Special
Features / February 2007
Animal Attraction
 Shawn and Jennifer Sette with their daughter and a friend.
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By Pat Lawrence
Many couple share interests, but Shawn and Jennifer Sette shared a vision. Shawn was a new veterinarian who had just graduated from Ohio State. Jennifer, who started working in a vet’s office at fourteen, was a veterinary assistant working toward her biology degree. They met in 1993, and in 1998, bought the Hurricane Animal Hospital. They finally took time to get married in 2001.
Their life is full, rich and varied, but centered around their shared goal of providing the best health care possible to the animals that come through their doors.
Jennifer is from South Charleston. Shawn is from a small town near Pittsburgh. He was working nights at the Animal Emergency Clinic. Pharmaceutical shipments were usually mailed to the veterinarians office in Dunbar where Jennifer was working, since the clinic was closed during the day. Jennifer was often the one Shawn encountered when he picked up packages. Shawn had just left OSU; Jennifer was transferring from Marshall to OSU to continue her studies. She began commuting, working at the Emergency Clinic on weekends. She says, “I had planned on going to veterinary school after getting my degree. But, I enjoyed working so much, I just didn’t.”
They both found the emergency clinic an exciting, often gratifying place to work. “We loved the emergency clinic atmosphere! But, we missed the satisfaction of seeing the animals later, when they were better. We missed the relationships you develop when you see pets regularly, when you know their names and stories.”
So, in 1998, they bought the Hurricane Animal Hospital from the doctor who had been there for eighteen years. Jennifer says, “It wasn’t quite as scary as starting a brand new practice from scratch. The hospital was an established, stable business. Many clients knew Shawn from the Emergency Clinic. Another doctor was also working there, so Shawn didn’t have those eighty hour weeks so many vets have to endure when they start a practice.”
With both of them working determinedly toward the same goal, the hospital has prospered. The two veterinarians are joined by a staff of eighteen, including three Registered Veterinary Technicians. Jennifer says, “We are so lucky to have them!” She manages the office and rarely deals directly with animals anymore. But, she is deeply involved in developing new protocols for increasingly specialized animal care and in promoting and participating in continuing education opportunities. “I’m getting extra training in oncology, my special interest. We offer chemotherapy, so we want to set up protocols so the nurses can administer it. We offer a lot of in-house training and the staff often goes to Ohio State for additional training.” In March, the Settes will go to Denver for more of their own continuing education.
The days are often long. “The staff gets here at 7am, the hospital opens at 7:30, doctors do their rounds around 8am and are there till 7pm during the week, except Wednesday, when we close at 6pm. On Saturday, we see animals from 9-12.” They also board up to 30 animals. “The dogs get walked at least three times a day, and lots of attention during the day. On holidays, three shifts make sure they get walked morning, noon and evening.”
The hospital isn’t the only success the couple share. Their oldest child is seven, and the baby is three. Jennifer says, “Technology has made motherhood a little easier! I can pay the bills and handle office correspondence at home, on line, when the kids are asleep. I have a little more freedom to come and go, in the administrative position.”
One of the great benefits of working together, Jennifer says, is “Since I do the management and business end of the practice, Shawn can focus on medicine. All his time and attention goes to the animals and clients that come for help. Worrying about the business would be distracting and time consuming. This eliminates the trust issues, on both sides.”
She says she wouldn’t be able to walk away, “because its not just my business. It’s his business, too.” She acknowledges one downside is, “We just don’t leave work. We try to make it so, once we step foot in the door, it’s the children’s time, but it’s hard.”
There isn’t much spare time in their life, but they have two dogs, two cats, a horse and three acres to spend it on. The horse, Meadow, is Jennifer’s. “She’s like a big dog!” Shawn is an avid big game hunter. Last year, the Settes went on an elk hunting excursion in Colorado. “It was more civilized than when he goes alone-we had a cabin and running water, but it was a wonderful experience.” Like so many things in their life, sharing it together just made it better.
To contact Hurrican Animal Hospital, call 304-562-3321.
Copyright © 2007 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
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