Sam and Pedro
In September, Sam Kirkman will have been with Pleasantburg Veterinary Clinic for 15 years. Hallie, Sam’s sister who is also part of the PVC family, alerted him to the job those years ago and we are so thankful that she did!
Like many of our veterans, you’ll find Sam doing a little bit of everything around the office. He works the kennels (caring for your fur-babies while you’re away!), assists with social media, supplies, computer trouble-shooting, and keeps us OSHA kosher, among other things.
Wally, Sam’s dog.
Sam and Cierra tag team the kennels on the weekends, and he likes that there aren’t any distractions during this time, where he can play with the animals—his favorite thing about his job—what he calls the “perks.” He’s always been an animal person, and grew up with cats and dogs around, always. Sam brings Pedro and Wally, his two canines, along with him any days they need veterinary attention or when they want to come.
I smiled when he said this. “How do you know if they want to come?”
“Pedro crawls up your leg,” Sam laughed. “You’ll hear him running down the hallway and he will jump on your leg, scratching it, telling me ‘I want to come, too’!”
Perhaps you’ve noticed one of our family pets patrolling the office, or in greeting as you’ve walked through the door. Maybe you’ve been visited by Batman or one of our other feline friends. Sam says of the cats, “You’ve got to like ‘em. It’s amazing because cats can tell when people in the lobby aren’t necessarily ‘cat people’ and they go right up to them and jump on them — people are like “I don’t know what to do with this!”
Besides being an animal lover, Sam is also a football fan (forever Clemson, as well as the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions), racing video games, and he’s a natural at photography. In fact, he has taken most of the photos on our website! What’s even more astounding is that he is self taught from a very early age. Sam’s dad was a forensics photographer for the sheriff’s department, taking fingerprints and photos at a crime scene.
“There were always cameras around the house. When Hallie and I would go to a sporting event or concert, we’d always take his camera and take pictures with it,” Sam recalls. “He actually brought home the first digital camera, it was a 1-megapixel digital camera. It was like a big brick and ate through batteries like crazy because it was new technology… but we loved playing with it.”
Sam’s got a natural eye for photography. His interest grew over the years and then he was able to capture a special day for someone. “A friend of mine got married a few years ago and they wanted me to take engagement pictures. That’s when I got a real camera — a DSLR. From there, I’ve picked it up and have continued adding onto it.”
Take a look at some of his work and you’ll see through his lens: he has a deep love of animals and we think he’s in just the right place.
Here’s a sampling of Sam’s photography work:
