HOUSE CALL

It is not always easy to remember how we got from A to B, when it was that we knew what we wanted to do with our lives. The universe throws a lot of options— and obstacles our way—so it’s no wonder if we must stop to think, “How did I get here?” But for Barrington-based veterinarian, Alison Duke, a love of animals has been a constant thread in her life.

“My passion for animals probably started as a toddler, when my dad would wrestle with me and the family dog, Winnie, on the floor,” recalls Dr. Duke, who was raised in Indiana, Nebraska, and, since the fourth grade, in Barrington. An early interest in farm life—engendered by the Nebraska school curriculum’s emphasis on state history—increased her interest in all creatures great and small. “The image of pioneers moving west in a prairie schooner pulled by oxen is what drew me to veterinary medicine. The pioneers would not have thrived without their relationship with animals.”

In the summer before her junior year at Kenyon College, where she would earn a degree in chemistry, Dr. Duke—who by then knew she wanted a career in veterinary medicine—spent three weeks on her cousins’ dairy farm in Shawano, Wisconsin. “I drove around with their vet during the day and dove into rural farm life at night—stock car races, county fairs, trips to Fleet Farm.” The local vet suggested she subscribe to Hoard’s Dairyman, the national magazine for dairy farmers, where she later spotted an ad that read: “Do you want to milk cows on a rotary parlor in New Zealand?” Someone didn’t have to think twice. “When my Barrington High School friends were getting their first apartments in Chicago and starting glamorous jobs at Accenture and Jones Lang LaSalle, I was milking 180 cows twice a day! I loved it.”

Dr. Duke went on to earn a master’s degree in animal science from the University of Arizona and then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. After beginning her career as a dairy vet, she launched a practice attending to companion animals, “Mainly dogs and cats,” she says, “but I will work on the random chicken, goat, sheep, pet cow, rabbit, or pig.” Then came COVID.

“After 15 years in traditional practice and then going through e-learning with my kids during the pandemic, I needed a change, and for a bit, I considered leaving the profession altogether,” she shares. “It was time to be my own boss. I had loved the mobile aspect of being a cow vet, so I began to think of how could I be a companion animal vet who goes to the pet. I made a list of the drugs and supplies I would need, set up accounts with veterinary supply companies, and ordered a mobile centrifuge, a fridge for vaccines, scales, and a microscope from Amazon. I had the good fortune of watching my brother and sister-in-law start a business, Avant-Gardenscapes, and they offered helpful advice.”

As a house call practice, Duke Veterinary Services helps reduce stress for both pets and their owners, eliminating the need to transport an animal and allowing it to be treated in a familiar environment, rather than in an anxiety-inducing clinic. “I can do everything in your home—or yard, barn, garage—except take X-rays and do surgery,” says Dr. Duke. “For those procedures, I pick the patient up and go to a quiet clinic about 20 minutes from Barrington where I have privileges. A large portion of my business involves home euthanasia and hospice care. We also go to assisted living facilities that allow cats and small dogs. And I see many large breed dogs and cats, both of which can be very difficult to get into a car.”

Along with her long-held love of animals, Dr. Duke has always been attracted to living on a farm. She grew up in an old farmhouse near Otis and Old Sutton roads in Barrington Hills. Her husband, Grant, whom she first met at Countryside Elementary School, lived two stop signs away. They reconnected after college and today reside on 5 acres in the same area, with their two children, a dog, three cats, seven chickens, a leopard gecko, and a fish. “When we lived in Nebraska, our nearest family was in Illinois. School took me away to Ohio, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, my career to New Zealand and Wisconsin. I’ve always wanted family nearby. Now, my parents are around the corner, and I am surrounded by extended family in Barrington. My children go to school with their cousin, and I pass my brother and his landscape trucks on the road.”

Happily ensconced in her community, Dr. Duke proudly serves as “Nature Lady” at Countryside Elementary School. Established in 1979, with help from the Garden Club of Barrington and Little Garden Club of Barrington, the program provides a nature volunteer to every grade school in District 220. “We discuss topics common to the Barrington countryside with students from kindergarten to second grade,” relates Dr. Duke. “I love school—I was in it until I was 30 years old—so this is my way to be in school and give back to a district that gave me so much.” Following her dream took Dr. Duke far from home. But she never lost sight of where she came from or where she was going. And it seems her life has come full circle—as, dare we say, nature intended.

For more information about Dr. Alison Duke’s in-home health care for pets, visit dukevet.com.