February 2019 34 The Pony 2nd Hand Store We Collect & Deliver Your Merchandise FREE LOCAL DELIVERY AVAILABLE 662 W. Wickenburg Way Wickenburg • Open Monday–Saturday thepony2ndhandstore.com 928-231-2730 • 928-232-2019 We Carry Quality 2nd Hand & New Merchandise Your Home Furniture Supplies Store Specializing in Appliances Jane and Peter Kibble pony2ndhandstore@outlook.com moved to its present location - right next door. Kate and Gerry had finally come home to the small country town they had always wanted since their days in Boulder City. It may have been inspiration that brought Dr. Kate and Gerry to us, but it is the commitment to the community they call home that is itself inspiring. Over the last 20 years Dr. Kate and Gerry have cared for many small animals and have especially appreciated the time their practice has allowed them to spend with people and their pets: Something urban practice did not allow. Dr. Kate says “It’s important that people know about the care their pets are needing and receiving and we can help them with this by taking the time to spend with them.” It is by intent that the Muleshoe has provided a place where more than 20 young people have learned about and worked in veterinary practice. All have taken their own trajectory in life using the inspiration of experiences that Dr. Kate and Gerry gave them. One is now teaching English as a second language in China and one has become an equine surgeon working in Africa with Jane Goodall. Another intent for service to their community has the been Dr. Kate’s and Gerry’s support and work with the Feral Cat Program and with Kim Lytle, Director of Petey’s Playground and the many services Petey’s offers to pets and their owners in the community. The Muleshoe provides full-service veterinary care for small animals including surgery, hospitalization, blood work, vaccinations, boarding for health reasons and emergencies; and Dr. Kate is also well trained in exotics. Sometimes it can be challenging in a small rural community to balance community relationships with professional services. But with priority focus on the animals, Dr. Kate and Gerry have made a good life for themselves and for all who have had the great good fortune to know them. Their hope for the future is that more businesses and service providers will find their way to the heart of the Weaver Mountains and perhaps, at some time in the future, a young person with the same passion for rural veterinary service will be inspired to continue the legacy of the Muleshoe Animal Clinic. If you didn’t have the good fortune to be born into a rural community, then making the decision to change your life’s trajectory and move to one is just about the next best thing. It takes a special kind of vision to give up the seeming advantages of urban excitement for the less tangible benefits of rural living. But that’s exactly what Kate & Gerry McCullough did when they moved “Dr. Kate’s” veterinary practice from Phoenix to rural Peeples Valley, in the heart of the Weaver Mountains of southwest Yavapai County, 20 years ago. Married for 39 years, Kate and Gerry have raised two children and contributed much to the life and vitality of their community. Like most journeys in life, theirs took a few detours along the way before landing at the Muleshoe Animal Clinic on South State Route 89 in Peeples Valley. Kate was an undergraduate at the University of Missouri in the late 1970s majoring in English and Psychology when, on a visit to the local humane society with her two cats, she met their “lady vet.” There were not many women veterinary doctors at that time, but this meeting was an inspiration to Kate and she changed her major, and life’s direction, to veterinary medicine. In the meantime, Gerry had moved from Montreal, Canada to Fort Lauderdale where he was already working as a veterinary technician in an established practice. Stars really did align for these two as Kate, needing to complete 6 weeks of internship for her degree, found herself at the very same veterinary practice. So it was that in 1980, Dr. Kate graduated from the University of Missouri School of Veterinary Medicine and Kate and Gerry became partners in life and in profession. For three years while Dr. Kate practiced in Henderson, NV they lived in Boulder City. Here they came to love the then small-town appeal; which would prove inspirational too. Moving to Phoenix, Dr. Kate honed her skills in an emergency veterinary clinic and in 1988, Dr. Kate and Gerry opened their first practice in Phoenix with Gerry in his roles as veterinary technician and practice manager while still working as an environmental chemist. It was in 1999 when a friend in Yarnell told Kate and Gerry that the local vet, Dr. McKim, was ready to retire and wanted to sell his office in Peeples Valley. Ten days later, Gerry and Dr. McKim shook hands on the deal and the “Muleshoe”, named for the fact that Dr. McKim raised Missouri jumping mules, moved into its first Peeples Valley office. Two years later, the Muleshoe By Wendy Fostiak-Amos, Designated Broker The small communities of the Weaver Mountains region are each unique in their own way. There are many diverse and individual experiences and opportunities for residents, businesses, and visitors. To learn more, stop by my office, Top of the Hill Realty, 22760 S SR 89, Yarnell, Wendy Fostiak-Amos, Designated Broker or call 928-671-1894. Proud member of Local First AZ. REAL COUNTRY FOLK Dr. Kate & Gerry McCullough, Muleshoe Animal Clinic