Our Shelter Veterinary Care Team
Helen Morrison, President, Board of Directors
We are so unbelievably lucky. We have one of the best Shelter Veterinary Care Teams around. I bet we are the envy of all the Shelters! Sometimes the stars seem to align in just the right way.
In mid-June, five of us got together at the Shelter and sat in a circle in the lobby. We were joined first by two kitties, Magog and then by Ozzie, both of whom wandered among us, enjoying hands reaching down to pet, or legs to rub up against. We talked about the Shelter, how we had come to be involved, how much we cared about the Shelter and the kitties and the humans who give their heart and soul to caring for them. It was a warm and precious hour or so.
Sally Schlueter, Pati Pagels, Rod Lauman, Debbie Allard. This is our Shelter Veterinary Care Team. This team is joined by all the volunteers who are the eyes and ears on the cats and how they are doing.
In mid-June, five of us got together at the Shelter and sat in a circle in the lobby. We were joined first by two kitties, Magog and then by Ozzie, both of whom wandered among us, enjoying hands reaching down to pet, or legs to rub up against. We talked about the Shelter, how we had come to be involved, how much we cared about the Shelter and the kitties and the humans who give their heart and soul to caring for them. It was a warm and precious hour or so.
Sally Schlueter, Pati Pagels, Rod Lauman, Debbie Allard. This is our Shelter Veterinary Care Team. This team is joined by all the volunteers who are the eyes and ears on the cats and how they are doing.
Some years ago, when the small veterinary clinics in the area were closing down, it became obvious that we were going to need our own in-house care so that we could tend well to the physical and emotional health of our cats, and so that we could have them ready for adoption in a timely manner.
We just didn’t have the out-of-building veterinary resources any more. We reached out to Dr. Sally, whom we knew had retired recently, and she agreed to be our Shelter Veterinarian. Rod Lauman, who has been involved with the Shelter since 2011, and who has been on the Board for almost as long, has been interested and key in some of the health care of the cats.
About a year ago, we were in need of a veterinary nurse (veterinary tech), and the stars brought us Pati Pagels. And about a year and a half ago, Debbie Allard thought she might like to volunteer at the Shelter. And she totally fell in love with the Shelter and its kitties, ended up volunteering many days a week, and then became our new Shelter Manager.
As I say, we are incredibly blessed to have these four as our Veterinary Care Team.
Our Circle of Sharing:
We just didn’t have the out-of-building veterinary resources any more. We reached out to Dr. Sally, whom we knew had retired recently, and she agreed to be our Shelter Veterinarian. Rod Lauman, who has been involved with the Shelter since 2011, and who has been on the Board for almost as long, has been interested and key in some of the health care of the cats.
About a year ago, we were in need of a veterinary nurse (veterinary tech), and the stars brought us Pati Pagels. And about a year and a half ago, Debbie Allard thought she might like to volunteer at the Shelter. And she totally fell in love with the Shelter and its kitties, ended up volunteering many days a week, and then became our new Shelter Manager.
As I say, we are incredibly blessed to have these four as our Veterinary Care Team.
Our Circle of Sharing:
Dr. Sally remembers that even at a very very young age, she was fascinated by the animals in her family’s care in the mid-West. She was part of the 4-H Club and was the one who took on the less fortunate, less perfect animals, who needed that extra care to bring them to their full health and potential. As a youngster and for several years, Sally went on rounds with a local veterinarian. She remembers the happiest day of her life was when she was accepted into Veterinary School. After graduation, she went on to practice in Texas, and even in Egypt for 3 years.
There, she set up a one room clinic, providing veterinary care to Embassy folks’ pets, but also helping in the community with rabies vaccinations and control.
Many of us have known of Dr. Sally for a long time. She was one of the veterinarians at Western Avenue Clinic (then Companion Animal Care). She owned East Haven Veterinary Clinic for many years until her retirement. So many people speak so often of their respect and love of Dr. Sally. I hear it all the time, when I mention that she is our Shelter Veterinarian.
“You are soooooooooo lucky to have Dr. Sally.”
There, she set up a one room clinic, providing veterinary care to Embassy folks’ pets, but also helping in the community with rabies vaccinations and control.
Many of us have known of Dr. Sally for a long time. She was one of the veterinarians at Western Avenue Clinic (then Companion Animal Care). She owned East Haven Veterinary Clinic for many years until her retirement. So many people speak so often of their respect and love of Dr. Sally. I hear it all the time, when I mention that she is our Shelter Veterinarian.
“You are soooooooooo lucky to have Dr. Sally.”
Rod Lauman has always been an animal guy, having dogs and cats all his life. He started as the maintenance person at the old Shelter on Memorial Dr. in St. Johnsbury Center. But very quickly, Sandy Butkovich asked him to be on the Board. When St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital was still in existence, and Rod took his animals there, he would express interest to Dr. Rob Hoppe about participating in the care of his animals, learning to give fluids or shots. Since then, Rod carried his knowledge and interest over into helping with the animals in need at the Shelter. He gives fluids to some of our cats in need, goes to fosters to administer FVRCP vaccinations. I think of one cat in particular, Cosmos, who was one of our Hospice Cats. When we got him, we didn’t think that he would live very long, he had so many life-threatening health challenges. But Sally worked on a plan of treatment, and Rod gave him various meds and injections, and fluids every day…and Cosmos lived for 9 months with us….reasonably healthy and very happy. I will never forget the daily look on Cosmos’s face, when he would see Rod come in the front door, and know that lots of attention and love was in store for him.
Pati Pagels hails from Massachusetts. There she began as a Paralegal in Boston. But somehow, it just wasn’t fulfilling. She loved animals, and especially cats. And her brother, who had passed away, also loved animals and had encouraged her to go in a new direction. And that she did! She began helping at a local animal hospital, and worked her way up to being a surgical technician. Life brought her to Vermont, where she began working at Danville Animal Hospital, until it closed at the end of 2024. Pati also worked for over a year at VT-CAN in Middlesex, as a surgical assistant, with their spay/neuter program. And as luck would have it, in March of 2025, we were in need of a Shelter Veterinary Technician. We asked Pati if she would consider joining the Shelter Family, and she jumped in whole-heartedly, with her skill and experience, her upbeat joyful attitude, and her love of our kitty charges and the Shetler’s warm and welcoming life force.
Debbie Allard happened to see a Facebook ad for the Shelter, looking for volunteers. She had always loved animals. As a child, she had even considered becoming a veterinarian. But life took a different turn…for a while. Debbie thought she might volunteer once a week. It was soon apparent to her that she loved being at the Shelter, loved the volunteers, and especially loved the cats and kittens. She was at the shelter, helping out, more and more, until she was there almost every day. When we decided it was time to hire a Shelter Manager, Debbie applied. She is the perfect match for this position, wonderful at people skills, attentive to all the needs and details of the cats and their well-being, and becoming incredibly good at socializing the cats, even those who can be a challenge. And low and behold, her long-ago wish about becoming a veterinarian has sort of come to fruition, in that she helps Dr. Sally and Pati with the veterinary care of the cats. Debbie loves this. I would say that, though she loves every aspect of the Shelter, this is her favorite, because it is so interesting and she learns so much. As Debbie has said often, being the Shelter Manager is “the best job I’ve ever experienced. I look forward to walking into the building every single day!”
So…that is our Shelter Veterinary Care Team….Sally, Pati, Rod, and Debbie.
Pretty amazing, I would say. Very lucky, I would say!!!
So…that is our Shelter Veterinary Care Team….Sally, Pati, Rod, and Debbie.
Pretty amazing, I would say. Very lucky, I would say!!!
