Published: September 30, 2008 07:34 pm      

Movers and Shapers: Munique keeps hometown pets healthy in Mercer

Editor’s note: The following is the first in a seven-part series profiling those ordinary people with an extraordinary passion to make Four Seasons Country a better place to live and work. It is a continuation of the Daily Telegraph’s “Mover and Shapers” special section published on Sunday, Sept. 28.



PRINCETON — With tails wagging and bodies wiggling in happy anticipation, the two yellow labs strained against their leashes in attempt to reach their intended target. The object of their affection — Princeton veterinarian April Munique.

As an animal health care provider, Munique has many patients who thrive on her attention and compassion -- despite the occasional injections and other necessary, but sometimes uncomfortable or painful, procedures.

On this day, the labs were pronounced healthy and sound during their annual checkup, despite one noticeable problem — an unhealthy weight gain. With this news came a discussion and guidelines for feeding, and tips from Munique on warning signs to watch for that would indicate the weight gain was causing health problems. As the labs headed out the door at Veterinary Asso-ciates in Princeton, Munique moved on to examining and diagnosing her next patient.

It was a typical day in the life of a small-town veterinarian.

•••

Munique is no stranger to Mercer County, its people and their pets. In 1977, At the age of 2, her family moved from Welch to Princeton. “I’ve lived here ever since,” she said. “I went to Mercer Elementary, Princeton Junior and Senior High.”

Her father was a physician in Mercer County, where he practiced a St. Luke’s Hospital.

“I volunteered in the practice that I currently work at, Veterinary Associates, when I was in junior high,” Munique said. “I knew that I wanted to be a veterinarian my entire life. I was lucky in that respect. It’s a difficult thing to have to know what you want to do for the rest of your life when you’re in high school. I love my job and my profession. I would not do anything else.”

Munique’s motivation to become a veterinarian was simple: “My love for animals ... all of them.” As a youth, she described her bedroom at her parents’ house as a “zoo.”

After graduating from PSHS, Munique did her undergraduate work at West Virginia University and received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Ohio State University.

“My parents fostered my love for animals but I don’t think they were anticipating me becoming a vet,” Munique recalled. “My first day of college was memorable because I initially went to the biology orientation to do pre-med. I felt like a fish out of water. I went to the animal and veterinary sciences orientation after sitting through about an hour of the biology spiel and realized this is where I needed to be. I knew that this was the career for me.”

While attending college, Munique’s strong connection to her hometown never wavered. “I always loved coming home from school and have not been able to call anywhere else home. I enjoyed growing up in Princeton and I knew that I wanted to come back here to live. It has changed tremendously over the years but it’s still home to me.”

Although initially unsure if she would be able to come back to Mercer County to work immediately after graduating from veterinary school, Munique says she “lucked out.”

“Dr. (Bill) Reynolds, the owner of Veterinary Associates at the time, offered me a position at his clinic and I jumped at the chance. I grew up in that practice so being able to come back home and contribute to it was a great opportunity. I’ve been there since 2001. I love practicing at home. I love being able to contribute to the community that was so supportive of me growing up.”

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Munique said she loves working in a small town — especially the one in which she grew up.

“I was lucky to already know several of the people I encountered,” she said. “I love going to the grocery store and seeing people I know and helped. I like the small town lifestyle. I’ve really been able to make lasting relationships with clients and have become friends with many of them. I like that.”

However, the very same aspects that make working in a small town rewarding can also be a drawback.

“You can get too attached to people and their pets and that can be difficult to take sometimes. I remember having to euthanize a pet one time. Our families lived in the same neighborhood and I watched the kids grow up with this dog. The dog was 12 or 13 and the kids were graduating from high school. When I euthanized him, the entire family was with him and we all were crying. I was crying so much that the father came over to console me!”

As a veterinarian, Munique sees a gamut of patients in a typical day and week. Recalling her many cases, she described one of her most memorable stories as both “heartbreaking and heartwarming.”

“These clients brought their dog in on an emergency,” she recalled. “The dog was very lethargic and acting very strangely. They loved their dog so much. Unfortunately, the dog had been poisoned and died shortly after he presented. Her owners were devastated.

“In the meantime, we (the clinic) had taken care of a pound dog that had been hit by a car. We fixed her leg and she stayed in foster care for awhile. She desperately needed a home. The foster parents were running out of time and space and had to find her a home soon. This dog was the spitting image of the one that had just passed away a week before on emergency -- same breed, color, sex age, everything. So, we called our clients and had the foster parent bring in the other dog and it was love at first sight! The funny thing is that this dog was a little particular about who she greeted but she didn’t hold back with her soon to be new owners. It was such a good union. They wasted no time in buying this dog everything you could buy for a dog. She goes everywhere with them. Just one great happy family. Some things are just meant to be.”

Munique has also had her share of funny cases, but she said the most humorous one “isn’t suitable for publication.”

“But I do have some super funny patients,” she said. “Just like people, I have those patients that just brighten your day. Whether it be their inverse ratio of their attitude to their size, their haircuts or ball gowns and flashy painted toenails, their super sweet natures despite what you do to them ... they are all just different and unique. They make my job fun.”

•••

There are several significant issues facing pets and pet owners in the region, Munique said, specifically citing overpopulation and rabies.

“Overpopulation is an ever-growing problem to domestic animals and the communities attempting to care for them,” she said. “These feral animals have nowhere to go and get very limited medical care. These neglected, homeless animals, sadly, can become a menacing community problem. They can become aggressive and attack other pets and people. They can perpetuate the spread of diseases like rabies and parasitism to humans and animals alike.”

Public education as well as spaying and neutering are vital to curbing this problem, Munique said. Although there are some community organizations that will help with the costs of spaying and neutering, “they can’t do it all,” she noted.

“People need to take responsibility for their pets, vaccinate and spay and neuter their animals despite the number of pets they have. We all have to work together — community, public organizations and veterinarians — to keep pets and people safe. But the bottom line, overpopulation is just a sad reality. These animals are starving and dying. It all could be prevented or at least reduced with human help and responsibility and kindness.”

Rabies is another problem facing animals and people in the region. Mercer County currently leads the state in the number of confirmed rabies cases.

“Rabies vaccination is so important,” Munique said. “We have had so many positive rabies cases in the recent months — it’s frightening.”

It’s important for people to understand the severity of this disease, Munique said, emphasizing that it can be fatal to animals and humans.

“Treatment for humans is painful and expensive if it can be caught in time,” she said. “For pets that are vaccinated and bitten by an animal, it’s a mandatory 10-day quarantine. For those whose vaccination is not current, it’s a mandatory six-months quarantine.

“And rabies isn’t just the dog that’s foaming at the mouth,” she added. “That happens late in the infected stage. People need to be cautioned about picking up stray animals that are acting abnormally, even little tiny kittens on the side of the road. I’m not discouraging rescuing stray animals at all. Just be careful with the ones that are showing neurological signs — aggression, stumbling, etc.”

Raccoons, foxes and skunks are among the most common wildlife that carry the rabies virus and bite domestic animals, Munique said. “So be careful around any wildlife. If they’re not running away from you, you should be running from them! I’ve heard a lot of stories of them attacking doors trying to get inside.”

Another animal-related issue currently making headlines — and stirring debate — is the implementation of breed-specific ordinances by cities and towns. In West Virginia and across the nation, many municipalities have banned or placed strict regulations on pit bulls or other breeds deemed “vicious.”

Asked to weigh in on this issue, Munique said breed-specific ordinances are “biased and unfair.”

“I’ve been bitten by more cats and poodles than rottweillers and pit bulls,” she said. “I understand the fear and stigma attached to these breeds but it’s not their fault. One can train any animal to become aggressive.”

•••

Munique said likes to think she is making a difference in the community by showing local youth “what being a veterinarian is all about.”

“We have several high school students job shadow and volunteer at the clinic and I like to

show them what it’s all about. Even if they realize that veterinary medicine is not what they want to do, at least they know that before they devote an entire college career to something they won’t enjoy. The job shadowing program at the high schools is an invaluable program. I wish we had something like that when I was in school.”

Asked about her greatest accomplishment, Munique said: “I don’t think I’ve accomplished it all yet. I’d like to think it’s still in the works but I know that so far my family and my career are the majority of it.”

Munique is married to her high school sweetheart, and the couple has two children. “My first ‘kid’ is my dog ‘Doak.’ which I adopted from a pound when I was in vet school. He’s the best dog I know. He’s getting older and grey. If cloning weren’t so crazy expensive, I think I just might would do it!”