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Wednesday, August 8,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
DCHS grad brings passion for herd health
Photos by Jessica Brown Dawson County News
Dr. Seth Stowers graduated from the University of Georgia with a doctorate
degree in veterinary medicine this year and began his own practice, Hillside
Veterinary Services, in May 2018. Stowers currently has 15 cows and plans
to grow his herd as his business continues to grow.
By Jessica Brown
Jbrown@dawsonnews.com
When Seth Stowers was
five years old, his grand
father George Slaton gave
him a bull calf for his
birthday.
That small gesture
stayed with Stowers for
over 20 years and eventu
ally inspired him to
become a veterinarian for
herd animals.
“At five years old, he
had no clue what would
come from giving me that
calf,"’ Stowers said. “I’m
sure whenever he did that
he had no clue that it
would turn into me having
15 cows some 20-odd
years later and being a
cattle vet all because of
that. I’m forever grateful
for that.”
Stowers graduated with
a doctorate degree in vet
erinary medicine from the
University of Georgia this
year and opened his own
mobile practice, Hillside
Veterinary Services, in
May 2018.
“I tried to come up with
some names before
(deciding on Hillside
Veterinary Services)...
nothing just really fit until
I really got to thinking
about how I really wanted
to incorporate the Hill
name into my practice
name,” said Stowers, who
named his practice in
honor of his mother’s side
of the family.
While Stowers has
always been passionate
about agriculture having
spent his life living on his
family farm, at first he
didn’t see himself becom
ing a veterinarian. In fact,
he planned to follow in
his father, Reggie
Stowers’ footsteps and
become an agriculture
teacher.
But then something
happened in the summer
of 2011 that put him on a
different path.
While spending his
Christmas break on a
ranch in Montana in 2010,
Stowers purchased three
registered cows and short
ly after helped deliver a
calf.
Then one hot day in the
summer, the four-month-
old calf suddenly died in
the field.
“I can still remember
when it happened. So I
was concerned because I
didn’t know what hap
pened to it so I drove it
over to the University of
Georgia,” Stowers said.
He hopped in his truck
with the calf and drove to
UGA at 1 a.m. to find the
answer as to why his calf
had suddenly died. Along
the way, he thought to
himself that helping farm
ers and their animals is
what he wanted to do.
“It was always kind of a
thought when I was
younger but I was like
‘there’s no way I could go
to school for eight years,”
Stowers said.
His father knew better
though and knew his son
would be destined to
become a vet if he could
continue through school,
and encouraged his son’s
new trajectory.
“I’m a very faithful per
son and I said ‘Lord if
you just help me get in,
you know, I vow to
always help the farmers
out. I vow to do every
thing I can to help them
out.’ Because it’s a strug
gle being a farmer and
farmers don’t make a lot
of money so anytime that
they can get somebody to
help them and show them
how they can make a little
bit more money and keep
the health of the animals
it’s always a great thing,”
Stowers said.
Now his dream of help
ing farmers has become a
reality as he travels within
a 60-mile radius of Red
Hill Farms to help treat
sick herd animals as well
as provide important pre
ventative medicine such
as vaccinations and
deworming.
“It is very exciting to
see smart young people
returning to their home
town to serve their friends
and neighbors in the com
munity,” said Stower’s
mentor, Dr. Will Baldwin.
Throughout his college
career, Stowers worked
alongside Baldwin at
Dawsonville Veterinary
Hospital where he contin
ues to work part-time in
conjunction with his own
mobile clinic.
“We are thrilled to have
Seth working with us here
at Dawsonville Veterinary
Hospital,” said Baldwin.
“He is extremely knowl
edgeable and compassion
ate and is a great addition
to our hospital and to our
community.”
While Stowers lends a
hand at Dawsonville Vet
one to two days a week,
the rest of his week is
dedicated to traveling
with his mobile veterinary
clinic to farms and ranch
es to provide healthcare to
cows, horses, goats, sheep
and pigs.
“We don’t do just medi
cine,” Stowers said. “We
give recommendations on
rotating pastures and fer
tilizing their fields and
nutrition and all those are
things that 30 to 40 years
ago, most people didn’t
know that vets knew any
thing about.”
For the Dawson County
High School alum,
Stowers wants to do what
ever he can to help his
home in north Georgia not
only through medical
treatment but by provid
ing education as well.
“I’ll be the first one to
say that I can learn so
much from some of these
older guys who have been
in the business for years
and years and years but
there’s also so much that I
can bring to the table for
education,” Stowers said.
During his grade school
career, Stowers was heav
ily involved with 4-H and
FFA. Throughout high
school he served as the
president of Dawson
County FFA, Area 1 FFA
and was even vice presi
dent of the state FFA his
senior year.
“FFA gave so much to
me. I don’t want to give
back to just Dawson
County FFA,” Stowers
said. “I hope to be able to
work with FFA students
within that 60-mile radius
as well.”
Stowers said he would
love to talk with the
younger generation in
schools about the impor
tance of education
because there was a time
he didn’t think he would
make it through college,
let alone veterinary
school.
After going to school
for 13 years then going to
college, Stowers said he
started to burn out while
he was taking his core
classes at the University
of North Georgia.
“I think some of it had
to do with the fact that I
was super passionate
about agriculture and they
didn’t have any kind of
agricultural classes there
so I didn’t really have
anything that I was pas
sionate about,” Stowers
said. “I was ready to drop
out after my first two
years.”
His dad’s voice buzzed
in his ear, encouraging
Stowers to at least get his
four year degree so he
wouldn’t regret not hav
ing one in the future.
“Shortly after that I
transferred to Georgia and
it was kind of there that I
found myself. I got
around people that were
passionate about the same
things I was,” Stowers
said. “That was where I
felt like I fit in and got
comfortable and just
made it all worthwhile.”
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