Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna Hobbs.
Hi Donna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I started and got to where I am today because I grew up in Kentucky and Tennessee. I always wanted to work with animals, but I began with a love of horses. I got a pony when I was around 12. I was great at riding and showed other people’s horses when I was a few years older. I started at a vet. Clinic when I was 15 and castrated my first bull not long after. I worked at the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center until I went to college. I won the Kentucky state FFA seed ID as a Freshman in high school. FFA made a difference in my life.
I graduated from Murray State University with a BS in Animal Science/Pre-Vet. I had an extra semester, so I started my master’s and got an agricultural education certification. Teaching was never on my radar! I was “found” by someone from the Missouri State Ag Department trying to find someone at and calling the agricultural colleges. My professor said he might have someone who would fit their needs. So, I decided to start it, teach a few years, and go on to Vet School. Things always work out for a reason, and 30 years later, here I still am! Over all these years, I have also gone to college and received my Certified Humane Education Specialist (CERT), Master in Science (Education), and Veterinary Forensic Certification from the University of Florida.
I started at West Tech in 1994. I moved here with my little Cocker Spaniel, Belle, not knowing a soul. I taught during the day and wrote the curriculum at night for the first year and a half. It was tough, but I got to work with animals daily and teach them about what I love! Because my degree did not cover all aspects of the program, I worked for the Missouri School of Dog Grooming (which no longer exists) to get the training I needed. I also did not have formal dog training, so I was fortunate enough to bring to work with trainers with the rescue dogs. I would take my foster dogs to training classes and work on whatever behaviors they needed help with. I also was able to work with a lot of veterinarians and vet clinics while doing rescues during summers. I soon found myself in the rescue world. I started with Heartland Humane Society working with dogs because that is where the greatest need was. I fostered, took rescues to school for the students to learn from, and did adoptions for 16 years! Because of my background, I served as President and Director over the years and handled ordering and education on all the animal drugs used with our critters. I have about 2500 dogs and 600 cats in my house. One of the ways you learn the most in the field is by working with rescue animals. They come in with so many medical conditions, horrible injuries caused by humans, and behavioral issues due to neglect and abuse.
West Tech was sold in 2002 (Now Westminster Academy), and I was transferred to South Tech. The program was so popular that I couldn’t accept all the students wanting into the program. So, I helped start a sister program at North Tech in 2005. Still, one of the most popular programs, I ended up with 60+ on a waiting list yearly. I got an assistant, a former student of mine, who had gotten her Veterinary Technician License. Several years later, she got her teaching license, and we started a second class here at South Tech. We still have a waiting list of 60+. We get sending students from all the South County Districts and City. Getting certifications in place for high school students took a long time. We also secured a Certified Veterinary Assistant (CVA) License from the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA) and AviMark Software Certification. Others that I have been able to incorporate are infectious diseases, fear-free, and working on compassion fatigue. Over the years, I have also established many partnerships with businesses and rescue groups in the area for the students. (Let me know if you want names of them) Some of the most influential people I have gotten to meet or hear speak over the years and been able to include students are Temple Grandin, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Theismann, Diana Nyad, Emma Clifford, and Dr. Jan Pol are just some of the remarkable individuals that I have had the privilege to get to inspire me.
Over the years, I worked with many other animal groups and incorporated them into the program. I completed Noah’s Wish Pet CPR and Pet First Aid curriculum. I did this part of a national animal disaster relief team. I worked with ASPCA to help with the Joplin Tornado. There were about 800 animals on site. I was in charge of medicating the sick cats, then went to direct charge of post-surgical animals. So many needed care and such that ASPCA brought in AC trailers to help hold the volume. I also worked with ASPCA on Indian Reservations on spay/neuter campaigns in New Mexico and Colorado.
I worked with a group called Animal Balance, whose goal is to help reduce pet overpopulation through education and spay/neuter campaigns. I went with the group to Santa Cruz, the Galapagos Islands. Part of that is training the vets and local animal controls to self-sustain their animal population. I was the director of the clinic. My jobs were to assess the animals for anesthesia, administer the anesthesia, deal with any recovery issues, and ensure that vaccines, medication, dewormers, and such were given. Before an animal was checked out of our make-shift clinic, I would ensure they could go home. It takes a village to run these high-volume, fast-paced, make-shift clinics. I also brought a dog back from Santa Cruz to Ecuador to go through the process of getting her back to the States. Her name is Calle (Spanish for street), pronounced Kaya. I still have her at 14! I did a DNA test on her. Her predominant breed is Xoloitzcuintle, which makes sense for her origins.
Speaking of my dogs, I have fostered and failed many times. I also took in geriatrics and let them sometimes live their lives with me. I have 8 foster failed dogs, 1 cat, and an Axolotl. One of my dogs, Tuna, has been coming to South Tech for the past 17 years, training students. All the rest do as well. She has also been a pet therapy dog for nursing home visits, along with another of mine who was born with no eyeballs, Mr. Magoo, who weighs 10 lbs. I recently had to undergo hamstring reattachment surgery from chasing two that ran into my yard and tried to kill him/take him. I went sprinting off my porch and popped my hamstrings off my hipbone. Two coyotes had him, one by the neck and one by the hip, and were running away with him! I kept screaming and running at them, and they finally dropped him. I thought he was dead, as torn up as he was. I grabbed him, wrapped my hand around all the punctures on his neck, and jumped in my truck, both of us covered in blood, holding him the whole way until I got to Dr. Falls, a vet I used to work with when I was with Heartland. I asked Dr. Falls to help me get him stable because he would not make it if I tried to get to the e-clinic. I normally do well under animal and human emergencies but was not doing so here. I didn’t know I had injured myself so badly and was in a bit of shock as well. We were able to get him stable, and I brought him home later and did intense nursing for days. It took a few weeks to know if he was going to make it due to the severity of the wounds. He made a miraculous recovery, and I am almost recovered from my reattachment surgery and pt. It can take up to 6-12 months to fully heal.
I have a beautiful daughter, Dani, who is the best thing in my life. Dani has helped many animals, particularly all the rescued pregnant mother dogs. Dani is a Troy Buchanan High School junior who excels in art, choir, and theater. I enjoy dancing, mud runs, hiking, reading, concerts, and those little hidden delicious restaurants; Dani and I love The Blues! So, 30 years later, I will retire, which was a hard decision. I will start a second career; looking at a few options, I have to work for medical insurance. It is hard to top 30 years of training students to work with animals and all the wonderful, joyous, fantastic, beautiful, hectic, sometimes tearful days it’s brought. I have been beyond blessed! I’m not sure if you want to use something like this below or not; I had a tragic thing happen to me when I was 9 and died. I am lucky to be alive and so thankful to my grandparents and parents to have gotten me through it. This shaped my “heart on my sleeve” approach to life, animals, students, friends, and knowing God saved me and gave me a second chance at life. It was not to be wasted, so I worked hard to get to this point.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been some bumps in the road. The first few years of being in a new program and writing and developing the curriculum at night were tough. The challenges of being in a new program and administration were understanding the program’s limits and the liability of working with animals. Rescue work was challenging physically and mentally. At the same time, getting animals with all their physical wounds, conditions, and behaviors from their hard lives into their forever homes was gratifying. Starting sister programs and multiple teachers as well has been rewarding but challenging.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I love that I get to teach students who are passionate about animal care and welfare. I always include humaneness and compassion in the program so that the students have this as they move on to college, clinics, or other areas of the animal field. I teach veterinary assistant students at South Tech HS. I have specialization in animal science, horses, humane education specialist, rescue in many adverse situations, and veterinary forensics. I am most proud of how the program has evolved since starting with a one-page outline in 1994—all the certifications the students can obtain while in the two-year program. I am set apart from others because I grew up with horses, started at a vet clinic early, and worked on a working farm at the University of Kentucky research farm. I worked on other people’s farms in tobacco and other crops. I was in FFA and was the first female president that Caldwell County High School in Princeton, KY, had ever had! I also won the Kentucky State ID test as a Freshman in High School. I entered and placed in many FFA contests for the district. I did not grow up on a farm, but I wanted to learn everything about it! I worked in whatever area I wanted more experience. I also did rape victim training and counseling while in college. I would take calls, go to the hospital, meet victims, and help them through the process. I wasn’t sure what the best pictures would be, so I put more than 8. Also, here is a video of a brief demo class: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cntqk2eEMM1tKh8VQxzsWeetbBysS7BM/view
What matters most to you?
Treating humans and animals as they should be treated! Giving back when you have skills and knowledge can significantly help animals and humans with love and acknowledgment—continuing to learn and be willing to share that knowledge constantly. The attitudes printed and put an attitude of gratitude that I can see every day every day!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ssdmo.org/southtech
- Instagram: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cntqk2eEMM1tKh8VQxzsWeetbBysS7BM/view?usp=drivesdk
