Open Wide, Please

The sheep were sneezing, the golden lion tamarin was nursing an ear infection, a chicken with an attitude had pecked open the pig’s ear, and the gorilla needed a look-see after a tussle with his roommate left him with a gashed foot and a shiner.

It’s all business as usual for Santa Barbara Zoo veterinarian Susan Hoegeman. Following her on rounds is a little like going on safari with the cast of television’s “ER.”

And the public can do just that on a behind-the-scenes tour that the zoo has begun offering. A few times a year, people can spend part of a Saturday tailing Hoegeman in programs--one designed for children, the other for adults--that give an idea of what it’s like to be a veterinarian.

When the first “Rounds With the Vet” program began last year, zoo officials found out that it wasn’t just kids who were intrigued by zoo animals and their caretakers.

“The adults were asking questions over the kids’ heads,” said zoo spokeswoman Kelly Rogers.

Surprised by the amount of interest, the zoo opened adults-only rounds. The next one is Feb. 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $25, $20 for zoo members.

Kids in grades fourth through ninth can take a similar outing with Hoegeman this Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., during the program “So You Want to Be a Vet.” Cost is $35, $30 for members.

Tagging along with Hoegeman, you won’t see major surgery on a lion or slip in for a touchy-feely one-on-one with a monkey. But the program starts before the zoo opens and takes the group to some off-limits areas the general public never sees.

In the elephant barn, they’ll observe how Hoegeman and the keepers do their daily hoof-and-mouth check on Mac and Susie, two 27-year-old Asian elephants. At the “open” command, the pachyderms, both behind a gate, open their mouths wide and stick out their huge, fleshy pink tongues.

Hoegeman has time for a leisurely gaze at how Mac’s impacted wisdom teeth have healed.

Another command, “rest it,” prompts the elephants to prop a foot on the gate’s railing so the vet and keepers can check their toenails, which must be trimmed daily.

Rounds aren’t always so predictable. While checking on the hen-pecked Vietnamese potbellied pig recently, Hoegeman spotted a problem with one of the other animals in the farmyard exhibit--a sheep with a possible eye infection.

A simple injection of antibiotics was the solution, but there was nothing simple about it. Using food, keepers spent 15 minutes trying to lure the skittish animal into a holding pen where they finally held it down for the shot.

There were other animals to look in on, such as the coatimundi (a raccoon-like carnivore) whose tail was gashed in a recent fight. But much of the time, Hoegeman doles out interesting tidbits about the animals and how she cares for them.

Take the 15-year-old wallaby she had to treat for cataracts: “I got on the Internet with a vet in Australia--I got the best person.” Or the zoo’s efforts at preventive medicine: “We’re religious about cleaning everybody’s teeth.”

Although observers likely won’t see her perform procedures on the animals, that could change later this year when the zoo opens its new clinic. Until then, they will look at X-rays and try their hand at the dart gun used to anesthetize animals for treatment, contraception or sometimes to give vitamins. The target won’t be animals, but pumpkins, and the darts won’t have needles or drugs.

BE THERE

“Rounds With the Vet” and “So You Want to Be a Vet.” For information or to register for classes, call Santa Barbara Zoo, (805) 962-5339.