Pulse - June 2021 - 5

JIM BELL SCVMA PROFILE
After Long Career, Kathy Swope
Announces That She's Retiring
A
fter nearly four decades working with
the veterinary industry, Kathy Swope has
made her last call as an allied industry
representative.
" This is a really tough time for me to say goodbye, "
she said as she neared the end of her career. " But I'm
67, so I'm retiring. My husband Bud is 77 - he's been
retired for a while - and we want to take some time,
maybe go on some road trips. We're thinking about a
train trip. "
Her biggest regret, she said, is that she will miss the
people she has gotten to know and has served. " Saying
goodbye is the hardest part. I loved helping my customers
and taking care of their needs. They became family. You
get to know all about them and their kids and where
they travel. "
Kathy worked for Covetrus. It is a successor of Delta
Animal Supplies, the firm she joined in 1982. The name
of the company that employed her changed several
times because of corporate acquisitions or mergers. But,
she said, " I have not changed my job. I just changed the
name of the company I worked for. "
April 30 was her last day on the job. " It's kind of surreal, "
she said. " Leaving is exciting and scary at the same time. "
Kathy was honored with the SCVMA's Phil Steinhauer
Allied Industry Award in 2016, which goes to
someone who has demonstrated long-term dedication to
the veterinary profession and organized veterinary medicine
and is a Friend of the SCVMA.
As a youngster, she had a strong interest in veterinary
medicine " for the same reason most of us did: we
loved animals. " She went to work for Airport Animal
Hospital in Fullerton in 1972 after she graduated from
Downey High School. She also enrolled at Cerritos
College, then transferred to a pre-veterinary program at
Cal Poly Pomona.
" In that day and age, women were not normally in the
veterinary field and it was very difficult to get into veterinary
school, " she said. " After my first two sons were
born, I decided that I never was going to make it to vet
school so I got my tech license. "
The young RVT soon was managing Airport Animal
Hospital. As the owner added three more hospitals, her
job grew more complex and difficult and required more
and more of her time - time she needed at home after
her first child was born. So she went to work for Rosecrans
Veterinary Hospital. A few years later, she moved to
the allied industry job. She became an outside field representative
in 1988, a job she always enjoyed.
PULSE
JUNE 2021
The job was " a good opportunity for me. I could
make more money and still stay in the veterinary field. It
made it possible to better support my family. "
For many years, Kathy was a regular at SCVMA Paraprofessional
Group meetings and a diligent worker to
make them successful. She also served as secretary-treasurer
of the Southeast Chapter and was a frequent volunteer
at vaccine clinics and other events " to keep my
puppy-hugging skills in. "
Kathy and Bud live in Lakewood. He worked parttime
for nine years at the Long Beach School District
with developmentally handicapped preschool children
after a career at a freight-forwarding firm. The couple's
oldest son, Jason, 44, is an accountant at the University
of Colorado in Boulder. Jeremy, 41, is a robotic engineer
for Boeing in St. Louis. Joshua, 32, was born with spina
bifida and lives with his parents.
" Joshua is doing great, " his mother said. " He is in a
wheelchair. We have our house set up for him so, if we're
not there, he is pretty much able to get around. He volunteers
at the Aquarium of the Pacific. And plays sled hockey
for the LA Kings sled hockey team. We keep him active. "
In retirement, Kathy hopes to spend more time in
her garden and hopes to expand her vegetable garden.
" Right now I'm growing artichokes, " she said. She will
be able to spend more time reading, doing puzzles and
attending the theater.
She is thankful, she said, to all the people who let me
come in and help them and all those who supported her
for the 38 plus years she worked in allied industry. " I
couldn't have stayed at this job and supported my family
and done what I did without all their support. "
She noted that Peter Weinstein, executive director of
SCVMA, had been especially helpful over the years. " There
are a lot of technical questions that I needed to answer and
he always was great at helping me find those answers. "
5
Pulse - June 2021

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