All Creatures, Great and Small

Dr. Lesha (Eggers) Dawson (’10)
Name the animal and Dr. Lesha (Eggers) Dawson has probably not only treated and cared for it, but has welcomed it into her home. Even her sixth grade photo featured a baby opossum that had nearly drowned in a storm. “My parents graciously tolerated most of the creatures I brought home, and always knew I would end up caring for them as I have for all of my life,” Dawson said. Today the tolerant person is Dawson’s husband Matt. “One of the first things I told my husband was if you marry me, it’s not just me,” Dawson said. “My menagerie is part of who I am and where I go, they go.” A good example is when Dawson moved from a mixed animal practice in Kansas after graduating from Iowa State to Texas and the Bastrop Veterinary Hospital near Austin. Dawson describes the trip from Kansas to Texas like this. “I drove down with a squirrel asleep on my shoulders, one cat on my lap, one cat beside me, a yorkie on the seat snuggled up with the cat, and a brilliant red parrot on my other shoulder,” she said. “You should have seen the toll booth lady when I rolled down the window!”