VMCVM Alumni Spotlight: Estelle Ward
Estelle Ward, DVM '88
Owner/Medical Director, West Friendship Animal Hospital (Maryland)
How VMCVM equipped me for the 'real world'...
VMCVM gave me the education to start my career. Being a veterinarian is the great love of my life.
Best part of being a VMCVM alum...
Being part of a dynamic, compassionate community of people.
Best advice I've gotten....
Mentorship is one of the greatest joys of the profession.
How would you capture the essence of your work in a newspaper headline...
Helping pets and people!!!!
My hidden talent...
Mentorship. Fierce conversations. Protocol. Complex dentistry.
A person who has inspired me...
Tom Huddleston, DVM
George E Ross Jr., DVM
What did you learn at the college that you never thought you would benefit from?
The degree to which veterinary medicine is a team sport.
Biggest misconception about my job or industry...
Small animal veterinary medicine at the primary veterinary level is a people business. You gotta love people. And you gotta love pets. But I think people first.
Words of encouragement to a current veterinary college student...
This is the best job. Period.
Fondest college memory or tradition...
Studying together. Hiking the Cascades. Dancing after exams.
A cause I'm most passionate about... The most formative experience I've had...
Mentorship to young veterinarians. And students going into veterinary medicine.
Working at Colonial Veterinary Hospital in Ithaca, New York,for George Ross DVM BCVS.
Top of my bucket list...
See more national parks. The Galapagos. And Africa.
My favorite quote...
Walt Whitman: "O Me! O Life!"
Being a VMCVM alumnus means...
Having achieved my life goal of being a veterinarian and being part of a community of caring professionals who leave the sweet earth a better place.
How many pets/animals live at home? Can you tell us about them?
Twenty critters live at Starward Farm. 7 tarantulas. Three snakes. One gecko. Six Jacob sheep. Two miniature donkeys. Four dogs. One cat. There is also an aquarium with an Oscar cichlid named Woodrow. And a placostomus. The donkeys are Zeke and Eli. They are 18 years old. The gecko is 20 years old. The dogs are a Doberman who is a grand champion in conformation. A rescued Cane Corso. A rescued pit bull mix. And a Greater Swiss mountain dog. The Maine coon cat is named after Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam.
We love them all beyond words. Our farm sitter is part of our family. We travel. And we take our dogs to our West Virginia cabin — named Catbird. But Starward Farm is home base. And we love our peaceable kingdom.
Anything else to add?
Veterinary medicine is the basis for all we do. We feel so very blessed.
