From Volunteer to Veterinarian

Six-year-old Sophie Albright had a question for her local veterinarian: she wanted to know when she could start working alongside him as a volunteer.

“He told me I had to wait until I was 13,” Albright said. “And then every year whenever I took my dog in for shots, I kept asking him, and then finally when I was 12, he was like, ‘you know what, you’ve been asking for so long. I’ll let you come in a year early.’”

Nineteen-year-old Albright still embodies the eager spirit of her younger self. Now a freshman pre-veterinary student at the University of Missouri, she is pursuing veterinary medicine in hopes of returning to her hometown as a veterinarian rather than a volunteer.

Albright’s experience in the clinic started at age 12 with job shadowing. She had the opportunity to watch surgeries and help with other daily tasks of Dr. Philip Briscoe, a veterinarian at General Veterinary Clinic in Hannibal, Missouri.

“I would clean kennels, walk dogs, and bathe dogs,” Albright said.

Briscoe took note of Albright’s capabilities and allowed her to help with more advanced tasks as she got older.

“Now my vet will allow me to sit in on surgeries and actually hand him supplies or hold some skin back,” Albright said. “I can give vaccines occasionally and fill up all the medications and prescriptions.”

It was not only her days in the clinic that piqued her interest in becoming a veterinarian. She also had exposure to her grandpa’s farm starting at the age of two.

“He would always bundle me up in the winter, and we would go out and feed his cows,” Albright said. “So that was my first introduction to livestock.”

Her experiences in both the clinic and on the farm have cultivated her interest in working with both large and small animals.

Albright’s versatility will contribute to efforts to increase veterinary presence in rural communities.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Missouri has a veterinarian shortage, specifically in rural counties. Albright attributes this problem to the high presence of large animals in these communities.

“I think it’s because so many of the new veterinarians are now females,” Albright said. “For one, it’s much more taxing labor-wise to work with large animals in rural areas. Also, a lot of women, once they get pregnant or have small children, either don’t want to work with large animals anymore or … become stay-at-home moms.”

Albright plans to work with large animals despite the challenges.

“I have a desire to work with large animals, and I don’t think having kids is going to stop me from working with large animals,” Albright said.

Albright’s ambitions are in line with her entrepreneurial spirit. When she was 13, Albright started her own dog grooming business and managed it until she left for college. Rexenne Lowes, one of the 50 clients Albright accumulated by her senior year of high school, said Albright worked well with her dog Ellie.

“She was detailed, quick and efficient, and friendly to the owner and the dog,” Lowes said. “She was calm and laid-back, which is very good to have as a groomer. And yet, she was calm and in control. I think Ellie knew she was in charge, not in a bad way, but in a very healthy way.”

In addition to running her business, Albright was also heavily involved in Future Farmers of America all four years of high school. By her senior year, she became vice president of her school’s chapter.

Albright’s passion has already landed her a job offer post-graduation. She said Briscoe has plans to hand over his clinic to her once she finishes veterinary school. This would be in accordance with tradition, since Briscoe also started as a young volunteer at the clinic.

“Probably two years ago, when [Briscoe] realized, ‘yeah, she’s very serious about this,’ he talked to me and was like, ‘yeah, if you’re actually planning on coming back to Hannibal, I’ll probably be a few years out from retirement, and I can train you up and you can maybe take over the clinic,’” Albright said.

Lowes is excited about this prospect.

“When she becomes a vet, if we still have a dog, … I would want Sophie to be my vet,” Lowes said.

Upon completion of her education, Albright will be able to return to General Veterinary Clinic as a veterinarian rather than a volunteer.

“[I envision myself] working in my hometown, having a close relationship with a lot of my clients, and running my own practice,” Albright said.