Career path always clear for longtime veterinarian

DOG DAYS ARE OVER: Joyce R. Gifford, Abbott Valley Veterinary Center owner, left, works on “Buddy” as the dog’s owner, Cevyn Rieger, looks on. / PBN PHOTO/NATALJA KENT
DOG DAYS ARE OVER: Joyce R. Gifford, Abbott Valley Veterinary Center owner, left, works on “Buddy” as the dog’s owner, Cevyn Rieger, looks on. / PBN PHOTO/NATALJA KENT

Cumberland veterinarian Joyce Gifford knew at an early age there was only one career path for her.
It started when she read “All Creatures Great and Small,” the 1972 compilation of British veterinary surgeon and writer James Herriot’s first two novels.
“I fell in love with the whole notion of being a veterinarian and I really couldn’t be persuaded otherwise,” Gifford said. “It was a very clear plan. That’s not an uncommon thing for veterinarians.”
At the time she was a child growing up Queens, N.Y., and back then her dream was centered on a simple love of animals.
She parlayed that love into securing student loans to be able to earn a bachelor of science degree in pre-veterinary medicine at Rutgers University in 1981, and to pursue a master’s in animal and nutritional sciences at the University of New Hampshire. She stopped short of completing her master’s thesis when her father fell ill, but quickly resumed her studies and earned her doctor of veterinary medicine from Tufts University in 1989.
“When I started taking classes in science and pre-veterinary medicine, I loved the medicine component,’ Gifford said. “I loved the problem-solving and trying to get to the bottom of the animal’s condition and figure out what was going on.”
After completing a 13-month internship in medicine and surgery at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston, she spent a few years working part time in private practices while beginning a family.
While her sons were still toddlers, she decided to open her own practice.
Eighteen years later, she employs 16 doctors, technicians and staff at Abbott Valley Veterinary Center.
But it was far from easy.
Gifford said that in getting her business going, she encountered a lot of resistance from banks unwilling to lend what she needed. She found solace and help in the Rhode Island Small Business Administration, receiving a direct loan – and plenty of coaching advice – from them. She also utilized her husband’s small-business know-how and the financial expertise of her sister, who was a certified public accountant. The SBA would prove a business-saving resource once again when seven years into her practice Gifford was hit by what she called a “perfect storm” of hardships.
While in the midst of finalizing a construction loan for a building she hoped to purchase in order to expand her practice, Gifford was diagnosed with breast cancer. The project was almost stopped in its tracks.
She continued to work through her chemotherapy treatments while she and her family had to move into a hotel for four months because they had, around the same time, purchased a new house that needed renovations before they could move in.
Her two sons were 7 and 9 at the time.
“Once I was done with my treatment, the SBA [helped] get us back on track and I was able to secure some loans. I was in my new building a year later,” Gifford said.
She just celebrated 10 years of cancer remission.
The center also was hit hard by the economic downturn of 2008 and, like many other businesses and families, the Giffords still are recovering.
“The people who claim to be experts in our industry say we are supposed to be fairly recession-proof,” Gifford said. “This was not your average recession, and I know for a fact that the industry has been hurt in a major way.”
“We’re gradually climbing back up to where we were. The last couple of years have been better, but I’m not seeing the kind of growth that I was used to the first 14 years I had the practice,” Gifford said. “It was very hard for me to [temporarily lay off two employees]. People don’t realize how heavy it weighs on you when you have all these people you are responsible for. I have not laid anyone off since, thankfully.” Not everything has been an uphill battle.
Having a husband who also runs a small business did provide some challenges during tough economic times but it also allowed the Giffords better control over their own schedules while raising their children.
Owning a small veterinary practice has allowed Gifford to really concentrate on customer care and attention to detail and to build a client base that has proven loyal.
Testimonials on her website indicate several clients have been going to Abbott Valley Veterinary Center since its doors first opened.
“I think that is one of the most rewarding things to me in the day-to-day practice. That keeps me going,” Gifford said. “I’ve been seeing clients through the generations of their pets and I also now see their children who are adults with their own pets, which is really kind of cool.”
In the spare time she does have, now that her sons are in college, Gifford tends to her own animals at home. She has a chocolate Lab named Nudge, a rescue dog, and a cat they call Ari, who they took in as a stray.
She also recently taught Cumberland first responders how to perform CPR on animals. She will welcome her first intern from the New England Institute of Technology’s veterinary-technology program this month.
“When I give, I like to give locally. I feel that’s really important,” she said. “I don’t necessarily feel that women are under-represented in my profession. I give to our community because our community has supported me and my staff.” •

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