've had a huge impact. That was a pivotal point, I think, early on. They worked with dogs and cats. They did large animal, too, so horses, cows. I vividly remember watching the vet remove a cow's eye, and it was so cool.

What was your path to becoming a veterinarian?

I grew up in Omak, Wash., graduated from high school there and went to Washington State University. It's the only university in the state that has a vet school, so I went there on purpose, knowing that I wanted to do undergrad and then vet school.

I majored in animal science and also worked at the vet school, and then I applied and got into WSU vet school. Out of school, I went to Montana and did a year-long equine-exclusive internship, which was really good. I learned a lot, but I also learned that I didn't want to just work with horses.

I came to Walla Walla because my brother has lived here for a long time, and I had come and visited some of the clinics. I started work at Associated Vet in general practice and doing mixed animal (care).

In 2015, I started volunteering with BMHS’s trap-neuter-return program, where we humanely trap feral cats and they come in and they get spayed or neutered and vaccinated, and then they go back to their colony. That was the turning point for me when I found my true calling, my niche, in shelter medicine and high volume spay and neuter surgery. I fell in love with it because these are animals that don't otherwise receive care.

How does shelter medicine differ from other types of animal medicine you have practiced?

Shelter med is very different because these animals, one, they don't have owners, and there's no one to pay for the care they need. We are a nonprofit. We apply for grants. We get donations. We do collect fees for adoptions and licensing, and we have contracts for impound services. We can't do our work without community support, which is huge. That's very different from traditional veterinary medicine.

Shelter med is also unique because we are able to provide care to that animal that they might never have been able to receive otherwise. So yes, we're very limited in what we can do. We're not a full service clinic. We don't have X-rays. We don't have ultrasound. We're very limited, but we do the very best with what we have for our animals.

What are your responsibilities now as medical director of BMHS?

We have a director of shelter operations who is in charge of general operations. I'm in charge of the specific veterinary medicine aspect. We work together creating protocols for animal care, and we do medical rounds together every day.

Between our staff and our volunteers, we're caring for, on average, 60 to 70 animals every single day. I am basically caring for all those animals, dictating medical treatment and protocols, providing high volume spay and neuter surgery, and maintaining relationships with our local vets and vendors and clients. I also get to help with things outside of just surgery and medicine, like the budget.

What is the importance of community spay and neuter programs?

It's important for the animal's health, but also it's important for our community. Here at BMHS we're committed to doing everything we can to end pet overpopulation, because overpopulation leads to shelters that are full or animals that can't get into the shelter, so animals that are suffering and cannot find a home.

The other thing that we are really big on is responsible pet ownership. Part of being a responsible pet owner is planning ahead for spay and neuter. How we help with that is that we offer spay neuter services to low-income, qualified individuals. If you qualify, then you sign up online. I also created a two-tier system, so for individuals or families that have proof of public assistance, they get an even lower price.

We also provide spay neuter services for rescues and humane societies.

What is your vision for the clinic?

My biggest things were to come in and revamp the spay and neuter clinic and make some changes to help to make us more sustainable. One of my big things is increasing access to care for underserved populations. Again, those animals might not otherwise be able to receive care. I love helping local shelters and rescues because our ability to spay and neuter their animals helps them get them adopted out. And I love helping the community with their animals that need services. I want to be able to offer more spots for spay and neuter services. I'm hoping that in the future we'll have vaccine clinics, so like a day where that's all we do for the public for low-income, qualified individuals because that's who we serve.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?

Henry is a prime example. He is a cat that was left in a box in our driveway, was very sick and probably would have passed away without medical intervention. Being able to take that animal in, help him to the best of our abilities, treat his illnesses. neuter him, and then to see him turn around and gain weight, and his coat looks great, and just to see him thrive. Ultimately, the day he gets adopted will be the best day. It’s so rewarding to be able to help animals that wouldn't otherwise receive that care then thrive and go to their new home.

Spay and neuter is so rewarding because you're making a difference. I have dedicated my career to shelter medicine, to being an advocate for those animals when they don't have one. We are their advocate, and seeing the animals happy again and cared for is the best.

What are ways that you care for yourself or support your team through compassion fatigue?

With my staff, we do a debrief after loss. We experience death. We experience euthanasia. We deal with neglect. We deal with abuse. We deal with people dumping their pets. It eats away at your soul. We do a lot of debriefing, talking through things. If something happens in surgery we talk about if we could have done anything different, we talk about our feelings, we create a safe space where you can say anything and talk through things.

But it is hard. It’s really hard. I think having hobbies outside of work is important. I go home and have my family. I have three kids. I'm a working mom, which is also hard, maintaining that work life balance, especially in this caretaker role. I love to ride my horse. My husband is a cowboy, so riding together is a favorite thing to do. We like to be outside. Our kids are young, five and under, so life is chaotic and crazy with kids.

I still have cases that eat away at me. I don't have an answer for how to let that go. It's just one of those things. I think if I didn't have that compassion, that sensitivity, I think I would be in the wrong profession. But it's a balance of seeing the hard side of it, but then also remembering how rewarding it is and how much I love my job.