Horsham Vet Shares Furry and Four-Legged Memories of 25 Years ... And Counting

“My wife would say that I come to work for fun,” said Dr. Joseph DiMauro, DMV, founder of , which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

DiMauro, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1984, recently transformed his small practice into a full-service veterinary hospital that he designed himself from the bare dirt floors of a former factory on Horsham Road.

He tells his three children that people spend a lot of time working and so it is very important that they do what they love. 

It is also important, he says, to provide for those in need.

An active member of the community, DiMauro practices what he preaches in providing free services to the WAGS Rescue and Referral as well as Canine Companions. He also serves on various civic and community organizations and provides veterinary medicine internships to Hatboro-Horsham High School students. 

Sue Fox, the high school’s Working-Initiatives teacher and Pathways and Community-based Learning Outreach coordinator, said his internships help students better understand what it is like working in the veterinary field.

“He has taken our kids in internships and faithfully does that every year," Fox said. "It’s such a wonderful service that he provides because so many kids want to be veterinarians and vet techs.” 

DiMauro said that, while he does some hospital administration work, “most of what I do is still seeing animals and doing veterinary care, which is always what I prefer doing.”

He enjoys orthopedic surgery and is ecstatic about the hospital's laser surgery and a recent procedure where stem cells were harvested from a dog and injected into its hips joints. In just a few months the dog has improved. These were not embryonic stem cells that raise bio-ethical issues, he noted.

Technological advances are not the only changes that he has seen in 25 years.  

“I think people are more bonded to their pets than they used to be and more willing to do anything they can.”  

He has been there for owners when nothing more could be done for their pets and has seen some owners accumulate debt when paying for medical care. 

“Sometimes it can be very emotional for them and us," he said. "That’s part of taking the bad with the good.”

Which is not to say that a veterinary practice is not a fun place to work.

“One time I had a phone call where someone asked how much it cost to get their cat ‘neutralized,’ instead of ‘neutered.’  I guess it did neutralize the cat, too," he recalled. "The things that I’ve removed from intestinal tracks that I’ve known and loved, like pacifiers, and popsicle sticks, and Christmas balls, things animals have eaten.”

One day, at the old practice, two men from the Raptor Education Foundation in Colorado appeared with an American bald eagle, a disabled bird who could not survive in the wild. One of its feathers was bleeding and DiMauro was able to cauterize the wound. 

Another day, an employee brought his python in a cloth sack so that DiMauro could examine it.

“I said ‘ok, after appointments you can bring it up,’ and he brought the sack back to me and it was empty. I said ‘I don’t care what you do, but you’re not leaving this building until you find it,’” he mused. 

They soon found the snake warming itself on the coils inside the back of a refrigerator.

Barbara Wagner, the head veterinary technician, has worked with DiMauro since he opened his original practice 25 years ago. “He’s a very easygoing, caring guy,” she said.

“He is kind of an old-school guy but he does like to progress," she said. "Anything new, he’s certainly willing to do the research and improve the quality of life for animals."

DiMauro rises every morning to bike at 5:30 and enjoys reading, orchestra concerts and going to the New Jersey shore with his family. He and his wife, proud Italian-Americans, have been learning Italian. Not surprisingly, the family has four dogs and an Amazon parrot.

Frank Gerome, College Settlement camp executive director, has known DiMauro since the first year he opened his practice, when Gerome brought his pet to be examined.

“I can still picture Joe sitting there on the reception desk waiting for customers,” he chuckled. “He’s a caring individual, tremendous sense of humor, always willing to step forward and help people and the community.” 

“I made a good choice,” DiMauro said of veterinary medicine. “Not that I’m ready to retire. It’s been a great 25 years and I’m looking forward to another 25.”

If you go

will mark 25 years with a free community celebration featuring family activities, animals, interactive exhibits, dog training and grooming demonstrations, strolling clown and magician and refreshments today from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The rain or shine event is for people only. For more information visit www.horshamvet.com or call 215-674-1738.