PORT ANGELES — A dozen youth from across Clallam County wrapped up a six-week veterinary science course at Dry Creek Grange with a roundtable featuring four professionals who spoke candidly about the rewards and realities of working with animals.
Saturday’s session was the final class in a program organized by Dry Creek Grange in partnership with Washington State University’s Clallam County Extension. Each week focused on different topics related to animal care, such as biosecurity, canine and feline health, equine health, and large and small livestock health.
Funding was provided through a $5,000 National Grange Rural Life Initiative grant. Dry Creek was one of only two granges in the nation to receive the award.
Dry Creek and the county extension used the funds to create the course to help youth gain practical knowledge, build confidence and explore animal-related careers.
4-H program coordinator Melanie Greer and Dry Creek Grange’s Cindy Kelly said the program was developed in response to a lack of programs that specifically address jobs in the horse, livestock and domestic animal sectors.
“We heard from a lot of youth that they wanted to have a career with animals, so this lets them see what it’s like and what it takes,” Greer said.
The goal is to broaden the program’s reach, boost professional involvement and engage more participants.
Answering questions and offering advice were Ed Bauck, Clallam County animal control deputy; Megan Bekkevar of Bekkevar Farm; Sara Richerts, owner of Sequim Riding Academy; and veterinarian Cory Youngblood of Olympic View Equine.
They emphasized that their work requires patience, passion and a willingness to handle the unexpected.
“Sometimes you have to be a kind of MacGyver and think on your feet,” Youngblood said.
Bauck recalled wrestling a male llama in Forks as an example of a task he never expected when he entered law enforcement.
Panelists said a critical element frequently overlooked by people who want a career with animals is that the latter are usually attached to humans.
“Horses come with people, and you have to learn to deal with them,” Richerts said. “Always remember why you do what you do and why you love it.”
Bauck said interactions with people who are the subject of complaints related to their animals can be tense.
“I communicate with a lot of people who aren’t very friendly,” he said. “Telling someone who thinks they’re doing the right thing that they’re wrong is challenging.”
Youngblood said one of the most difficult parts of her job is dealing with client expectations.
“People want you to give them an answer,” she said. “I say, ‘I don’t know’ a lot. And that’s hard to say to people who are paying you to come out and look at their animal.”
Finances were another theme. Bekkevar said having a job as a bookkeeper allows her to farm and raise livestock. Youngblood is still paying off student loans. Richerts said she runs two other businesses to sustain her riding academy.
“People see 15 horses and a barn and think there’s a lot of money there,” Richerts said. “It’s not a lucrative career if you’re out to make a lot, but I love what I do.”
All of them said giving back to the community is an important part of their work. Bauck, for example, volunteers at spay-neuter clinics. Bekkevar serves on the Clallam County Fair Board. Youngblood coaches members of the county’s 4-H team preparing for the state 4-H Hippology Contest.
“I have time to give back to the community, and it all starts at the community level,” said Youngblood, who participated in 4H when she grew up in Sequim.
Students said the classes gave them hands-on lessons they could immediately use.
Paisley Warren, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Stevens Middle School who shows goats and helps care for her family’s horses and cattle, said she learned to be vigilant about biosecurity.
“You have to be careful what you bring onto your farm,” she said. “You can’t wear the same boots when you go to different barns because you could spread disease.”
Elise Sirguy, 15, a Port Angeles High School sophomore, said she enjoyed learning about the many different kinds of horse diseases, joking that it is important information to know because it seems like horses are always trying to find ways of getting sick.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
