Disaster - College of Veterinary Medicine - Texas A&M University
Disaster - College of Veterinary Medicine - Texas A&M University
Disaster - College of Veterinary Medicine - Texas A&M University
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A 1949 graduate <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Texas</strong> A&M<br />
<strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Veterinary</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong> & Biomedical<br />
Sciences (CVM), Dr. George<br />
R. Thomasson has been a practicing<br />
veterinarian for 60 years.<br />
“A love for people and veterinary<br />
medicine [have] kept bringing him<br />
back into practice,” said Dr. Clifford<br />
Jessen, owner <strong>of</strong> the Apple Valley<br />
Animal Hospital in California, where<br />
Thomasson began working in 1995 at<br />
the age <strong>of</strong> 71.<br />
It is this dedication to his work,<br />
particularly his skill as a surgeon, that<br />
Jessen and the staff at Apple Valley<br />
have had the privilege <strong>of</strong> witnessing<br />
every day for the past 15 years.<br />
“Dr. Thomasson is not afraid to<br />
tackle almost any surgery,” said Jessen.<br />
“He is not afraid to open a text book<br />
and learn new things and implement<br />
them as he goes along. If he has a case<br />
that concerns him, you can bet that<br />
he’ll be calling or stopping by to check<br />
on it.”<br />
Thomasson makes light <strong>of</strong> this praise<br />
and is instead grateful for having had<br />
a chance to work at a pr<strong>of</strong>ession that<br />
he loves, a pr<strong>of</strong>ession that has grown<br />
and evolved during the course <strong>of</strong> his<br />
lifetime.<br />
Born in Knox City, <strong>Texas</strong>, in 1924,<br />
Thomasson’s tryst with veterinary<br />
medicine began when at John Tarleton<br />
Agricultural <strong>College</strong>, then a junior<br />
college annexed to the <strong>Texas</strong> A&M<br />
<strong>University</strong> system, a teacher piqued his<br />
interest in the subject. Before following<br />
up this interest at the CVM, Thomasson<br />
enlisted for two and a half years in<br />
the Navy’s V5 program, a basic flight<br />
training program. After graduating<br />
from the CVM, he moved to California,<br />
accepting an opportunity to work with<br />
another Aggie at the Los Felis Small<br />
Animal Hospital. A partnership in a<br />
small animal hospital in North Hollywood<br />
followed after almost six years at<br />
Los Felis, and finally in 1969, Thomasson<br />
established his own practice in Van<br />
Nuys, California, from which he retired<br />
in 1993.<br />
However, it proved to be a short<br />
retirement.<br />
“I was getting bored and was playing<br />
too much golf,” Thomasson said with<br />
his characteristic humor. “So, I started<br />
to work part-time for Dr. Cliff Jessen<br />
at Apple Valley in 1995, and I’ve been<br />
there ever since.”<br />
Asked what he has enjoyed most<br />
about his long career, Thomasson commented<br />
on the “phenomenal” advances<br />
in veterinary medicine, <strong>of</strong>fering some<br />
examples.<br />
“When I first went to work, I used to<br />
do spaying and neutering. We would<br />
use Nembutal in the peritoneum to<br />
anesthetize dogs. We would then sew<br />
up the incision with nylon sutures,<br />
hospitalize the dogs for five days [and<br />
then follow up with them to remove<br />
the sutures.] Today, we use [absorbable<br />
buried] PDS sutures, which allows us to<br />
discharge neutered dogs on the same<br />
day <strong>of</strong> the surgery and eliminates the<br />
need for follow-up. Also back then, we<br />
only had penicillin and sulfa drugs<br />
to treat infections, [which is nothing<br />
compared to the range <strong>of</strong>] antibiotics<br />
that we have today. So, it’s all been a<br />
great change.”<br />
He also expressed amazement at how<br />
specialized veterinary medicine has<br />
become and believes that the specialization<br />
has made veterinary care better.<br />
He looks forward to seeing this trend<br />
continue.<br />
“I think if I had my career to do over<br />
again, I would specialize in orthopedics,”<br />
he said.<br />
After 15 years at Apple Valley,<br />
Thomasson is planning his second<br />
retirement.<br />
His colleagues will miss this surgeon<br />
whose photographic memory and<br />
encyclopedic knowledge <strong>of</strong> veterinary<br />
medicine they have come to rely on as<br />
a valuable resource.<br />
But more importantly, Jessen says,<br />
they will miss “a wonderful person”<br />
Alumni News<br />
Thomasson: A Lifetime in <strong>Veterinary</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong><br />
Dr. George R. Thomasson<br />
who has endeared himself to the hospital<br />
staff through his kindness, concern<br />
and genuine affection.<br />
“Dr. Thomasson will always look for<br />
a way to make folks laugh by telling<br />
jokes, whether he has a frustrating situation<br />
or busy, busy day,” says Jessen.<br />
Jessen believes that even after retirement,<br />
Thomasson will continue to be<br />
an inspiration to all those around him.<br />
G.R. Thomasson (second row from bottom<br />
in center) and the <strong>Texas</strong> A&M <strong>Veterinary</strong><br />
<strong>Medicine</strong> Class <strong>of</strong> ‘49.<br />
CVM Today • Summer 2010 • 49