Photo By Ashley Boster | Army Capt. Rebecca Reed, officer in charge of veterinary services, Quantico Veterinary...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – You may be surprised to find your local base veterinarian’s mission includes more than your fur friends’ annual check-up and routine care. With its mission spanning across the base, Quantico Marine Corps Base Veterinary Treatment Facility (VTF) is professionally staffed by Army Veterinary Corps personnel and supervised by Army Capt. Rebecca Reed, VTF officer in charge.
“My position here… is to oversee all of the care for military working dogs here, as well as provide services to the privately owned animals. We also oversee the food safety mission here at Marine Corps Base Quantico,” said Capt. Reed.
Reed has always been drawn to caring for animals and found herself working on a farm throughout her high school years. Her interest in the military allowed her to follow her passions by becoming a military veterinarian.
“I love being with the animals every day,” she said. “I get to help out and do new and exciting things. There was always a new challenge and new adventure around the corner; whether that was working with our privately owned animals, or new fun things that the military working dogs are experiencing. Even the food mission gets exciting!”
The food safety mission dates to the history of the Army Veterinary Corps; it was an important function to the effectiveness of the military’s fighting forces. The Army Veterinary Corps provided a barrier of protection against food related illness and mortality.
“That’s been part of the job description for a long time... when they [soldiers] started having issues they leaned on us because we knew the biology and the diseases of the food and animals they were processing,” said Reed. “We could actually point them out before they made it into the food supply chain.”
Today the food safety mission plays a large role in the functionality of all base food services. In part, their mission is to ensure the safe collection, distribution, storage, and handling practices of all foods that comes through the base.
Food safety isn’t the only hat the Army Veterinary Corps wear on base, the VTF also provides quality care for personally owned pets and military working dogs (MWD). Reed regularly sees family pets but the MWDs are what keep her on her toes. Due to the nature of training of the MWD, Capt. Reed performs anything from foreign body surgery to decontamination of substance exposure.
“The best experiences that I’ve had here are with our military working dogs…when they come in it’s a nice experience. While they are working, they don’t get pet on or played with so when they come in here, we try to make it a fun experience for them… that, and the handlers can show off their tricks,” said Reed.
Capt. Reed and her team encourage those who are active-duty military, retired or in the reserves to bring their pets to the VTF.
“We try to offer as many services as we can, but we are really here to help do wellness exams and help to get them processed for PCS (permanent change of station) moves. Everything we do is usually at a lower cost for military members, so that helps save some money on some of the expenses,” said Reed.
“It’s two hats, but that’s what we are here for.”
Contact the Marine Corps Base Quantico Veterinary Treatment Facility for more information:
Hours: Monday – Wednesday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
3310 Purvis Rd. Quantico, VA Phone: 703-784-2770
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.25.2021 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 399671 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 215 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Fur Friends and Food: Quantico Veterinarian keeps pets healthy and food supply operational, by Ashley Boster, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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