Bend Veterinary Clinic - King of Spays

LIKE MOST NEBRASKA FARMERS in the 19080’s, Byron Maas’ work revolved around cattle and crops. But he also had a vision that reached far beyond his family’s farm. He wanted to help preserve animals on a global scale. “I had studied zoology in college, and I was interested in doing something to save endangered species” Maas said. “I wanted to use the farm for breeding animals to create a better gene pool—and then return them to the wild and or to a game preserve”.

His family didn’t share his global enthusiasm, so Maas set out to bolster his knowledge of animals and to attend vet school. He moved to Seattle, where several part-time jobs provided the experience of a lifetime. He worked in animal control and at vet clinics and emergency room. He cleaned hippo pools at the zoo, worked with vampire bats and porcupines and ended up as an animal tech in the zoo’s medical unit.

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“…money shouldn’t be the deciding factor
in providing quality care to animals”
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In 1985, Maas entered the vet school at Washingt5on State University in Pullman, where studied exotic medicine. But he didn’t care for the politics of many zoo settings so he went into veterinary practice. James-Herriot-style. “I worked in the small community of Monmouth and did emergency calls on cattle, horses, llamas - and also dogs and cats.” He said. “It became too difficult to do it all so I started focusing on small animals.”