Dr. Daniel Eubanks of the Lambertville Animal Clinic will be writing a monthly column for The Beacon.
By: Mae Rhine
LAMBERTVILLE Becoming a veterinarian was an "obvious marriage" of Dr. Daniel Eubanks’ two loves, medicine, particularly surgery, and animals.
Now a third love has cropped up: writing. Dr. Eubanks will be doing a monthly column for The Beacon on things pet lovers should know. The first on Lyme disease will appear next month.
Dr. Eubanks has a lot of experience to share with Beacon readers.
He graduated in 1968 from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor of science degree in zoology. Then, he graduated magna cum laude in 1972 from the University of Pennsylvania with his doctor of veterinary medicine degree.
He worked for two years at Delaware Valley Veterinary Hospital in Fairless Hills, Pa., as an associate veterinarian. Then he spent at year at Bryn Mawr Veterinary Hospital before coming to Lambertville in 1975 as an associate of Dr. Edward Tindall’s practice formerly at 1 Feeder St.
Dr. Tindall, Dr. Eubanks said, "was tired of being stationary."
Dr. Tindall began a mobile veterinary service, which he still operates out of the Ringoes-Sergeantsville area.
That left Dr. Eubanks free to run the Lambertville Animal Clinic, something he’d always wanted to do.
"I had the feeling I’d like more hands-on work, more of the nitty gritty. I was right on," Dr. Eubanks said.
He describes his practice as a full-service clinic for "companion" animals, such as dogs and cats. He doesn’t do much work with larger animals. The closest he remembers getting to a larger animal was suturing a bison in a petting zoo.
Another love for Dr. Eubanks is flying radio-controlled planes. His office at the clinic is lined with first- and second-place trophies he’s won through the club he joined, the Washington Crossing Flyers Association, based at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville.
"When I was a kid, I got into it with my dad," he said.
His wife, Ruth, helps out at the clinic. But his sons, Matt, 27, of Newtown and Todd, 31, of Stamford, Conn., pursued careers in engineering.
Of course, Dr. Eubanks has his own menagerie at home in Solebury Township. At one time, he had three cats and three dogs. Now he’s "dad" to a boxer named Zoe and a cat named Val, named for Valentine’s Day, the day they found her in a parking lot while dining at a restaurant.
Dr. Eubanks smiles when asked to recall unusual experiences during his 31 years of practice.
"Mostly animals eating things they shouldn’t have," Dr. Eubanks recalled, shaking his head. "One dog ate his own chain, choker collar and tags. The entire chain with all the tags."
But most of his practice is routine, he said, pointing out dogs and cats suffer from many of the same infections and diseases as humans do, but with different causes. Lyme disease is one example of a disease affecting both humans and dogs; cats, for some reason, he said, seem to be immune to it.
Besides Lyme disease, this area also sees its share of rabies, salmonella, ringworm, "parasitic things," he said.
The obvious disadvantage between treating humans and pets is figuring out where they hurt and why, he pointed out.
"My job is to find out where and why," he said. "But the good side is they’re not hypochondriacs! And the problem is not made up to get out of work!"
All animals have distinct personalities like humans, too, he said.
The cat’s reputation of being indifferent, aloof and independent is mostly accurate, he said.
"But I’ve seen cats that drool when they see you, they’re so affectionate, and ones that don’t care if you live or die, just as long as you open that can and clean the litter box."