Karen Every lived most of her life in Long Island NY. With her lifelong passion for animals, she graduated from Harcum Junior College Bryn Mawr Pa. class of 1982 (now Harcum College) with an associate degree. Her studies were focused on small animal and laboratory animal science and were taught research practices as well as veterinary technician training. During her college years, she worked at an animal emergency hospital and learned quickly to handle high stress situations and think outside the box when providing care for an animal.
After graduation, she worked at North Shore Animal League (a privately run shelter) in the surgery unit in the morning and the vaccination clinic in the afternoons. She enjoys educating the public on the importance of spaying and neutering their pets, as well as the benefits of vaccinations. After the shelter, she joined a 24-7-hour practice, which gave her the opportunity to grow as a nurse and office manager of a veterinary clinic.
Once she began raising a family, she shifted gears and went to work at LabCorp as a specimen processor and then worked in the send-out department (processing and handling of specialty testing). After many years of living in Tampa, in 2003, her husband, children, and she moved to Spring Hill to fulfill their dream of owning property large enough to have a horse for their kids.
Volunteering has always been a part of her life, first while her kids were in school and then later working with seniors in assisted living facilities. She would often bring her dogs Sailor, Rosie, and Jasper, all rescues, to visit the seniors. As many of them had to give up their pets to move to the facility, this was an amazing way to bring joy to their lives. She then became involved with PCAS (Pasco County Animal Shelter) volunteering in the cat adoption center and helping in the veterinary department when the need arose. She ended up adopting 3 dogs and 3 cats from the shelter. These fur babies are senior animals who lost their humans or were found on the streets of Pasco County. With so many special needs animals, she realized she needed to find a local vet who would help her manage their health issues and give them a good quality of life. That is when she found Hays Towne. Now she is not only a client but a volunteer here as well. Even though she has a "herd of turtles" at home, it is nice for her to be given the opportunity to dedicate some of her time to care for others' beloved pets. She enjoys meeting clients and their pets, hearing how they came to find each other, and working alongside the technicians and veterinarians to provide excellent, compassionate, and loving care [citation].