TVMA 2007 Recent Graduate Practitioner of the Year, Dr. Allison Hargraves, has a Lust for Life and a Love for Small Animal Practice
by Lindsey Oechsle
Many young girls dream of becoming ballerinas, pop singers and princesses, but TVMA Recent Graduate Practitioner of the year, Dr. Allison Hargraves had different aspirations. Until age five, Dr. Hargraves had early dreams of becoming an elephant trainer. A few years later she thought about becoming a zoo vet, but her love for the companionship of animals was abounding.
“No one is going to let me just pet the bears,” she sweetly defends. “You can’t cuddle with a mountain lion while it’s awake.”
She was still on the fence about her direction in veterinary practice at age 17, when she began working with Dr. Roy Cruzen at Steeplechase Animal Hospital. Dr. Cruzen’s Houston practice of small animals, birds and pocket pets allowed Dr. Hargraves to combine the aspects of veterinary practice that she so loved: the companionship of small animals, the excitement of exotics and the humanity of client interaction. She set out on the journey for her ideal professional future at The University of Texas in Austin for undergraduate studies in zoology and biology.
At the University of Texas, Dr. Hargraves was involved in the Dean’s scholars natural science honors program. In this small group of intelligent, science-minded students, she found her interests to be uncommonly distinct. Her friends and peers were studying to be medical doctors, engineers or nuclear pharmacists, and she was the only member of the group who wanted to be an animal doctor. While the others preferred visits to the nuclear reactor, which she not very convincingly says was “okay,” she would usually plead, “Let’s go see the frogs again. Let’s go see the monkeys.”
Not only was her passion for animals evident, but the program inspired another one of Dr. Hargraves’ biggest passions: teaching. One of her favorite activities within the scholars program was visiting Austin-area middle schools to get kids interested in science. This seemed to spark her scientific interests as well.
“We would take hydrogen balloons and blow them up, which makes a big fireball, which is really fun to show 12-year-old kids. Take them out and blow stuff up – they think it’s great.”
After three years in Austin and the completion of her prerequisites, she was accepted to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. At the College, she was influenced by the advice of Dr. Mike Willard, whom she names as one of her greatest mentors. His challenging approach to teaching encouraged Dr. Hargraves to problem solve and think for herself.
“He made it seem real. He was the first to really let you know that there were going to be consequences when you did things wrong, which was really important, because before that it was all kind of theoretical,” she remembers. “He was the one who told all of us that even if you don’t want to specialize, because I didn’t at the time, you should do an internship, because that is going to make you a better vet.”
Upon graduating first in her class from TAMU-CVM in 2004, Dr. Hargraves took heed of her mentor’s advice and was accepted for a yearlong rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Cornell University. By mentoring fourth-year students, she was able to fill the role that others had taken with her, encouraging the students to think for themselves and reminding them that what they do will make a difference.
During her internship, Dr. Hargraves had primary case responsibility for all emergency services during her one-third day and night shifts. Because of the grueling hours and demanding caseload, she refers to her internship experience as the most challenging of all the professional experiences she has had thus far. In her light-spirited nature, it comes as no surprise that she describes the graveyard shifts as ‘fun.’
As she applies her internship experience to her classroom education, Dr. Willard’s advice comes full circle – an acknowledgement of which she is appreciative. “He was right,” she confesses. “That is exactly what we needed to do.”
Though Dr. Hargraves considered internal medicine residency at one point, her love for clinical work has kept her from going back that direction. She believes her calling is to bring her knowledge and experience back to her community. She revels in hands-on teaching opportunities with new vets, technicians and the children in the community who entrust their pets to her care, and she craves the familiar faces and long-lasting relationships that private practice provides.
Her current Houston-area practice allows Dr. Hargraves to do the things she loves on a daily basis. At Meyerland Animal Clinic, a busy six-doctor small animal practice, she is excited about the staff, the clients, the animals and the relationships that strengthen between them every day.
“I see the relationships that some of the vets that have been there longer have with these people and what an impact that has on both the owner and the vet. There is such a bond there, and that’s what I can’t miss out on. That’s what I hope to see one day.”
Dr. Hargraves, who turned 28 in May, is the youngest of the six veterinarians at Meyerland. The diversity and talent among the staff brings structure to the daily madness and offers variation, which clients appreciate. One such member of the Meyerland family is Dr. Lori Teller, Council Chair for TVMA External Affairs. In Dr. Hargraves’ young life as a veterinarian in private practice, she names Dr. Teller as one of her greatest mentors and speaks fondly of her multi-faceted ability. Dr. Teller’s high level of standards, community involvement, time management and compassion for patients are constant examples of what Dr. Hargraves holds so sacred.
“She’s just wonderful. She shows you how you can be a good vet and be in private practice. She has a family with a son and still manages to pull it all together and be great at what she does. I think that’s what all of us vets who want to have kids hope to do – balance.”
Children are undoubtedly in Dr. Hargraves’ future plans, and she has voiced those plans since entering the Meyerland practice. She hopes to continue practicing as a mother, and her current practice offers flexibility for that to be possible. Though there are no children in the Hargraves’ home yet, she already has a rather large and diverse young family. She refers to her house as “a little zoo.”
Her husband of six years, Brian, is an engineer for Texas Instruments. In fact, she comes from a family of engineers. Her younger brother, Travis, is an engineer for NASA. She volunteers that if Brian and Travis were dogs, they would be Golden Retrievers, because of their laid-back kindness and go-with-the-flow loyalty. It appears that this is a conversation her family has had before, as she admits rather hesitantly that if she were a dog, her family believes she would be a Chihuahua.
“I think that’s why we get along so well, because I’m a little more uppity and type A, and Brian is a little more laid-back.”
Dr. Hargraves and Brian share their home with five pets – each with a very different story. Sydney is their beagle inherited from a friend’s uncle, Lilly is the sassy tabby saved from an unwanted litter, James was an outside cat they couldn’t leave behind, Tabitha was feral, found by one of the professors at A&M when she was five weeks old, and Buster is a hit-by-car black rescue lab that Dr. Hargraves fostered and became attached to.
The entire family usually shares the same bed. Sydney sleeps under the covers while Buster, Lilly and Tabitha prefer the foot of the bed. Recently James has been sleeping in the bathroom
cupboards.
“I guess he finally decided it was too busy for him,” Dr. Hargraves giggles. “But five is where we stop, and I don’t know what I would do without them. The good thing about being a vet with five pets is that people don’t expect you to be completely hair-free when you go into work.”
Her maternal instinct is already in full force with her five ‘children.’ In the middle of our conversation, her attention is immediately taken to a place over my shoulder that I would assume outside her range of view. When I turn to follow it, I see Tabitha balancing on a thin mantle at the top of her stairwell.
“That always makes me nervous,” she says. “When they get up there, I always think they are going to lose their balance.” The assumption that cats are blessed with four paws of impeccable landing gear is immediately discredited, offering no comfort to a concerned parent. “Oh no, not Tabitha. Tabitha’s actually extremely uncoordinated. She loses her balance.”
Adding to her realm of concern, Dr. Hargraves is especially motherly when it comes to pets that are under her care at the clinic, admitting that she has a hard time leaving her job and her worries there. For Dr. Hargraves, this emotional responsibility is the biggest challenge she currently faces in her job. A compassionate perfectionist, she toils with the stress of not always knowing the right answer or the best thing to do.
As a recent graduate, she struggles with the insecurities that come with a few years of experience, but she is thankful for her associate practitioners and the advice they offer. “That is the great thing about being where I am. I have a lot of different people to consult for their helpful opinions.”
On her days off, Dr. Hargraves often calls the clinic to check on the progress of certain animals, and sometimes her fellow practitioners give her a hard time for her worrisome compassion. Recently when she called the clinic to see how her de-claw patient was healing, Dr. Teller jokingly delivered a less than comforting report, “Oh, her paw fell off.”
“That’s not funny,” Dr. Hargraves exclaimed, with a boisterous laugh. All jokes aside, it is obvious that the two have a friendly, respectful relationship.
One area of expertise for which all of the Meyerland vets turn to each other is the knowledge of shared experience. This continual practice-based education is something Dr. Hargraves stringently supports. She became immersed in this reflective learning style in her morbidity and mortality rounds at Cornell, and she continues these studies in her practice today. She believes it is important with all cases, especially in cases that are unexplained or not ideal, to take the time to look back on things with colleagues and determine what could have been done better.
Dr. Hargraves names the recent pet food recall as a great example of the search for what else can be done, what more can be learned and what can be done to keep unfortunate situations from recurring. Another lesson of the pet food recall was the importance of being proactive and getting the news out to pet owners and the public. When it comes to communication with pet owners, Dr. Hargraves thinks that is what her profession is all about.
“Veterinary medicine does not exist, at least not within the small animal field, without owners. If you can’t sit down and educate them about the disease process, what they need to watch for and what the prognosis will be, they are not going to trust you. They are not going to want to take your advice.”
In the same breath, Dr. Hargraves adds that it is equally important for pet owners to know what vets don’t know. As one of the most trusted professions, she believes it is crucially important that veterinarians continue to be honest. Although she admits the difficulty of sitting down and telling pet owners the uncertainty of what is going on or which option is best, she finds great opportunity in those situations. In telling them what she does know, she can educate them and enable them to make a decision. “But that’s also the fun part,” she says excitedly.
Not only does Dr. Hargraves stress the importance of educating clients about what is going on with their own pet, but also how that relates to public health. When she sees new puppies and kittens, she talks to owners about hookworms, roundworms and zoonotic disease in regards to their pets, children or people sharing their backyard. She is careful to remember that these are things the general public would never know about otherwise.
“I think that is the main reason that we are all vets – we sit down and we talk to people. I mean, we can’t talk to the animals. They still don’t talk, no matter how much we try,” she laughs. “But if you can communicate what is going on to an owner, it can make it so much easier.”
She may not be able to talk to pets, but her own cats are social and quite vocal. By this time, all three of Dr. Hargraves’ cats have decided to join the discussion. Lilly has taken to the corners of my notebook, and I believe she has caught on to the recorder’s purpose, as she stands directly over it, staring at it, and tentatively lets out a chorus of meows. James, the only male cat, approaches the table conversationally. She refers to him as ‘Superstar Jamison,’ and tells me that he has his own views.
“You must be an okay person since everybody came over to visit,” she assures me. “If all three cats are in the same room, then you know that they must think you are okay.”
The feeling is mutual, as we begin discussion on one of my favorite subjects – sweets. She admits that she requests Michigan fudge for every holiday and that her regular weekend ritual includes indulging in a chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen. You would never guess it from looking at her, as she is adorably petite. I realize I have been thinking aloud.
“I’m kind of an exercise fanatic,” she explains. “I love going to the gym.” She works out at least five days a week, which she divides among cycling classes, an old hand-me-down exercise bike of her parents’, a ‘really fun’ weightlifting class a couple times each week and a little bit of running – though she wouldn’t call running fun. She goes to yoga occasionally to prove her inflexibility to herself, and we laugh as she explains the humility of sharing a mirrored room with 70-year-olds that are rubber bands. “You guys go focus on your breathing, and I’ll be over here.”
She and Brian bought mountain bikes last year for her birthday, “or for something,” she retracts. “I guess it was for my birthday, even though I didn’t really want one” (she wanted fudge). “But we’ve used them, and it has been fun whenever we go.” They also used to love to snow ski, which we agree is not very pertinent in Texas. When they lived in Traverse City, Michigan they were walking distance to Mount Holiday.
Extremely intelligent, undeniably kind, funny and athletic – I was hard-pressed to find anything Dr. Hargraves does not do. “I am terrified of snakes, so I won’t see them, and I won’t see amphibians either.” The latter derived from a discussion during an exotics conference she attended at A&M a couple years back about frogs that eat mice, in which she realized, “I really didn’t like frogs either. I’m not seeing either one of those things. Now no one at our clinic will see reptiles or amphibians. I can’t help it. I’m just not going to do it.”
Besides amphibians and reptiles, there is only one other thing she asks of her associates at Meyerland Animal Clinic. “I’ll do anything, just please don’t make me do the Macarena!” The only other job Dr. Hargraves has held outside the realm of the veterinary profession was working as a hostess at On The Border. These days, a mere mention of the name is enough to conjure painful images of party scenes and pelvic thrusts – a seemingly traumatic work-related experience.
Far evolved from seating tables and the torture of the Macarena, Dr. Hargraves looks to her future with anticipation, and to her past with tender humility. “There is so much more to be good at before I feel like a recent practitioner that would be noteworthy,” she regresses. “But I guess I have a lot of drive, so that’s a good thing.”
She definitely wants to pursue ABVP certification, adding that you have to be out of school for six years before you can complete that process. More than anything, she wants to continue making sure that she learns more every year. She is extremely content with her current job and responsibilities, but she has a never-ending desire for personal professional improvement. Specifically, she wants to increase her proficiency as an ultrasonographer and as a faster, better surgeon – areas in which she grows and learns every day. Becoming more involved in the community is another area of desire for Dr. Hargraves, and discovering what else she can do for people. “Especially for the general public,” she says. “I think there is so much that we can teach them. I want to help them to be more educated in what their animals need.”
Already making strides toward reaching her goals in her community, Dr. Hargraves was nominated for local board membership in the fall. As a new board member, her responsibilities include attending meetings and making decisions for Harris County in regards to budget, organizing CE and addressing local problems and concerns.
“It is nice to have a great local VMA that brings in great speakers. All you have to do is go to the Galleria and hear good people talk about good things. It has been interesting to see what is going on in our area of town on different veterinary topics, so I have had fun with that.”
She also takes part in her community by visiting the young children at Westbury United to teach them about animal safety and becoming veterinarians and by volunteering at Girl Scout functions. “I was a Girl Scout forever, so I love doing that kind of stuff with children – especially with Girl Scouts.” When she was a Girl Scout, her own mother was the troop leader.
Being able to be a good mom and a good vet simultaneously is what Dr. Hargraves thinks will be the most challenging of her future goals. “That is the goal I really want to reach. That’s where I hope to be in 20 years – or hopefully 18 years – is having kids who say, ‘You did a really good job at balancing it, and you were a great role model for how someone can do that.’”
Near the end of our chat, her cell phone rings, and she glances at it and smiles. “It’s my mom,” she explains. “She calls every Tuesday at least twice.”
