a handful of cereal, and that sheep would run to me like
a dog and stand there for me to take his vitals and do the
examination.”
Another requirement during her last semester on the
Island involved accompanying the local veterinarian on
ambulatory calls. “We would go out to check on animals
or do whatever was scheduled for the day,” she said. On
one of those rounds with the local veterinarian, Merrick
got a lesson in “mama pig” behavior that she will never
forget. “We had to go out and neuter a litter of piglets. I had
finished with mine and was holding another one for one
of my classmates.” Seated on the ground, Merrick leaned
back against a fence. “I didn’t realize that the mama pig
could get her nose through it. She bit me pretty hard.”
Merrick smiled and added, “The locals just laughed and
shook their heads.” It was all part of the learning, she
figured.
Merrick was matched with Auburn University for her
final year of veterinary school graduating with her degree
as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) in 2012.
Unlike some who consider life in rural America as limiting,
Meredith returned home to work with Dr. McArthur again
in 2013. “I guess I’m just a hometown girl. I was never one
of those looking to escape small town life after graduation.
This is where I always wanted to be.”
Becoming a doctor only intensified Merrick’s heart for
animals that are abandoned or abused. She continues to
work closely with SOAPS, (Sweet Onion Animal Protection
Society) and has helped them place many rescued animals
in homes. Merrick and her husband, Chris Kilgore, owner
of Kilgore Mulching and Tree Service, have two American
Bulldogs, an Old English Bulldog, a Lab mix, and two cats.
“Both cats and my Lab mix, Cammie, are rescues,”
said Merrick. “Cammie had been removed from a home
for neglect by the owner. Animal Control received several
complaints about a dog tied to a tree with no water or
shelter. They went to the house, and the dog was covered
in mange. The owner was given a week to at least provide
a bucket of water out there, a dog house, and proof she’d
been seen by a veterinarian. They went back a week later,
and she was still tied to the same tree: No doghouse. No
water. The owner faced surrendering the dog or facing a
warrant to take her. The owner said, ‘Take her.’”
The only information the owner gave was the dog’s
name, Cameron, and that she was born in the month of
March. “Her mange was awful,” said Merrick. “She had
no hair, and her skin was badly infected. She was brought
in to us to humanely euthanize her because the shelter
didn’t have the funds that it would take to treat her mange.
I went out to examine her and asked, ‘Is there anything
else wrong with her? Is she aggressive?’ They told me
that she was as sweet as she could be.” Merrick told them,
“I’ll take her home with me,” which is where she’s been
ever since. “I treated her for mange, and she got all of
her hair back. She’s one of my special kids.” “Cameron”
became “Cammie” and “works” as a “Receptionist Dog” at
Altamaha Animal Clinic.
Of course, not all animals are as sweet-natured as
Cammie. “What about the aggressive ones?” I asked.
“Animals can be unpredictable, especially when frightened.
How do you keep from getting bitten every other day?” I
asked.
“There are different reasons for aggression,” said
Merrick. “Sure, there are those animals that are truly
aggressive and sometimes have to be sedated just to handle
them. But others are just frightened because they are in a
strange place or they are being protective of their owners.
We may try to take the owner out of the room to see if the
animal will calm down.”
“But how do you know what type of aggression you’re
dealing with, and when an animal can be comforted, and
when it’s going to attack you?” I asked.
“You basically walk in the room and make a judgment
real quick,” said Merrick, smiling. "Of course, if it’s a
regular patient of the clinic, the chart will denote any
issues we’ve experienced in the past. Like, ‘May bite,’
ABOVE Merrick and husband Chris Kilgore.
OPPOSITE PAGE At Ross University School of Veterinary
Medicine on St. Kitts Island, Merrick worked with pigs, sheep
and donkeys among other animals. During her senior
rotations at Auburn, Merrick did have some interesting
patients, including a Budweiser Clydesdale, a retired
PBR bull, and a giraffe from the Montgomery Zoo in
Montgomery, Alabama.
98 Toombs County Magazine