As a child, Dawn Morgan-Winter loved animals, science and a good challenge. Now, the 34-year-old Lakeland resident puts her three loves to good use as a veterinarian at Veterinary Healthcare Associates Inc. in Winter Haven.
Morgan-Winter has worked at Veterinary Healthcare Associates for four years, specializing in canine physical rehabilitation. This specialization, which has increasingly gained recognition in the past two decades, combines Morgan-Winter's passions - veterinary medicine and physical therapy. Canine rehabilitation incorporates the use of massage therapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, hot and cold therapy, laser therapy and therapeutic exercises, among other modalities, to holistically treat ailments in canines.
Morgan-Winter says she always had an affinity for animals and felt she was destined to become a veterinarian.
"I would bring home strays, and it would end up being the next-door neighbor's dog," she recalls, smiling. "I'd be like, 'I found this animal!' "
Although her family frequently relocated during her childhood, they moved to Lakeland during her sophomore year of high school and remain in Polk County to this day. She graduated from Lakeland High School in 1993 and continued her education at the University of South Florida, where she graduated in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in biology.
|
|
Dawn Morgan-Winter gets a kiss from Beignet, a female chocolate Labrador, as rehab nurse Tracie Pollock, right, helps put Beignet on a balance ball at Veterinary Healthcare Associates.
Paul Crate / News Chief |
|
She married her husband, Jeffery Winter, and moved to London, where she studied biology and veterinary medicine through the University of London. After a few years, the couple moved back to the United States, where Morgan-Winter earned her doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Washington State University in 2003.
While her schooling might have prepared her to be a skillful physician, there were a few important lessons Morgan-Winter learned as she continued her practice, including how to deal with the emotional attachment to her patients.
"If they're not doing well, it definitely keeps you up at night," she says. "I just try to focus on what I can do for the patient, whether that is more research or to refer to specialists. I make sure I've exhausted all the possibilities that can help that patient."
One of Morgan-Winter's current and favorite patients is Hunter Benson, an 11-year-old Boykin spaniel that previously worked in the wildlife show at the Cypress Gardens theme park.
In late 2009, Hunter tore his anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in both legs. His owner, Babson Park resident Sydney Benson, wanted to find a nonsurgical option to help her canine pal, so after consulting with Hunter's primary physician, Dr. Carol Thompson of Thompson's Veterinary Center in Lake Wales, Benson was referred to Morgan-Winter.
During the initial visit, Morgan-Winter assessed Hunter's condition and determined a treatment plan to help with his chronic knee and back pain, as well as his mobility issues.
Benson says she appreciates Morgan-Winter's commitment and dedication, and she noticed a big difference after Hunter's first treatment session, which she said included hydrotherapy and massage. Benson says Morgan-Winter also showed her some home-care exercises to utilize with Hunter, to help continue the upward progression of Hunter's treatment.
"I said (to Morgan-Winter that) I would really like for him to live out the rest of his life pain-free, and she said, 'We are going to do that,' " says Benson. "He is just like a puppy again."
It is the satisfaction of helping other patients conquer their pain that is most meaningful to Morgan-Winter, who was trained in her specialty through the Canine Rehabilitation Institute.
"We have animals that have gone through back surgery and who haven't walked for a year or two-and with rehab, we can give them a higher quality of life," Morgan-Winter says. "Some can actually walk again, and some we can actually get to move around in a wheelchair."
Simply put, Morgan-Winter adds, "They've given you the best years of your life. I think it's only fair to give them the best years of their life as well."
Tracie Pollock, a veterinary nurse at Veterinary Healthcare Associates, has worked alongside Morgan-Winter for the past six years and also is certified in canine rehabilitation. Pollock, a Lakeland resident, works closely with Morgan-Winter in both canine rehabilitation and general practice.
In general practice, Pollock is one of Morgan-Winter's nurses; with regard to the canine rehabilitation department, Pollock works with Morgan-Winter to develop treatment plans for patients.
"She is a big proponent for preventive medicine, so she spends a lot of time counseling and talking to clients about preventing the disease process-as opposed to waiting until they're sick to bring them in," Pollock says. "She and I are both involved in advanced pain management - Pets are so good at hiding pain; it's sometimes hard to recognize pain in some patients."
When Morgan-Winter is not with her patients, she can be seen either teaching skills to newcomers at the veterinary clinic or spending time with her husband and 4-year-old son, Jackson, and their two dogs (Patch, a one-eyed Pomeranian, and Raul, a long-haired Chihuahua) and three cats (Al, Simba and Britten).
