DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Casey Broom
Casey Broom
Since childhood, Casey Broom has known she wanted to help animals. She grew up with horses, dogs, cats, chickens, and ducks and her passion for animals has never waned.
After she completed the two-year veterinary technician program at Hinds Community College, she began working at the Animal Emergency and Referral Clinic in Flowood, which was acquired by MSU-CVM in May 2020.
She spent 2.5 years working in the emergency department and followed that with time in the surgical unit. But when the rehabilitation unit opened two years ago, Casey found the perfect place to connect with patients.
Under the direction of Dr. Wendy Byrd, Casey helps patients with underwater treadmill therapy, laser therapy, and land therapy. Land therapy includes walking over poles, weaving through cones, and balancing on BOSU balls.
“We do a lot of things that would be familiar to human patients who have had surgery and need rehabilitation,” Casey explained.
Casey loves the long-term relationship she gets to establish with her patients.
“It’s rewarding to have patients come in with arthritis, neurological diseases, or other complications and help them achieve a more pain-free life,” she said. “I get close to the owners and the patients because we work together over an extended period of time. They’re excited to come in and I get to see greater improvement.”
Since animal rehabilitation is a newer field, Casey wants more people to know how it can help their pets, especially older dogs.
“Mobility is a big deal for extending the life of older animals, and rehabilitation helps with that and their overall quality of life,” she said.
Casey has horses and enjoys trail riding and camping. Her four dogs, Lulu the chihuahua, Roscoe the blue heeler, Neveah the bull terrier, and Benny the standard poodle, keep her company. Benny is in training to be a certified therapy dog so he and Casey can bring canine comfort to children’s hospitals and nursing homes.
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