TulsaPets Magazine May 2021

12 TulsaPets • May/June 2021 By Lauren Cavagnolo A chimpanzee who suffered a stroke, a juvenile tiger who needed a root canal and 60-year-old-plus flamingos are just a handful of the interesting encounters experienced by Kay Backues, DVM, lead veterinarian at the Tulsa Zoo. Backues, who joined the Tulsa Zoo in 1998, is a board-certified diplomate in the American College of Zoological Medicine. Most of her focus is on preventative care tailored to the health needs of the different animals housed at the zoo. Each type of ani- mal has its own routine schedule for receiving a preventative exam, vaccines, getting their teeth cleaned or having an X-ray depending on their needs. “Zoo medicine is probably the ultimate general practice: we see fish, we see birds, we see mammals, and then we see all sizes of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles,” Backues said. Backues said one of the funniest things people often ask her is if she treats the snakes. “Yes, we treat the snakes,” Backues said emphatically. “And then they usually say something about how they don’t like snakes, and I make the comment that they are just like everybody else out there trying to make a living; just leave them alone.” Backues says being lead veterinarian at the zoo for the last 23 years is similar to being a small-town country doctor. “You have a pool of patients, and if you are here long term, you have seen them be born, you have seen them have babies, and you’ve gotten to take care of them. And you have been here long enough to have some animals live out their entire lives with you as their caretaker or their medical care, so that’s always kind of neat,” she explained. For example, all of the younger chimpan- zees have been born since Backues joined the staff. “I’ve been here, and I’ve seen them grow up. Now I’ll go by, and it’s just like a friend with their kid; you’re like, ‘I just can’t believe PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES: A day in the life of Tulsa Zoo veterinarian Dr. Kay Backues Photos courtesy of the Tulsa Zoo