New Manatee County Animal Services vet brings experience to shelter

It was 11 a.m. Tuesday at Manatee County Animal Services and the new shelter veterinarian had already been through the morning round of exams and treatments.

“When we have critters to look at, this is where the action happens,” Mike Herrington, 37, said as he stood in the exam room at the Palmetto shelter waiting for his next patient.

Soon enough, an elderly English Bulldog found in West Bradenton was brought in for an examination.

“Got some cataracts. Nice strong pulse,” Herrington said as he examined the dog.

Herrington went on to check the dog’s hips, knees and back.

“All things considered, not looking too bad,” he said. “I think she’s good to go, medically.”

Since April 10, Herrington, who has been a practicing veterinarian for six years next month, has been the shelter veterinarian at Animal Services.

“Shelter medicine is something I’ve always had an interest in and it afforded me a chance to give back to the community, taking care of shelter dogs and kitty cats, of course,” said Herrington, who most recently worked at a private practice in Nokomis.

Herrington is the second on-site veterinarian at the Palmetto shelter, 305 25th St. W. The first veterinarian, Carmen Lucena, was only in the position for a little more than three months.

Lucena’s departure from the county on Dec. 29 came days after Boni, a 17-year-old black Labrador mix, was euthanized the same day he arrived at Animal Services, violating the shelter’s five-day hold period for strays. Sarah Brown, Animal Services chief, said at the time that she couldn’t comment on personnel matters.

“We definitely will follow the protocols,” Herrington said Tuesday. “They are in place for a reason. I do have some leeway to discuss with administration, ‘Can we tweak this? Can we adjust that?’ That’s one of the reasons they brought me in here for my experience in practice. They want that different perspective.”

As any good organization should be doing, Herrington said he plans to regularly review the protocols that are in place at the shelter.

“That’s a continuous thing,” he said. “We are always looking for ways we can improve what we are doing.”

Herrington brings the knowledge and expertise of veterinary medicine to Animal Services, Brown said.

“He truly has a passion for animals and thorough veterinary care,” she said. “He also understands the limited resources we have at the facility and looks forward to creative ways to give the best care to our animals.”

At a county shelter, the community is your client, Herrington said.

“Here we are kind of more on the front lines of it,” he said.

But since Animal Services is a county facility, the biggest challenge is the available resources, Herrington said.

“You don’t have the bells and whistles here that you might have at a private practice,” he said. “We want to be efficient and do the best job we can with the resources that we have so that’s the biggest challenge, just making sure you are on top of your priorities.”

Within the next couple months, Herrington said he is hoping that the surgery suite at the Palmetto shelter is operational, which will allow them to keep all the care in one place.

“The surgery suite will help us out a lot because we will be able to do our spays and neuters in house,” he said.

Brown echoed Herrington’s excitement about the possibility of performing surgeries in house.

“We are excited to begin performing spay/neuter and other surgeries,” she said. “Dr. Mike is also in the process of updating procedures to ensure animals are receiving the best possible care.”

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "New Manatee County Animal Services vet brings experience to shelter."