Equine Clinic

Grateful Owners

Southern States Store

Elephants

     Horse veterinarian Dr. Thomas Wright, 50, semi-retired to the quiet community of Peletier two years ago. He planned to continue a part-time practice, and spend the rest of his time fishing.
     Two years later he finds himself with 809 clients and 2,317 horses to treat. He’s had to hire two veterinarian’s assistants, and his wife Penny finds herself managing a thriving veterinarian practice and an animal health and supply store.
     What makes his practice so special is that he makes house calls. He travels with a mobile medical unit that includes equipment to do X-rays, ultrasounds and minor surgeries. He also carries a wide range of supplies to provide services from vaccinations to medication for intestinal problems.
     Serving a five-county area, his travel time became so overwhelming that he’s opened an Equine Clinic with four stalls for horses that need hospitalization. It’s common to see the stalls filled with sick horses, and assistants providing around-the-clock care.
     What Dr. Wright had not realized when he "Semi-retired" to the area was there are no full-time equine veterinarians for a five-county radius. Many horse owners from Carteret, Craven, Onslow, Jones and Pamlico counties had to travel to places like Burgaw and Raleigh to have sick or injured horses treated.                                                                          [back to top]
     Within a few months and with no advertising, his practice, Crystal Coast Veterinary Services, grew from one client to hundreds. His dream semi-retirement now includes sitting up with colicky horses until midnight, and rushing to emergency calls at 5:30 a.m.
     As he carefully sutures a deep cut on the muzzle of a handsome Appaloosa named Buddy, he says, "This is my usual routine. I start getting calls about 5:30 a.m. I got in this morning about 12:15 a.m."
     To say that horse owners are grateful for Dr. Wright’s move to the area is an under statement. Buddy’s owner, Diane McMillan of Hadnot Creek, said before Dr. Wright’s arrival she usually tried to manage a sick horse on her own. "He’s a life saver, and he’s good. I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing somebody is here, ‘ ‘ she said. "I know I don’t have to wait for days when I have a sick horse. Ms. McMillan was one of Dr. Wright’s first clients. She gave him a list of about 25 other area horse owners to get him started. His reputation as a caring, personable veterinarian quickly spread, and the rest is history.         [back to top]
     Steven Yeomans Jr. is an area horse owner who works as a veterinarian’s assistant for Dr. Wright. He said Dr. Wright’s mobile service is invaluable to horse owners who don’t have trailers. "I don’t own a trailer and if my horses got sick I had to try and borrow someone else’s trailer. A lot of owners don’t own them. Not only that, sometimes you don’t want to transport a sick horse, ‘ ‘ he said.
     Mark Masters of Hubert owns three horses and now assists part-time in the feed and supply store. "We had to take our horses to Burgaw before Dr. Wright arrived," he said. "Two years ago we had a horse get colicky on Christmas Eve. It was a nightmare. We had to drive to Burgaw and didn’t get home until after midnight. "He’s done so much for our horses," Mr. Masters continued. "He’s done so much for us. He’s just incredible."
     While Mrs. Wright has assisted her husband in the field, she now has her hands full bookkeeping, ordering supplies and managing their Southern States Animal Health and Supply Store. "We saw a need in the area for horse supplies as well as other things. Our focus is to provide products for animals, from horses, dogs, cats and chickens, to tools to muck out stalls. You’ll see boots, rubber suits, rakes, and feed and tack for horses," she said. As with their veterinarian practice, word about the store has spread like wildfire. "There are a lot of people in the area who have pets like birds and goats. They had to travel to get food. That’s what’s exciting for me. We get to do what we love and provide a valuable service to the community," she said.       [back to top]
     It’s apparent that Mrs. Wright thinks her husband is special. "The difference is that he’s so personable. Many times he’s running behind and people have to wait,"‘ she said. "But they know that when he gets to them they will get the same personable attention. When he’s with a client it’s like they’re the only one he has. He takes time to discuss the case with his clients.
"He works on educating the people. That’s what’s been lacking in this area. A vet from Apex or wherever would come in to treat an animal. He wouldn’t have time to educate the people. The more owners are educated, the better off they and their horses will be," said Mrs. Wright.
     Raised on a dairy farm in Cumberland County, Dr. Wright says he always knew he wanted to be a veterinarian. He comes by his profession honestly, with a brother and sister also being veterinarians. One of his daughters is working toward her veterinarian’s degree, too.
     While Dr. Wright said he loves small animals, he’s always preferred working on large ones such as horses. After graduating from vet school in Auburn, Ala., in 1978, he opened a successful equine practice in Gretna, Va. He practiced there until he moved to western Carteret County in January 1997. "I’ve always wanted to live by the ocean. As I approached 50 I decided I needed to move where I would spend the rest of my life. I love it here. I love the community and area, ‘ ‘ he said.                                             [back to top]
     "When I moved here I hoped to practice a little and fish a lot. That lasted about a month," he said.
     Dr. Wright said he likes the idea that when he’s called out in the middle of the night he’s not faced with driving on icy, mountainous roads. "I used to run the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was beautiful, but I got tired of traveling and working in ice and snow. I was raised in the flat lands," he said.
     Dr. Wright has seen about every type of horse problem. Ironically, the most unique call he’s answered since moving to Carteret County hasn’t involved horses, but elephants.
"When the circus was in Jacksonville they asked me to treat their elephants. The first day they were in town I got a call about an elephant that had become dehydrated. I had to run an I.V. I had to hit a vein in its ear. I never studied about treating elephants in vet school so it was a challenge," he said. Later in the week he had to treat a second elephant for an abscessed foot. "That’s definitely my most unique call," he said.
     Will Dr. Wright ever retire? "No. I think my hobby is my work. I realized that when I got here and tried to slow down. Every morning when I get up I love my work. If a day every comes that I dread to go to work and it’s not fun anymore, I’ll retire," he said.

Story and photos by Cheryl Burke, Staff Writer for Carteret County News-Times
Used with permission. Horses on the HiddenCoast thanks Cheryl for contributing this story.
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