Connie Hall says she wanted her honor her veterinarian’s extraordinary compassion; her commitment to help clients with limited pocketbooks; her community efforts working with shelters and feral cat caretakers, and most especially Dr, Tammy Kersting’s ability to interpret what her patients are feeling.

            “Her heart is in it, all the way,” says Hall. “I’ve been wanting to do something special. Chocolates are good – but they’d probably disappear before they even got to Dr. Tammy. You know how that goes.”

            Hall, who is in Ames, IA, arranged her tribute to Dr. Kersting through the.Winn Feline Foundation’s Veterinary Honor Roll. For a $100 donation, Dr. Kersting received a framed certificate suitable for display in the veterinary hospital, as well as a listing on the Winn website (www.winnfelinehealth.org),

            The Winn Feline Foundation is a not for profit organization which funds studies relating to medical problems affecting cats. There’s little doubt that all cats are healthier today as a result of research supported by Winn for the past 39 years. Examples range from funding the first studies to demonstrate that diabetic cats, in particular, may improve with high protein low carbohydrate diets to the recent ground breaking identification in Ragdolls and Maine Coons of specific genes responsible for a common kind of heart disease (feline hypertrophic cardiomypathy).

            Hall, a retired breeder of Persian cats, and has been a client of Kersting’s for 19 years. “I think people feel more of a bond with their veterinarian than their human doctor,” she says. “You have to share what you believe your pet is going through – many times it’s much deeper emotionally for us than when we speak to our doctor about our own physical ailments.”

            Winn President Dr. Susan Little of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada says, “I know people tend to show gratitude (to veterinarians) when their pets die. I can’t explain that interesting psychological dynamic. But we wanted to come up with a means to say  ‘thanks’ anytime. Little says that you can enlist your vet into Winn’s Honor Roll to express express gratitude for a long-term relationship, for a special act of kindness – even a lifesaving effort, or for a holiday gift. And it’s a tax deduction.

            Regarding her tribune, Kersting, who practices in Gilbert, IA, says, “I’m honored – but what’s really nice is that other cats benefit because the money supports and organization which helps all cats. Let’s face it, I have a great job. It’s legal for me to hug and kiss my clients.”

            Elva Fisher of Westchester, NY has signed up three veterinarians into the still fledgling Winn Veterinary Honor Roll. There’s Dr. Barbara Strauss, her veterinarian for 15 years, even though she’s been retired for over five years. The second honoree is Dr. Roger Johnson in Walnut Creek, CA, who saved Fisher’s daughter’s cat’s life. And finally, there’s her current veterinarian, Dr. Richard McFarland who she travels 30 miles to see (in Norwalk, CT). “He’s worth the ride,” says Fisher, who happens to also be a cat breeder – she breeds Maine Coons. “He’s a good communicator and just a wonderful diagnostician. He can figure things out that others miss. I wanted to do something to just say ‘thanks’ for Dr. McFarland, but I didn’t know what to do. People look at plaques that are on the wall, and it (the veterinary honor roll plaque) will probably be there for years to come – so everyone can see what a wonderful person I think he is.”

            This enthusiastic outpouring of gratitude for veterinarians isn’t a surprise. According to a 2006 Gallup Poll, veterinarians are the third most trusted profession in America, just a nose behind pharmacists and nurses.

            “Recognition like this is very nice,” says McFarland. “When it comes down to it, veterinary medicine is about relationships and communication. I don’t go home with the pets, so my goal is to impart as much knowledge as I can to owners so they do their best at caring for their pets.”

            Sign your vet up for the Veterinary Honor Roll at www.winnfeinehealth.org or call 856-447-9787.