Tedrow gets nod from Chamber

She made a name for herself caring for local people's animals. Now, she is an experienced field veterinarian for USDA. Carolyn Tedrow, DVM, is the Chamber's Employee of the Month for December.

Tedrow was nominated for the award by Kelly McKnight, whose pets Tedrow has cared for very well. In fact many area families, and ranchers, have called on her to tend to their animals over the years.

Tedrow graduated with a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota-St. Paul in 1981, then practiced in Minnesota for one year before coming to New Rockford.

She worked for a vet and pharmacist from Drake who owned the New Rockford vet clinic when she first came to the community. She later purchased Town and Country Veterinary Service, which her daughter Trisa now owns and operates, after it had been closed for some time. Tedrow sold the clinic to Nate Zieman and Peter Tjelta in the late 1990s. The clinic then came full circle under Tedrow ownership several years ago when Trisa took over.

Although she does take a limited number of appointments at the clinic, she left private practice and became an employee of the federal government more than two decades ago. Her full-time work is for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). She is a field veterinarian for eastern North Dakota, one of three in the entire state.

"We're the people you see in the white Tyvek uniforms," Tedrow said. "And when we are there, the situation isn't good."

For 20 years, she has traveled to farms and ranches, slaughter plants and border crossings. The primary work of the APHIS veterinarians is to eliminate major diseases in animals. The most prevalent during Tedrow's tenure have been bird flu and swine flu.

She also tests cattle herds for tuberculosis when an outbreak is suspected, and recently was sent to Los Angeles, Calif. to test backyard birds for bird flu. Birds are important culturally there, particularly in Compton, Riverside and Watson Junction.

Her first position with USDA was for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and she also worked at the North American Bison Cooperative for two years as a meat inspector.

She began working for APHIS in 2001, "the year of 9/11," she recalls. Initially she was in the import/export division and lived in Grand Forks. She worked at the US/Canada border crossing in Pembina, inspecting livestock as they crossed the border.

Tedrow can often be found at the vet clinic taking care of two rescue dogs and working remotely for USDA.

Town and Country Veterinary Service offers mixed animal medical and surgical services, farm visits, herd health and emergency services. They also have veterinary retail and vaccines in stock. Dr. Trisa holds vaccination clinics for pets, which are announced on the clinic's Facebook page. With the new year approaching, it's time for city residents to get their pet licenses renewed.

Do you know of someone who gives excellent care to you and your loved ones? We want to hear about it! The New Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors this monthly award, where one person is recognized each month for providing excellent service to his or her customers. To nominate an individual for this award, fill out the form online at cityofnewrockford.com/chamber or email your nomination to [email protected].