Meet Kirby: The Hospital Manager Who Grew Up in the Veterinary Field
November 15, 2019
Kirby is the hospital manager at Southridge Animal Hospital.
I’ve lived in Texas my entire life. I grew up in Bridgeport and moved to San Antonio for high school and college. I attended the University of Texas (shout out to the class of 2012) where I majored in English. After that, I moved to Denton which is where I now reside.
My dad has owned veterinary practices for pretty much my entire life, so I guess it’s not surprising that I went on to work in this field. I grew up listening to my parents talk about medicine. I even remember playing in a playpen in the reception area of the hospital where my mom worked.
I first started “working” when I was around 10. I helped clean out kennels and assisted the employees with counting pills. At 16, I started working full-time on and off during the summers and I’ve been full-time with Southridge for almost five years now. It’s been extremely rewarding to have worked my way up to hospital manager.
The funny thing about this is that, when I was younger, I never thought I’d end up in this field. It was always something I’d grown up around but I didn’t realize how much I actually loved it until I was a bit older. The truth is that this type of work is gratifying - and it never gets boring. Every day is different which I find both challenging and exciting. And of course, I also love being able to help people and their pets.
Personally, I really enjoy working with hospitalized patients and communicating medical information to clients. I’m good at relating to clients and communication is probably my strongest asset. I even enjoy de-escalating difficult situations. I find it unique and rewarding in its own way.
Although Southridge is still new to VetCor, so far, this acquisition has meant security, stability, and support. The positive transition was very important to me because my dad had owned the hospital since 1996. My co-workers and upper management work hard to maintain a healthy, supportive work environment and I feel motivated and excited by the opportunity to grow within the company. I look forward to continuing to grow professionally with VetCor.
When I’m not at work, I love to travel. My husband and I got married in Oregon and, over the past two years, we've been to Colorado, Arkansas, and New Mexico. We love being outdoors and we plan on going to California soon. In a few years, we hope to pursue our plans to move to the Pacific Northwest with our two cats, Kizzy and Winky, the latter of whom was appropriately named for his one eye, and our Cane Corso, Soul.
