Almanac staff writer

tjohnson@thealmanac.net

Veterinarian Dr. Kristin Quisenberry was surprised when her telephone rang and there was a stranger's voice on the other end. Usually, the phone call is from her office staff telling of one emergency or another.

Instead, Quisenberry was informed she was one of five veterinarians across the United States to be named the best in the country as judged through an essay written by one of her clients.

Through the third annual Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet contest, sponsored by the Morris Animal Foundation and co-sponsored by Hill's Pet Nutrition and "Dog Fancy," "Cat Fancy," and "Veterinary Practice News" magazines, Quisenberry was named the 2009 Northeast Regional winner for making a difference in a pet owner's life.

The essay was written by Kathy Supan of Bridgeville after the death of Supan's dog, Elsa.

"I just met her after surgery on an emergency basis," Quisenberry said of Supan.

Elsa, an elderly lab mix, had a mass in her stomach that Quisenberry removed surgically at the Hidden Valley Animal Clinic on Oakhurst Drive in McMurray. Quisenberry is one of eight veterinarians on staff.

Elsa did well for a few months but then, Quisenberry said, it was time to make a decision about her future.

She told Supan to call when it was time to let her go.

On the morning of Thanksgiving 2008, Supan called Quisenberry's cell phone. They met at the clinic and Quisenberry assisted Elsa in drifting away.

As part of her dedication as a vet, Quisenberry works at the Washington Area Humane Society neutering and spaying animals ready for adoption. That's where she met Hank, a young Golden Retriever. She neutered him and treated an ear problem.

"The next week (Supan) came to the clinic and she had Hank," Quisenberry said, noting she recognized the bandages on his ear. "I told her I was going to call her about him, but I didn't have time, and then she walked in and I was so shocked. It was a neat circle."

Quisenberry had no idea Supan was writing the contest essay. One of the perks was an all-expenses paid trip for two to a conference in Orlando, Fla., the weekend of Jan. 16. She took her mother, Phyllis Goldfarb of Peters Township, where she met the four other national winners.

"I always wanted to be a vet," Quisenberry said as she sat in a clinic office during her lunch break. "When I was little, I tried to save everything."

She graduated from Peters Township High School in 1994, earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh and graduated from the Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2005. A native of Peters, she recently moved to Cecil Township with her two rescue dogs, James Brown, a 4-year-old pit bull/lab mix, and Beanie, a 3-year-old Jack Russell terrier, and three cats she fostered from kittens - Tubby, Sheba and Jackson. A rescued boa constrictor lived with the bunch until it "went to a great home."

James is the love of her life. In Ohio, any pit bull or pit bull mix that is taken to a shelter is immediately euthanized, no exception. That's unless a veterinary school friend kidnaps a pit bull mix who is ferried out in the dark of night. That's how James escaped certain death.

Beanie was abandoned at the Hidden Valley clinic and she began taking him home at night so he wouldn't be lonely. One morning he just stayed at the house.

She once hoped to work with zoo animals, but opted to specialize in small animals, like dogs and cats and what she calls "pocket animals."

"I like working with animals. It's like a puzzle," she said as they can't tell her of their aches or injuries.

Her favorite part is helping owners understand their pets.

Euthanizing an animal is still difficult after almost five years in practice. She understands that gently ending an animal's life can relieve suffering.

"I never euthanized an animal that I did not feel it was time," she said.

When asked by pet owners how they will know when to let an animal go, Quisenberry said without hesitation: "It depends on the quality of their life, but, at the end, they will let you know."

That compassion is what makes Quisenberry an award-winning veterinarian.