Veterinarian lands honor of working at Nate's in Lakewood Ranch

Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue Center is hoping it has found the perfect fit for the organization's first on-staff veterinarian and medical director.

Nate's hired Dr. Sharon Pindar in January even thought Pindar wasn't their first choice. 

The first choice was another Pinder, her husband Erik.

A Nate's Honor board member reached out to Erik Pinder, a veterinarian with non-profit experience, to gauge his interest in the job. The position was created as part of an expansion that later this year will include the opening of a public veterinary clinic.

Courtesy image

“He said ‘Nope, this is way too much organizational and administrative stuff for me, but it’s perfect for my wife," Sharon Pindar said in a telephone interview, adding it was her introduction to the job and to Nate’s Honor itself. “The more I learned about it, the more people I met, the more it seemed like a great fit and a great opportunity."

Sharon Pindar, 37, is a 2014 graduate of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine

She said the clinic will offer affordable-care options. It will also reduce Nate’s Honor’s need for external veterinary services, helping streamline care and reduce expenses.

After two months on the job in Lakewood Ranch, Pindar said she is getting into the flow while working with Executive Director Dari Oglesby.

“I’m excited about the vision of the place, having an animal shelter and a clinic with the goal of supporting families and their pets so that we can keep more pets out of shelters," said Pindar, who said the design of the expanded facility on Lorraine Road is conducive to a certain tranquility — for people and pets alike. “I’m used to walking through a crowded shelter with lots of barking, and you can’t hear yourself think. It’s so quiet here. It’s just so obviously a great place for animals to be as least-stressed out as possible in a shelter environment, which is very special."

Pindar comes to Nate’s Honor from roles in private practice and more recent positions with non-profits, including Southeastern Guide Dogs, and most recently, the SPCA of Tampa Bay. Since 2020, Pindar oversaw veterinary care there as director of shelter medicine.

While the Nate’s Honor clinic will be open to the public, Pindar said the organization does not intend to compete against area animal hospitals. In fact, leaders have collaboration on their minds, especially when it comes to helping serve clients who might not be able to afford treatment. Working for a non-profit, she says, often takes a little different mindset.

“One of the things that I learned is just how much every department impacts every other department and for things to operate cohesively, you have to think about the bigger picture all the time, and that’s just how my brain has grown to work," she said.

As the clinic moves toward opening, Oglesby and Pindar have been on something of a listening campaign, seeking out similarly operating high-volume, low-cost practices for best practices and good ideas to include locally.

One of those ideas involves a holistic approach to veterinary treatment, one that not only concerns itself with pets but also their owners.

“We’ve been able to keep so many more pets in their homes, and that’s the goal of what we’re trying to do partially with the clinic at Nate’s is to provide people with support so they can keep their pets if possible," she said.

The notion of veterinary social workers could find its way into the Nate’s Honor operation. The idea is to look at the root causes of why an owner might consider surrendering his or her pet for adoption. Among common concerns that could lead to an animal surrender are — Is there a price barrier to vaccines? Is a needed surgery cost-prohibitive? Regular access to food?

“Veterinary social workers help support people and families so not only is their pet being taken care of, but also the person’s needs are taken care of," Pindar said. “That’s something Dari and I have talked about, bringing in a veterinary social worker and I think that’s great."

Pindar’s hiring is part of the organization’s Journey Home capital campaign, a $16 million expansion nearing completion after its 2019 launch. It includes a new 23,000-square-foot Welcome & Adoption Center with a veterinary clinic, a training facility, 10 dog cottages and other buildings.

Pindar said the ultimate goal is to hire three more veterinaries to join the staff, adding that a lot of her work these days revolves around determining protocols for how the new clinic will work and connect with the other segments of Nate’s Honor.

She said part of that process is listening. A lot.

“I am always open to the idea that I can learn things from anyone,” she said. “I definitely had pet owners teach me things about their dog and their breed that I didn’t know."