Dr. Cathy King, Inspiration and Dogs' Best Friend

First, my nonsensical but fun trivia.  A King lived here at the Lovestead several years ago. Actually, I think there were four Kings all together.

One of those Kings was a veterinarian named Paul.  If I remember correctly, he and his wife were the first to develop this place into a farm.  That was back in the 1970s.

I had one of Dr. King's sons in my honors English class.

The Kings eventually left the area, and I heard that Dr. King had landed a nice gig as an upfront man for the band Alabama.  If anyone local can confirm or dispute that, feel free to let me know.  

A while back, I did some Googling and found that Dr. King is again practicing veterinary medicine at a clinic in Wisconsin. 

So much for fun Lovestead historical trivia.  Now, on to more up-to-date news, and,  once again, this morning's feature involves a veterinarian named Dr. King.

Dr. Cathy King, to be exact.  I had Dr. King in my honors English class. 

Last night Cathy posted a video of a presentation she gave recently about her phenomenal mission in life, along with taking care of everybody's beloved critters.  

Cathy is the CEO and founder of World Vets.   http://worldvets.org/

She introduced the video, explaining that she likes to give speeches as much as she likes paying taxes or going to the dentist.  

That's Cathy, always soft-spoken but definitely driven and for sure, a visionary, who saw a need and went after it with gusto.  

I'm going to let the video explain Cathy's mission, and I'd like to include some information she supplied me for an alumni project aimed at Sandpoint High School students. 

Cathy serves as one of countless examples of students from our local high school who have gone out into the world and made a difference.  We who have known her since her childhood years are also proud to proclaim that she was one of our 4-H'ers.  

Those were the years when Dr. Don McCormick served as the vet science leader in our club, the Schweitzer Valley Dwellers.  From that foundation,  both Cathy and her brother Bruce went on to become veterinarians. 

One more pitch before I turn it over to Cathy's words:  if you're an animal lover with a little spare change to donate, check out the World Vets website.  I can vouch for Cathy and assure you that your donation will go into good hands. 

First, Cathy's words for students and Sandpoint High, followed by the video.  Enjoy!

Dr. Cathy King, DVM

Education:
BS Veterinary Science University of Idaho 1994
MS Animal Science University of Idaho 1996
DVM Washington State University 1997
PhD in Physiology University of Idaho 1999

Title: CEO, World Vets

Memorable Highlights at SHS:

Its been almost 25 years since I was in Marianne Loves English class and I had to recite Julius Caesars monologue "Friends, Romans, Countryman..." I haven't read it since then but to this day I can still recite most of it!

I remember many of the great teachers who influenced and inspired me in different ways including Don Albertson, Tom Walton, Marianne Love,  Rik Mickelsen, Tom Albertson, Woody Aunan (Mr. gold sodium nitrogen), and Barbara Tibbs, to name a few.

Life after High School:


At 25, I was the youngest person in the country to have obtained both a DVM and PhD. After college I worked for 11 years as a private practice veterinarian, first as a mixed animal veterinarian (large and small animals) and then owning my own small animal practice in Deer Park, Washington. 

During that time I started a nonprofit organization from the humble beginnings of a donation jar on the reception counter at my clinic. Two years later I sold my practice to provide full time leadership of the rapidly growing organization. Today, World Vets is one of the largest veterinary aid organizations in the world providing veterinary services and training in developing countries and disaster relief worldwide. 

Some of our key accomplishments have been the opening of the World Vets Latin America Veterinary Training Center in Nicaragua which provides training to hundreds of Latin American veterinarians each year; a partnership with the US Navy in which World Vets provides civilian veterinary teams for hospital ship based humanitarian aid missions and developing partnerships with foreign municipalities that have brought an end to inhumane treatment of animals in several regions of the world.

In 2011,  I got married in Bora Bora and am thoroughly enjoy sharing my life with my husband Mike who is a physician. Together,  we enjoy outdoor activities, traveling and most importantly, the simple things in life.

Pride/satisfaction:
My career has been very rewarding in that I have been able to use my education and experience to help not only animals, but people and communities all over the world. It has brought me great satisfaction to know something that was once just a simple idea has evolved, through hard work, into something that has been life-changing for so many people on a global scale. 

It is also great to know that all of the hard work I did in high school and college definitely paid off. I have the most amazing job that I could imagine. From working with the people and animals of the Masai tribe in Africa, to training veterinarians in Transylvania, to doing surgery on tropical islands to treating livestock in the jungles of Nicaragua, my career has brought experiences that I could have never imagined.

Advice:
My advice to high school students is to believe that you can achieve anything with hard work and persistence. When confronted with challenges or failures, don’t give up. Opportunity is everywhere, you just need to believe it is there and look for it. Also, I am a big believer in karma. Do good things, be good to others,  and good things will come your way. Also, I wish I had learned a foreign language (or two!) in high school.