When nature calls

Many of us love animals. Many of us have pets. We have dogs, cats, toucans, horses, squirrels, and monkeys. No we don’t! Michelle Lourenco has had more four-legged friends than many of us could imagine and has trekked through the natural beauty of the Northern Range just as much as most of us have been to the mall. Lourenco, manager of the North West Veterinary Clinic, led a nature-filled life from birth. “My parents owned a horse farm in Arima and I spent a lot of my early days with my mom who worked at the farm. I absolutely loved nature; hiking to different places, hiking in Mayaro, Paria and all over,” said Lourenco.

When asked what her childhood aspirations were, she replied, “I really never had any concrete ideas on what I wanted to do or be, I just knew that I enjoyed nature a lot, I loved being in the bush and loved being around animals. I thought that I would do some volunteer work with animals, but I never envisioned myself doing what I’m doing now.” She recalled a painful experience a ten-year-old Michelle endured while at a racetrack. Lourenco said solemnly, “There was an injured horse on the track. I saw it put down! They just took a gun and shot it! What left me even more horrified was that even before the animal was killed there were men with knives waiting to cut the meat off! Horses are some of the most beautiful animals and to know that at one minute they were being praised for winning races and in an instant became someone’s soup was horrible. I think that that really galvanised my dedication to animal welfare. “Animals, just as humans are to be treated with dignity. If you don’t value animals just as all living things, it says something about you.”

Lourenco is currently a volunteer with the Animal Welfare Network, playing a critical role in numerous animal rescues and other animal safety activities. Her pursuits at the University of Western Ontario offered no hint of what her true passion was. “I wanted to be a journalist. The idea was that I would focus on nature, somewhat in the fashion of National Geographic. However, my first course in journalism was boring and my dad didn’t see journalism to be a good career choice, especially since, at the time, there was only one TV station and one newspaper (in TT). I ended up doing a degree in Human Resource Management,” said Lourenco. One night at a party Lourenco met someone who would take her off the Human Resource path and back along the nature trail. “I met my husband, (Dr Hatto Pidduck) who had also just returned from Canada. We had similar interests. We both loved nature, and basically, with him being a veterinarian, we were both willing to stop the car and pick up an animal in need, even if we were on the way to a party,” said a now enthused Lourenco.

Her vehicle is basically an animal ambulance. She spends countless hours at the clinic, and doesn’t falter in her commitment to her husband and son. So what time does she have for recreation and where does she hang out when she gets the chance? “My work gives me a great deal of satisfaction but for recreation, my family and I tend to go to Mayaro a lot. I like beach combing with one of my dogs, but I need to start hiking again,” declared Lourenco. Believe that she will.