Veterinarians safe after completing Boston Marathon

Veterinarians Phyllis Sill, DVM, and Ward Conover, DVM were both reported safe after running the Boston Marathon April 15. Runners Dale Ottosen, DVM, Dave Stevenson, DVM, and Cory Mosunic, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVO, also escaped the marathon unharmed. Nearly all crossed the finish line before the race was halted by two bombs that killed three and injured more than 100.

Ottosen, of Cayuga Veterinary Services in Auburn, N.Y., finished mere minutes before the explosions near the finish line just before 3 p.m. EST Monday, April 15. “He heard the explosions--he was about 150 feet away. He saw the smoke,” Cayuga receptionist Robin Kreager says. “He tried to get over there, thinking he could help, but security wouldn’t let him pass. He said the response time was unbelievable--just amazing.” Ottosen finished the race with a time of 4:23:55.

Veterinary assistant Karen White at Roscoe Vet Clinic in Roscoe, Ill., verified Sill’s safety to dvm360 Tuesday morning. “She finished about 15 to 20 minutes before the explosion,” White says. Sill’s husband, Brad, accompanied her to the marathon to cheer her to the finish line--he is also safe. “They should be on their way home now.” Sill and her husband reside in Wisconsin with their three children.

Conover, owner of Conover Veterinary Hospital in Seguin, Texas, also completed the marathon before the improvised explosive devices detonated. Conover’s official finish time was 3:31:36--more than an hour before the explosions. A staff member at his practice says he was expected back in Texas Wednesday where he lives with his wife and three children.

Stevenson, of Abingdon, Md., ran a brisk 3:14:00 in Monday’s marathon finishing well ahead of the double explosions. “He was a fast runner, so he finished early,” receptionist Cindy Huffman says from Jarrettsville Veterinary Center in Jarrettsville, Md. Stevenson was well clear of the site at the time of the blasts. “I think he was a little shook up, but he’s fine.”

Mosunic, who practices at Newtown Veterinary Specialists in Connecticut, reportedly made it past the half-way mark, but was prevented from finishing the race due to the explosions. Mosunic completed a small animal medicine and surgery internship at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston in 2000. She is now safely home and back to work in Newtown.

Check back with dvm360 for updates on the veterinarians and their experiences after their safe return home.