Heather Hamblin absolutely loves zoo animals. She could talk about zoos, conservation, and zoo animals for hours. While working at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City prior to attending veterinary school, her husband even proposed to her at the zoo!
It only makes sense that Heather would have a passion for zoo medicine. She completed a rotation at the Oregon Zoo this summer and was able to assist with medical procedures on elephants, chimpanzees, a lion, mongoose, a tiger, turtles, bats, lizards, lamprey, and many other animals.
After she earns her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in May, Heather is off to work at MedVet in Salt Lake City as part of their emergency clinician mentorship program.
Heather said thanks to her time at Utah State University and Washington State University, she feels prepared for her veterinary career.
“Both universities have helped me develop a desire to push myself to learn all that I can about every area of veterinary medicine and have helped me become a lifelong learner,” she said.
Heather said a lot of her love for animals from watching Steve Irwin – “the Crocodile Hunter — as a child and pretending she was him, which could explain her love for alligators.
She also loves her 5-year-old chihuahua-Yorkshire terrier mix, Mozzy; enjoying the outdoors with her husband, Jake; and, of course, caring for animals.
“It sounds seemingly simple to say I want to be a veterinarian so I can help animals and people, but that’s really the core of it,” she said. “I want to be able to help animals live healthy lives and be able to help people through caring for their animals.”