Katie Bresnahan – Northside Animal Clinic
BY JENNY GOLDSBERRY
Dr. Katie Bresnahan can’t remember where her love of animals began but she remembers that instead of watching cartoons on Saturday mornings like other kids, her favorite channel was Animal Planet.
Even at her young age, she loved watching veterinary reality shows. “It was the coolest show,” Katie said. “I was hooked!”
At 10-years-old she started shadowing veterinarians. Can you imagine a pre-teen with an internship? Even at that young age, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. Consequently, Katie developed a love for horses. Her parents enrolled her in 4-H, a curriculum that introduces kids to horses. The coursework teaches kids as young as 7 years old how to care for, communicate with, and ride horses. This was how Katie learned to ride herself. However, it also just made her want a horse of her own. “Horses are like drugs,” Katie said. “You’re going to have withdrawals.”
So, she got a job in high school to pay for her horse. Then, a Canadian Thoroughbred named Walter came along. She and Walter became best friends. That interspecies friendship did a lot of good for Katie at a formative time in her life. He had a klutzy nature. “He was danger prone, as most horses are,” Katie said. Her tending to his constant injuries became her training leading up to her veterinarian studies at Utah State University. When she retired Walter, she cared for him through his illness. In his old age, Walter was still teaching her, only this time about the geriatric equine population.
Throughout her undergraduate and doctoral studies, she honed in on equine medicine. She’s studied everything from traditional Chinese acupuncture to sports rehabilitation. Her studies took her to some of the largest equine hospitals this country has to offer.
So when you bring your horses to Dr. Katie at Northside Animal Clinic, she’ll treat them with professional expertise and also an empathetic spirit. All veterinarians including Katie have 40 years of combined experience. Northside believes in treating every patient as if they were their own pet. Dr. Katie especially knows what it means to have a horse in your life, and she’ll fight for your horse, retired and otherwise.