Dr. King with one of her favorite patients.
A few years ago, I rushed my beloved dog to an emergency animal hospital in Tucson. And although I lost her that night and my heart was shattered, I remember one thing, the very kind and loving veterinarian that was with us when she crossed over that rainbow bridge.
So, we fast forward a few years later, when my other dog was severely injured in a horrible dog attack, I was given a phone number to an emergency veterinarian who was working from her small mobile clinic at a ranch in Florence. Imagine my surprise to find the same veterinarian who had helped me years before. My panic and fear were greatly eased. This veterinarian worked on him performing emergency surgery for hours, when most veterinarians would have recommended euthanizing him and this amazing woman saved his life. Who was this angel? Dr. Luise King
When we got word that Dr. King would start coming to the old veterinary clinic in Kearny, we were elated. The town was in desperate need of a veterinary clinic and there was nobody better to help the community than she. Dr. King says running the clinic in Kearny would not be possible without all the help she gets at the clinic from Madison (Maddie), Emma Cude, and Lisa Bailey. Nor could she do it without all her clients and their amazing animals and the wonderful community. Also, a big shout out to James Ruiz for fixing up allowing her to host the clinic in his building, giving her more space to work and help.
Taking time out of her busy life to come to our community to hold Rex Veterinary Clinic at least twice a month is a true blessing. If you have ever been to her clinic, you know how great a commodity she truly is. It is always packed full of locals and their pets.
“Dr. King is the most wonderful human being and vet. When we had to put our dog down, she came to us, she cried with us, and she even mailed us a sympathy card. She has so much empathy for her patients and their families. You won’t get that anywhere else. Thank you, Dr. King for going above and beyond. We are blessed to have you in our community,” said Roxanna Fuerstenberg of Kearny.
I completely agree. In January, I also had to take my ill dog, Sadie, to Dr. King. She had been battling a terminal illness, and her time was quickly coming to an end. Dr. King made special arrangements to come to town to help us end her suffering. However, without Dr. King’s support, we would not have had the extra time we had with Sadie. She, along with Maddie, sat with us in the office and comforted us. This made all the difference in the world.
“Dr. King truly is appreciated here. She really cares for the animals. Every time I bring one of my fur babies to her, she is kind and very helpful. She will even text to check up on them the next day,” said Reina Lutz.
Sam Horton also adds (about Dr. King treating his dog): “Dr. King tried to give Daisy (my dog) some peanut butter, she didn’t eat it. So, Dr. King got a slice of pizza from her lunch and fed her all the pepperoni off it.”
Sabrina Chacon also said: “I had a wonderful experience with Dr. King. I took my husky Skye to be fixed and Doc King was amazing and caring and very patient with my fur baby. She was very helpful when I picked her up and also called me the next day to see how she was feeling I am very grateful and happy that we have her in our town.”
These are just a few testimonials and prove even how her small sacrifices make a huge impact.
Connie Lewitz of Hayden said: “My fiancé and I live on SSDI, so we don’t have a lot of money. Dr. King is a very special kind of lady. We had 3 dogs at the time. All 3 needed their nails cut. One of our dogs had gotten out of the yard. He came back with a very bad limp. She checked him out thoroughly. When we went to pay, we didn’t get charged. Instead, she’s going to let my fiancé work it off privately. A once in a lifetime gift from God!”
These statements are proof of just how much Dr. King truly cares about the animals she cares for.
Dr. King is originally from South Africa and was raised on a small dairy farm. She received her B.S. in Animal Science, PhD in Biomedical Studies, and DVM from the University of Missouri. She now teaches several classes at the University of Arizona, School of Veterinary Medicine. Not only does she help household pets but also helps with livestock and exotic animals as well. She also works for Southern Arizona Specialty and Emergency Clinic in Tucson, out of the ranch in Florence, and makes “house calls” for cattle and horses. And on top of all of that, in whatever free time she has, she also loves to spend time at a local non-profit organization, Therapeutic Ranch for Animal & Kids, where she helps care for rescued horses and other animals. She also helps with horse castrations.
“Every horse castration I’ve ever done seems to be memorable, especially ones for Zary May, Jando Felix, and the thousands of BLM wild horses and burros,” Dr. King said.
When I asked her “With everything you do for all these animals, do you ever have time for yourself?” She neglected to respond.
When I approached Dr. King about writing this article, she was more interested in rather or not I enjoyed my new career. We had arranged to take some photos and chat at the end of the clinic on the 28th. As always, the clinic was extremely busy, and of course I had an urgent situation where my service animal, Smush, required an urgent neuter for a cancer scare. She fit him in right away and thankfully surgery was a success with no cancer.
So, when I asked her for a photo at the end of the day, showing her true modesty, she stated, “Readers don’t care about me, they would rather see a cute doggy.” We agreed on a photo of Whiskey, a dog she had just squeezed in before closing in to treat for an ear infection, once again, showing that she does this job selflessly, always putting the animals first. She also wanted to include photos of her favorite client, “a really cute baby burro” as she calls him.
To find out when Dr. King will be hosting another clinic or how to make an appointment, you can reach her at (520) 329-5952. Her clinic is hosted twice a month at 396 Alden Rd. in Kearny.