Melissa Wall & Robin Moylan

“Dr. Harben was our vet for 3 years and we saw a strong need to further assist him in any way we could. He has a thriving practice with one vet tech. Both extremely kind and willing to educate anyone that walks into their office, we found out that he had throat cancer in early 2008. When he went through the first few rounds of radiation it almost killed him. We tried to help the vet tech in any way we could to keep the doors open for Dr. Harben. It took nearly 2 months before he was able to come back to his practice; however we were and still are happy to assist.

Some of our duties are painting, assisting the vet in the clinic, the exam prep room and with shots, giving an animal’s history to the doctor and assisting in surgeries. We also clean kennels, exam rooms, waiting areas, the horse stall and the parking lot. There is also a need to pick up trash, weed and help to maintain the exterior of the building. In addition, we restock surgical supplies, let the tech know what to order for medications, answer phones and prep rabies certificates.

Dr. Harben also needed assistance with regards to his wife. We helped to provide extra information on his wife’s Parkinson’s disease process and bring him homemade food during his clinic. We also carry oxygen tanks for Dr. Harben from his vehicle to the clinic and prep the records for all new patients.

Dr. Harben has been hospitalized twice since his diagnosis. Both of his lungs have collapsed and he has gone through chemotherapy. Dr. Harben is 74 years old and we are happy that he is still alive and we are able to help him with his practice.

Since we have updated his clinic while he was in recovery, he has seen more patients come into his practice by word of mouth or from other existing patients. Dr. Harben has been grateful for everything that we can do for him, his wife and his vet tech. We spread the word in our community about his cancer and we had several volunteers come in and help us update and repair his office. We were able to get a new roof on his building so he could get insurance for the first time in almost 15 years!

We are happy to be able to give back to him after all he has done for us and the entire community. He is the type of man that has NEVER asked for help, no matter how bad he needs it. He always thinks about his own family in the back of his mind, while he is away from home. He never thinks of himself.

Find a need in your community and let your heart follow. It is the best thing we have ever done, and we will continue to do it. Someone somewhere, will ALWAYS need help. What you get out of it, is that you can walk away with pride and know that you just bettered someone’s life.”