On a sweltering summer day in Portugal, a starving dog placed its head softly atop Illiana C. Quimbaya’s ’05 outstretched foot. The dog’s trust seemed remarkably absolute, she says—especially in light of the frequent mistreatment of stray animals she had witnessed on her trip.

“Something about it was incredibly moving,” she says. “I just remember wishing there was something I could do to help.”

The revelation completely reoriented Quimbaya, who says she embarked on this “soul-searching” trip after having second thoughts about pursuing a career in academia.

The veterinary path “wasn’t even on my radar when I [came to Harvard],” says Quimbaya, who is now juggling pre-veterinary classes at the Extension School and graduate studies in the Department of Anthropology. “People came here for medicine, business, or law. The pre-vet community was virtually invisible.”

This year, Jane C. Xie ’12 is in the process of reviving the Harvard Pre-Veterinary Society, which disappeared five years ago after the group’s founder graduated. So far, Xie has found roughly ten other pre-vets at the College, and Quimbaya says she knows of approximately 15 at the Extension School.

But Xie says the newly-born Society is still struggling to unite pre-vets as they navigate one of Harvard’s less established pre-professional routes.

‘YOU’RE PRE-WHAT?’

When people ask Xie about her career aspirations, there often isn’t time for a lengthy enumeration of the virtues of veterinary medicine.

“There’s usually an initial shock period where people don’t understand what I’ve said,” Xie says. “Sometimes I just say I’m pre-med because it’s easier.”

One question she says she’s rarely asked is what type of veterinarian she wants to be. Many people assume vets handle domestic animals, but in fact the profession encompasses a wide range of specialties.

Vet school students are required to do rotations in areas such as small and large animal surgery, exotic wildlife, avian studies, clinical pathology, and equestrian medicine.

Casey L. Cazer ’12 says she may be the only pre-vet at Harvard interested in large animal medicine. This summer, she worked on a dairy farm, monitoring the health of a herd of 3,000 cows.

Rachelle Ludwick ’13 has considered treating racehorses or going into animal health policy, while Julia Duke ’11 says she would enjoy working with squirrels, possums, or bunnies.

Xie says vet schools have distinct emphases and reputations—Tufts for small animal research, University of Wisconsin for livestock, and University of Pennsylvania for horses, to name a few.

GIVING A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS