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Vet saves severely injured animals
By LOGAN NEILL
© St. Petersburg Times, DUNNELLON -- In his line of work, Father Donald Mainardi had come to learn a thing or two about miracles. Mostly that they were rare, sweet blessings that only faith and hope could deliver. But last November, as the priest looked down at the near-lifeless body of his 16-month-old dog, Isis, he knew that only a miracle could keep his best friend and companion in this world. Fortunately for the pastor, he lived just blocks from the Dunnellon Animal Hospital, which is run by Dr. Paul Mack, a veterinarian with an extraordinary talent for piecing back together severely injured animals. Although he has more than a dozen years of experience in animal-related surgery, a brief look at the dog, an African basenji, even made Mack cringe. Isis' injuries ranked near the top of Mack's list of worst-case scenarios. Struck by a speeding car when she wandered onto busy U.S. 41 near St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, where Mainardi was pastor at the time, the dog had fallen into a severe state of shock. X-rays showed severe internal bleeding coupled with a brain concussion. In addition, the dog had suffered a dislocated hip and multiple fractures including a shattered pelvis and a left hind femur that was broken in three places. There would certainly be no guarantees, but with Mainardi's blessing and his prayers, Mack offered to do what he could for the animal. It took several days to stabilize the dog with various painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. Mack and his wife, Cheryl, a groomer at the hospital, kept constant vigil on Isis' condition. During the day they and other members of the Dunnellon Animal Hospital staff oversaw her regimen of care. At night, the Macks would gingerly transport the dog to their home so they could keep close watch through the night. Meanwhile, the veterinarian began to formulate a plan on how to repair the extensive bone damage and help Isis once again be the active, carefree canine she was before the accident. "The leg damage was definitely going to be touch and go," remembers Mack. "I was certainly willing to go as far as Father Mainardi wanted me to." Many have favorite story about MackThe drama that would unfold with Isis over the next few weeks was something for which Mack has gained a special appreciation during the 10 years he has been practicing emergency animal surgery. His renown for taking on tough, last-ditch cases has earned him saintlike status among local animal lovers, many of whom turned to him when other vets had simply given up. Mack's reputation among pet owners and others in the animal-care field as a champion of lost causes almost guarantees he won't have a boring week. The fact that some of his clients come from as far away as Jacksonville is proof that his talents are rare in the world of veterinary medicine. Besides the normal array of household pets that stream through his office, he has been known to look after wild creatures such as turtles, raccoons and alligators. Citrus County Animal Control Director Hank Baggett noted that Mack is one of several area veterinarians who regularly perform low-cost spay and neuter operations for the agency's adoption program. But Baggett's praise of Mack went beyond his attention to the preventive side of animal care. Like others, Baggett has a favorite Mack tale. He recalled a time when Mack carefully removed an arrow from the midsection of a stray cat the agency's staff named Cupid. The cat lived and was later put up for adoption. "He did some extraordinary work, and I'm certain he saved the animal's life," Baggett said. "He's got a big heart, which is something I guess you have to have to do that kind of work." Surgery is a priority in his practice. Two days a week Mack and his wife are busy, mostly with routine procedures such as tooth extractions and tumor removal. But Mack admits that it is the challenge of restoring the health of severely injured animals that probably best personifies his personal mission as a veterinarian. "It's hard to describe the satisfaction of being a healer," Mack said. "There is a certain trust you see in the eyes of an animal, and it compels to do whatever is necessary to bring that life back to what it once was." Mack said he probably takes more risks than many of his colleagues in the field. "But I also try to be a realist, too," he said. "The reward-to-risk factor can be pretty high sometimes, so you have to look at how much benefit you're going to be able bring to the animal and the owner." Applying what he learned as an EMTMack, 39, grew up the son of a San Diego veterinarian. After high school, he received training as an emergency medical technician in San Diego, then pursued his doctorate in veterinary medicine at Oklahoma State University. He graduated in 1989, then moved to Florida because he thought it might offer more opportunity in his field. Once in Florida, Mack began working at the Volusia Emergency Animal Clinic in DeLand, using some of the techniques he learned as an EMT on his animal patients. "When I was getting started, there weren't that many vets doing emergency surgery," he recalled. In fact, much of what Mack learned about trauma surgery came as a result of his EMT training. In his years of practice he has seen his share of horrible injuries, some of which were caused by owner abuse. Once he saved a dog that had been scalded with a hot liquid, then shot twice, the slugs remaining in the small dog's head and foreleg. A passer-by found the near-dead animal and brought it to Mack's office. The mixed-breed dog was named Hope by Mack's staff, who nursed the wounded animal through the tough recovery period. When Hope was well enough to leave Mack's care, she was adopted by an Inverness family. Mack said he has sewn up cuts and gashes in animals he was certain were forced into a fight by their owners. But few injuries are worse than the blunt trauma an animal receives from being hit by a speeding car. It took three delicate surgeries over 21/2 months to repair the damage Isis had sustained in her ordeal. But more than nine months after her treatment began, her grateful owner gushes with praise for the man who made Isis whole again. "It's simply amazing what he did," said Mainardi, who now lives in Cocoa Beach. "She's as active as she ever was. You wouldn't even know she was ever in such bad shape." Indeed, other than a scar on a hind leg, Isis bears virtually no signs of the trauma she endured last November. For Mack, the ultimate gratitude comes with the enthusiastic wag of a tail the moment his patient sees him. Said Mack, "One of the most important things you learn as a veterinarian is that while you are treating pets, you are also treating people, too."
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