Today we’d like to introduce you to Zarah Hedge.
Hi Zarah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was lucky in that I always knew I wanted to be a veterinarian. I grew up in the Midwest, and we moved around a lot (I lived in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin). My family always had animals growing up, including dogs, cats, ferrets and a bird. When I was young I also cared for the community cats and their kittens in my neighborhood (this is how we ended up having cats, as my parents are definitely more dog people). We did not have any affordable spay and neuter options at the time, and I would socialize and find homes for all the kittens born each year. Apparently I was destined to work at an animal shelter, I just didn’t know it yet. I went to undergrad at South Dakota State University where I studied biology and worked both as a zookeeper at a small accredited zoo and a local veterinary hospital. I learned about a new veterinary school opening in southern California (Western University of Health Sciences), and I knew immediately that was the school I needed to go to. I really admired their reverence for life philosophy, as I found it disheartening at the time to learn that many veterinary schools required you to harm animals in order to learn. I worked hard and was accepted into the third class of the then new veterinary school (class of 2009). I packed up everything and drove out to California, which was a bit scary at first (especially driving on the highways). But I can decidedly say, it was one of the best decisions of my life. I had an amazing veterinary school experience and met some of my best friends. No surprise, vet school was hard work but I always made sure to make time for fun. It was in vet school that I learned a career working in animal sheltering was a possibility, and I fell in love. I was President of the Student Chapter of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and worked to gain experiences working with animal shelters. In my fourth (and final) year of vet school I was doing an externship at an emergency hospital in Portland Oregon, and visited the local shelter where I learned they had a vet student extern program. I managed to sneak my way in to complete an externship a few months later, and during that time I learned they were considering starting a shelter internship program. I sat down with the Medical Director, Dr. Otteman, and told her I really wanted to be their intern, and the rest is history. I finished my one year internship at Oregon Humane Society, and I knew I wanted to pursue more training and specialize in the field of shelter medicine. The problem at that time was, there were only one shelter medicine residency program available (and the applicant pool was very competitive), and shelter medicine was not a recognized board specialty (it did become a board specialty several years later). I was not accepted into the residency program unfortunately, but it allowed me to create an even better pathway. With the support of Oregon Humane Society and Dr. Otteman, we created our own residency program. I’m proud to say that many shelter vets have now gone through the same program that I was lucky to help create. After four years in Oregon, I was ready for sunshine again. So I moved back to southern California. Through a classmate who was working there at the time, I learned about San Diego Humane Society and took a job as a staff veterinarian. I started as the kitten nursery vet at the San Diego location back in 2013, and in my first year there I helped create their shelter medicine internship program. I stayed at San Diego Humane Society for two years, and during that time I also worked at the Oceanside and Escondido locations. Around 2105, a unique opportunity came up to go back to the vet school I graduated from and help build a shelter and community practice teaching program. So, I moved to Los Angles and after a few years opened the WesternU Spay/Neuter Center, in partnership with LA Animal Services (which was in Van Nuys at that time). I spent four years teaching at the University, two of them running the clinic, and had a blast teaching students and working with an amazing veterinary team. And while I loved providing affordable spay/neuter and other medical services to the shelter and community, I found myself really missing working directly in the shelter. And it is strange how sometimes things just fall into place, because around the same time I realized how much I missed being in the shelter setting, I received a message out of the blue from Gary Weitzman (CEO of San Diego Humane Society), asking if I would be interested in coming back. As it turned out, it was exactly where I needed to be. I re-joined the team at San Diego Humane Society in 2019, where I’ve served as Chief Medical Officer and VP of Shelter Medicine. I now work with an amazing team of compassionate, dedicated and inspiring people to help animals and people in San Diego. I am so glad my journey has brought me back to San Diego and to this organization, it’s been a great ride so far and I’m excited for what is to come.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I suspect no one has said they’ve had a smooth road to get to where they are today, and my story is no different. While I’ve been really fortunate to have had the opportunities I’ve had (and the ability to create opportunities where they did not exist), many of those came as a result of challenges or road blocks that entered my path. I would have never had the opportunity to create a shelter medicine residency program at Oregon Humane Society all those years ago if I wasn’t declined for the program I originally applied for. And looking back, it not only gave me a unique experience but allowed for a new path to be created so that other veterinarians could travel it as well. I also had many failures while I was working to become board certified in shelter medicine. You have to complete many different things to qualify for the exam in order to become a specialist in shelter medicine (similar to other specialties in veterinary medicine). I remember my first research project and attempt to publish failed miserably, and I actually had to switch to an entirely new project. I was also required to write a very lengthy case report, and my first submission also failed miserably and I had to find an entirely new case to submit. While it was frustrating at the time, and definitely stressful, ultimately these setbacks just helped to build my resiliency. And now that I help train shelter medicine residents and interns, I hope to pass along some of that experience so that they learn that challenges will happen, and while they may be stressful, they can be great opportunities to learn from and grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a shelter medicine veterinarian, and currently work as Chief Medical Officer and VP of Shelter Medicine at San Diego Humane Society. I am board certified in both veterinary preventive medicine and shelter medicine. I’ve also got a Masters in Public Health, and am currently working towards a Masters in Veterinary Forensic Science. I think I’m most proud of being able to help bring progressive and evidence based programs and policies into places where I’ve worked, including San Diego Humane Society. I am very proud to have helped in the development and implementation of our Community Cat Program, including our focused TNR (trap-neuter-return) arm of the program. This aspect of the program uses data from cat and kitten intake into the shelter to identify geographic areas of highest intake where we can focus our TNR efforts, with a goal of reducing the number of cats and kittens that enter the shelter each year. I also love infectious disease and helping improve the level of care for animals in the shelter. And I have a passion for veterinary forensic work (I did a fair amount during my residency training) and hope to dive into that aspect of animal sheltering more in the future as well. I also work as a relief veterinarian for RAVS (Rural Area Veterinary Services) a program of Humane World for Animals. RAVS is a program that supports animals, families and communities impacted by systemic poverty and geographic isolation. I’ve volunteered with this organization since 2007, and began working as a relief veterinarian in 2019. I love the RAVS mission and team, as well as all of the communities I get to work with around the country.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a super shy kid growing up, and very introverted. I hated speaking in class or being called on. But, I came out of my shell when I played sports. I was both a nerdy kid and someone who loved playing sports. I played all kinds of different sports growing up, but as I got older I mainly focused on basketball and softball, and was part of many traveling basketball and softball teams. My parents would always be driving me to the Twin Cities every weekend during the winter to play softball in indoor ballparks. I was also in band and played trumpet. In high school I took lots of music and art classes. I loved (and still love) reading and I found that I often got along with all kinds of people (and had friends in many different friend groups in school). While I loved spending time with friends I also really loved spending time with my animals (mainly my dog) and being out in nature.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sdhumane.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zarah-hedge/
- Other: https://zhedge11.myportfolio.com/
