Dr. Shores is an instructor in small animal urgent care.
Tell us about your background.
I grew up in central Illinois in a farming community. My mother was (and still is!) a veterinary technician, so there was never a shortage of pets around our house. My uncle would also drop off all sorts of critters he would find while working in his yard. There were many family members with livestock as well. Needless to say, I was surrounded by animals from an early age and was fascinated by them!
After graduating from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011, I took a position in the St. Louis area working in an emergency setting and spent a considerable amount of time at a referral practice. I eventually left emergency medicine and spent some time in general practice, so I have a good understanding of what both of those environments are like.
My wife and I really enjoyed living in Champaign/Urbana when I was a student here. We were happy to move our family back to the area when the opportunity presented itself.
What drew you to urgent/convenient care?
For several years now, due to incredibly high demand, many veterinary offices have been running over capacity. Though they’re working hard, there’s not enough time in the day to take care of every pet.
What I enjoy about urgent and convenient care is that I can help pets that are sick or injured when their primary care veterinarian just can’t see another case. I’m thankful to be part of a great team who can help minimize pain or discomfort in pets with acute problems, while working closely with their primary care veterinarians and even specialists to diagnose underlying conditions and work to address those in the long run.
What are your special interests?
I really just enjoy assisting folks in helping their pets feel better. Sometimes that’s a problem with the eyes, other times it’s stiffness or a limp, still others present with gastrointestinal disturbances.
Many times it’s “they’re just not acting like themselves.” We can address a wide range of issues. The urgent and convenient care setting is not ideal for managing chronic conditions, so we do our best to address the most pressing problems and refer clients back to their primary care veterinarians for follow up.
Tell us about a memorable case.
A memorable case involved a younger puppy who was normally rambunctious and into everything. When he came to see me for vomiting and poor appetite, he was down and out. After some testing, we determined he needed surgery to remove a foreign body in his intestines. He was a champ for the surgery and recovery.
He came back about a month later with similar behaviors. His owners were being diligent about keeping him away from any and everything (which is hard to do with a puppy!). However, he scooted his kennel all the way across the room to a pile of laundry, pulled a towel into his kennel, and swallowed it whole.
He did just as well for his second surgery as his first, and thankfully he’s stayed out of trouble since then!
