Examining three mountain goat kids in a row? That’s all in a day’s work for a wildlife park that’s looking after 10 goat kids until they go to their new homes. “All right,” said Dr. Allison Case, Northwest Trek veterinarian, checking off her notes. “We’ve done weight, we’ve done blood samples, fecal samples, dewormer, fly spray, vaccinations, hoof trim, antibiotic. We just have the rest of the physical and we’re done.” The goat kid with the yellow ear tag sleeping peacefully under anesthetic was just the first of three to have exams that day in the Northwest Trek veterinary clinic, …

How do you give two grizzly bear cubs their first physicals? With equal measures of intense preparation, precision timing, and the caring and compassion that can be provided only by an expert team of veterinary and animal-care staff members. Oh, and you need two adorable grizzly bear cubs, too. Check. Check. And check! Fortunately the pair, one orphaned in Alaska, one orphaned in Montana, have a new permanent home at Northwest Trek. Both were so young they needed human care to survive. Following their first full physicals in our Veterinary Clinic this week, Dr. Allison Case declared both to be …

It was a fairly routine wellness exam in the Northwest Trek veterinary clinic this week – but with a very special guest. “See, I’m just extending the wing out here to look at his plumage,” says Trek veterinarian Dr. Allison Case, gently unfolding the white underfeathers of Teklus, the barn owl. Reaching with one finger, Dorothy “Doro” Oliver leaned over the peacefully-sleeping bird in awe. “He’s so soft,” she whispered. For Teklus – the Lushootseed word for owl, pronounced “tukloose” and shortened to “Tuck” by staff – it was just an ordinary exam. But for Oliver – celebrating a birthday …