Shawn Gleason : Bitterroot Valley Veterinarian by Bess Brownlee
There really is no such thing as a typical day for a large animal veterinarian, especially one in the Bitterroot Valley. From clinical appointments, to home visits, and emergency calls, veterinarians like Corvallis’s Shawn Gleason can only plan on being surprised every day. But the lanky, be-spectacled 47 year-old, claims all he wants to do is work with animals, and he has found a way to do it, and support his family in Corvallis, MT.
Born and raised in Ennis, MT, and surrounded by animals since youth, Gleason has a deep love and respect for creatures. With the lilting voice of a cowboy, Gleason says that he has always reserved a special affinity for those of the equine species in particular. He grew up riding horses in southwestern Montana, and became a wrangler for a ranch in Arizona in his early 20s. It was there that he met his wife, Betsy, who was working as a ranch-hand at the time. The two were married shortly afterward. Shawn then decided that he wanted a new career path.
“I’ve been working with animals all my life…but I was trying to figure out a way to make a living with horses,” said Gleason, rubbing the red stubble on his chin. That passion for animals collided with lasting profession in the early 90s when Gleason decided to go to vet school at the age of 27. He graduated from Oregon State University in 1996, and went on to work as a large animal veterinarian all around the northwest. He stayed at his clinic in Nampa, ID until 2002 when he and Betsy decided that it was time to return to Big Sky Country.
“I’ve lived a lot of places, and this is the best place I’ve ever lived,” said Gleason, looking out one of the windows in his large blue-roofed clinic in Corvallis, MT on a crisp October afternoon. Shawn, Betsy, and their two young daughters Abby and Kate settled easily into the heart of the Bitterroot Valley. Within a few years of moving, Shawn had established a very successful clinic catering to horses and cattle from Florence to Sula. He is joined on staff by two veterinary technicians, CJ McKenzie and Amber Erickson, two rotating receptionists and his wife Betsy, who manages the office. “I’m surrounded by women!” laughed Gleason. He also shares veterinary duty with several other large animal doctors in the valley, but business has been nothing but constant.
“My day starts as soon as the phone rings in the morning,” said Gleason, of his unpredictable and often manic schedule. He is on-call 24/7 for emergencies, which often occur at all hours of the day, wrenching him from sleep or family-time to tend to animals in need. On a some-what normal day, Gleason will be up and in the clinic by 8a.m. doing paper work, returning phone calls and messages from the day before, and figuring out his appointment schedule with his wife Betsy.
By 9a.m. the appointments start rolling in, which can include teeth floating, pregnancy checks, vaccinations, and injury progress evaluations. Those appointments may be interrupted at anytime by an emergency drop-in client or panicked call. These typically consist of, but are not limited to colic, cuts, lacerations, infections, birthing difficulties, and broken bones. Gleason puts all clients with appointments on hold to attend to the more serious cases.
By noon, Gleason and his veterinary technician Amber Erickson hit the road in the large white four-door “porta-vet” pick-up truck to answer house calls on area farms and properties. Gleason’s truck is equipped with nearly all the necessities to attend to animals away from the clinic. The bed of the truck is home to over a dozen compartments filled with vaccinations, medications, lubricant, pastes, gels, bandages, clamps, gloves, and tools necessary for the job. Some of the drawers are refrigerated or heated, and there is also a pressure hose attached for cleaning. In the cab, Gleason has his laptop, printer, an ever-ringing cell phone, piles of dirty and clean cover-alls, hats, jackets, and a few maps. Erickson usually dials the phone for him and gives him directions on the fly, as they zip from one of the valley to the other. “I’ve been working for Shawn for a year and a half, it’s a great job,” said Erickson.
The clinic and the stereo of Gleason’s truck are always playing classic country, of which Shawn seems to know every lyric of every song. “I’ll give you three guesses who this is Amber!” laughed Gleason as he sung along to Johnny Cash while motoring through the drive-thru of McDonalds. Meals usually come in the fast food variety for Gleason, since he is on the road for much of the day, sometimes not returning home until passed 8p.m. After his second fast food stop in three hours Amber calls him out and jokes, “We think he has a worm, he’s hungry all the time!”
If Gleason and Erickson are lucky they will be done on the road at 5p.m. and make it back to the clinic before the sun goes down. But the phone usually rings, amid swearing from Gleason, on the way back and they will have to turn the truck around. A day as a large animal veterinarian, and especially at the Gleason clinic, rarely goes according to schedule.
But it is worth it to Gleason. “My favorite part of the job is working on a little kid’s horse, and seeing them go home healthy,” he said with a smile. That passion for healthy animals that urges Gleason to answer the late night calls, take on additional appointments, and travel hundreds of miles a month. He believes that people should try to always do what they love. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, just figure out what you want to do one of these days, and go do it,” said Gleason.