Metzger Animal Hospital earns national award

Lions, kittens and puppies. Oh my.

If it’s an animal that someone loves, Fred Metzger wants to take care of it.

Metzger, the owner of Metzger Animal Hospital off Benner Pike, became interested in veterinary medicine because of a pig.

“When I was growing up not too far away from here, there was a pig farm near,” he said. “I just thought they were cool, and when they had their 100th year celebration they had a greased pig contest. They greased a pig up with Vaseline, and if you caught it you could raise it. Well, I caught it, so we raised it. My father was also friends with the guy who ran the deer pens at Penn State, so I was just fascinated with the human-animal interaction.”

Metzger is also the proud pet parent of two rescue dogs, Zil and Sophie.

“They are my children,” he said. “They go everywhere with me.”

He and Maureen Casey, the practice’s client care coordinator, sat down to discuss things such as winning Practice of the Year for the 2016 Petplan Veterinary Awards, the effect of advancements in veterinary medicine and how an African lion got a CT scan.

Q: What is some simple advice you could give to someone who wants his or her first pet?

MC: Do your homework. A lot of people like the looks of an animal, but don’t understand the behaviors of an animal. Just make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, especially with dogs. There are some breeds that some people don’t know what they’re getting into. Take your time to find the right animal. I’m a big rescue person. I like to say, “don’t shop, adopt,” but I know there are different opinions on that. It is a life, and they aren’t just going to sit on your couch. It’s a lot of work and commitment for time and finances.

Q: Aside from regular visits, what do most people bring pets in for?

MC: A little bit of everything. I think we’re a little more of a specialty hospital, so we probably don’t do the same number of vaccine appointments or spays and neuters. We do more of the advanced stuff and are more of a referral hospital.

FM: We’re general practice, a lot of referral and 24-hour emergency, so that’s quite a mix. We also have three specialists in this hospital. And, to be clear, other vets are great, but usually you only find specialists at referral hospitals. I’ve really tried to create the Mayo Clinic of State College. The big thing here is if we didn’t do it, you’d have to go to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh to get it done. That sucks. Not only do you have to take off work, but you can’t really go visit you pet. We’re trying to keep it more local and have those more advanced procedures here.

Q: You’ve had your practice for 23 years. What has changed about being a veterinarian?

FM: Everything has changed. The medicine is completely different. When I look at the diagnostics that’s probably the biggest thing. You have imaging, X-rays, ultrasound, CT scan, and we’re using it. We didn’t have those modalities in the ’80s. The diagnostic testing is available. We can draw blood on an animal and have results in 15 minutes. My favorite quote is, “You’re better off being a sick dog or cat in the United States than you are a person.” I think a lot of the time pets have better medical care than people are getting. We’re doing things like stem cell therapy in animals, chemotherapy for cancer, advanced surgeries. In some cases, I think veterinary medicine medicine has evolved quicker due to less regulations.

Q: Another change in the industry is pet insurance. It is generally accepted that Lassie was the first pet to be covered by pet insurance many decades ago. Why has pet insurance become so popular?

MC: Technology and the quality of care have played a role in that. I don’t think there are enough insured. Veterinary medicine has come so far in what we can do and what people are willing to do, because animals have become such a big part of our families that people want to do more for their animals. With that comes increased cost. If you don’t have the insurance, it’s out of pocket expense and people don’t want that to be factor or have your decision hinge on the financial end of it.

FM: And that’s really the hardest part of the job. In veterinary medicine we’re frequently hindered by the cost of what we want to do. That’s my worst nightmare being a veterinarian. That’s why my number one suggestion is for people to get pet insurance. I do talks over the world. In the UK most pets are insured. In the Nordic countries they’re almost all insured. In the U.S. it’s increasing, because I think veterinarians are discussing it more. I know we are. You’re probably looking at $30 to $80 a month, which is a lot. However, in an emergency or serious condition you’re going to be happy you spent that.

Q: Is there anything that you find personally difficult in this work?

FM: Oh my God, everything, and I’ve been a vet for 23 years. My dogs are my life. My lab, whom I got 12 years ago, completely changed my outlook on veterinarian medicine. I’ve always loved animals and my dogs, but that dog became my kid. I realize what pet parents go through. Obviously, euthanasia is something we do and that’s the most difficult part. What’s really devastating is when you see an older person and their pet is all they have. Animals don’t live long enough. I see pretty serious cases here every day and pet parents on the floor with their pet. That’s been me and that’s going to be me again at some point.

Q: There’s a fairly new strain of dog flu virus, H3N2. What can you tell us about it?

FM: That is definitely in our area. The old virus we used to see and there was a vaccine was H3N8. The H3N2 emerged last year mainly in Chicago and North Carolina and really caused serious problems in pets. There was no vaccine, but thankfully now there is. We are encouraging people to vaccinate for that, especially if your dog is exposed to any other dogs.

Q: You were recently named the Practice of the Year for the 2016 Petplan Veterinary Awards. What would you attribute that to?

FM: It’s the Oscar’s of veterinary medicine. It’s a gala event, and (laughs) it turned out to be a black tie event for everybody but me in Orlando. What I love about it is how you actually get it. You’re nominated by your clients, so we had amazing pet parents that nominated us. Then they start to screen you.

Q: What was your reaction to winning?

FM: What’s funny is that it’s at the biggest vet conference, and I speak at it anyway. I thought it was nice that it was going to be at the same conference, and when we got down there we were like, “hey, we really want to win this.” I was nonchalant at first, but as it got closer I was really hoping we’d win it. There were a few other awards like vet of the year or technician of the year, but I liked that we won practice of the year. It’s the big one. It’s done last. We were sitting at the table with the other finalists. One was from Arizona and one was from Toronto. When it came down to it and we won it was pretty cool.

Q: Any interesting stories you could tell?

FM: Probably the most recent one is Thor, the 11-month old African lion. T&D’s (Cats of the World) is a big cat rescue in Mifflinburg, so we helped them. Now, I highly discourage anyone from ever owning a wild animal ever, but they’re a rescue for zoos. They had an African lion from Pittsburgh that someone decided to have, which was not a good idea. Thor was having all kinds of problems, and they were transporting him to T&D’s. I volunteered to help out, and they brought him in for a CT scan. He ended up having a vitamin A deficiency. He was blind, so we treated that.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 11:55 PM with the headline "Metzger Animal Hospital earns national award."