Army veternarian finds home on Air Force base

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Emmons
  • Nucleus journalist
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Army Capt. Elizabeth Mansi is the new base veterinarian here.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I have always, always wanted to be a veterinarian -- I have never thought about pursuing a different career path. The thought of being in the military
hadn't occurred to me until later in life and when I found out I could do both, I knew that
that was the right decision for me," said Captain Mansi, who is in the Army Veterinary Corps.

"I love my job," she said. "Everyday is different, practicing medicine and surgery is so rewarding, and I'm around animals all the time, which is great."

A native New Yorker, Captain Mansi earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Binghamton University in New York. In May 2006, she graduated from North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine located in Raleigh, N.C. She came into the Army with a health professional scholarship in 2003.

Captain Mansi attended a five-week training course for veterinarians at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, prior to arriving here. "The training was focused mainly on food safety and inspection," she said, which is another aspect of her job as an Army veterinarian.

Captain Mansi, who replaced Capt. Laura Embry, runs the Kirtland AFB Veterinary Services along with Sgt. Rafael Lozano, a vet tech, three civilian vet techs and one part-time civilian veterinarian.

The Army operates the veterinary services clinic in building 20168 on Pennsylvania Street. The clinic hours are Tuesday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for outpatient care for privately owned animals of active duty and retired military.

Appointments must be made in advance. Services offered include vaccinations, deworming, and heartworm testing, as well as radiography, blood analysis, and other outpatient diagnostics.

Captain Mansi said the Army is the only branch of the military that has clinical veterinarians. "That's why we are stationed at different branch installations," she said.

"One of my top priorities is taking care of all the military working dogs on base," Captain Mansi said. "It's my job to keep the military working dogs healthy as they routinely deploy, and I'm on call 24/7 for these dogs."

Sergeant Lozano said that the clinic also cares for the working dogs at Cannon AFB. The three drug dogs at the Albuquerque International Sunport also come to the base clinic.

The clinic services dogs, cats and occasionally horses. "We are a limited facility," Captain Mansi said. "We do not have the necessary equipment or staff to provide overnight hospitalization, intensive care, or emergency services."

"Our mission and goal at the clinic is to control infectious diseases of animals and zoonotic diseases, which are diseases transmittable from animals to humans," she explains.

An example of a zoonotic disease is parasites. "Almost every puppy or kitten has worms -- they get it from their moms. Unfortunately people can get these parasites, namely children, so deworming is a very important step both for the puppy or kitten as well as the family," Captain Mansi added.

All animals living on base need to be registered with base housing. Records of microchipping and vaccines need to be approved and obtained from the clinic first and then taken to base housing. Microchipping is required for all animals living on base.

Captain Mansi said that all people issued a permanent change of station are recommended to pick up their animal's records at the clinic before they leave. The clinic can also provide important information about traveling with your pet and the requirements for foreign countries.