Photo: Joyce Dopkeen

CHARACTER SKETCH

Sock Doc

NAME: Ashley Magee, V95

PROFESSION: Veterinary surgeon; one of two on the staff of Dovelewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Portland, Oregon

UNSHAKEABLY CONVINCED OF: The importance of a positive outlook. “Patients that are willing to get up and move even when it’s extremely painful—and that come back for rechecks wagging their tails—always seem to heal faster.”

FINDS ESCAPE IN: Her dog, Sonny, and her horse, Ace. “In a world ruled by the cell phone, computer, and TV, these two guys get me outside into the fresh air and away from it all.”

ALWAYS UP FOR: A surgical challenge. “I never mind waking up in the middle of the night to try to save someone’s pet. The thought of a complex or unusual case thrills me no matter how tired I am.”

TRUE STORY: “One night a Great Dane was brought to the hospital with intractable vomiting and abdominal pain. Radiographs showed that his stomach was distended with foreign material, and when we operated, we were able to solve the age-old mystery of the missing socks, at least for the family in question. The dog had eaten forty-three and a half of the things, all different shapes, sizes, and colors. I only hope that he has been forbidden to enter the laundry room from now on.”