Barbara Lawlor, Nederland. In a mountain community known for its plethora of dogs, it seems the local veterinarian learns as much about the residents as the local family doctor does. In the Nederland area, where every Subaru has a dog, the veterinary clinic and its staff know most of the dogs in town on a first name basis.
For the past seven months, Daiquiri Ahart, Nederland Veterinary Hospital’s new veterinarian, has been learning as much as she can about locals and their pets, as well as the perils that resident animals are prone to run into.
She grew up in Ohio on a family hobby farm where she was the caretaker of horses, chickens, rabbits, goats, ducks, dogs, and cats. “The animals were all mine to care of. I was a member of 4-H and showed Western Pleasure on my horses. I knew when I was in junior high school that I would be a veterinarian.”
During her high school years, Daiquiri worked in the local veterinarian’s office, in the lab, cleaning the kennels, and as the front receptionist on Saturdays. She also assisted in surgery.
After graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science, at Ohio State, and then went on to Veterinary School. She earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, for both large and small animals, in 1989.
Her first career move sent her to Wisconsin. “I wanted to get into mixed animal care and dairy work.” The dairy part involved long hours, cows liked to give birth around 4 a.m. and needed to be visited if the calving wasn’t going well.
Daiquiri says this was back when female veterinarians were not common, and once when she showed up at a birth, the farmer, who had a big Holstein, told her, “You’re not going to get this calf out.”
She was determined that he was wrong, stuck her arms up to her shoulders into the cow, pushed the calf back, braced her feet up against the wall and pulled. The calf came out feet first.
“I was exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. The farmer let me come back to the farm again.”
Daiquiri then moved to Edwards, in Eagle County, Colorado, where she had been hired to do housework for nine months, for a veterinarian who had been called to the Gulf War. She was a skier, and found herself at home in the mountains.
When she left Edwards, she became a relief veterinarian for dogs and cats along the Front Range, taking over for various clinics as needed.
In 1996, she moved to Nederland and came to know the community and their animals. For the past five years, she has worked with a Boulder Veterinarian. Last fall, she heard that the Nederland Veterinary Hospital was looking for help.
“I was available and I lived in the mountains. Last fall I came in to work with Doc Joe and it has turned out to be a good fit. We both do appointments. I handle the internal medicine part, the soft tissue surgery and the dentistry. Joe is the primary orthopedic surgeon.”
She enjoys doing the bloodwork in horse diagnostics, as well as using the digital x-ray machine and the laser treatment equipment that is available.
Daiquiri will be available on Monday, Tuesday, every other Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
