Low Down Articles
Local History
Article 19 of 111
This article first appeared in the August 9, 2023 issue of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
o o o
Movie sets to X-ray machines:
Hills veterinarian career an exciting one
Quirkiness abounds but change just around the corner
By Hannah Scott-Talib
If man's best friend is dog, then - here in the Gatineau Hills - dog's best friend is Mark Froimovitch.
A veterinarian since 1975 and a Hills resident since 1979, Froimovitch has been serving clients and their animals in the region for over four decades and is now retiring.
On July 20, a celebration of his career was hosted at the Centre Wakefield La Pêche, organized by his partner, Carol Froimovitch. In a recent conversation with the Low Down, the Hills' vet recalls being taken aback at the fact that there were so many people who showed up at the event to wish him a happy retirement.
"It was amazing, I couldn't believe how many people came," says Mark. "The parking lot was full for three hours, with people coming and going."
Looking back on his career, Mark expresses that one of the biggest highlights was when he had just moved into his clinic in Wakefi eld at 101 Hwy 105 in 1982. After having operated for several years out of the basement of a house that he and his wife were renting on Pine Road in the Meech Creek Valley, he was finally able to switch to a more professional location. He recalls that, during the moving process, so many community members came out to support him.
According to Carol, local farmers helped carry the X-ray machine and other heavy pieces of equipment up a full flight of stairs, out of their house and into the clinic. She adds that other locals showed up with sandwiches to feed everyone while they worked. All in all, she says the move was a community effort.
"It was a huge, encouraging support; everybody was really happy for him," she says. "It was something that we'll never forget."
In another notable moment of his career, Mark said he remembers being asked to work on the set of a movie in 2005. He said that the director was shooting an apocalypse disaster film and had asked him to anesthetize a sheep at the farm in Farrellton where they were shooting in order to make it look dead for the scene.
Mark stated that he was reluctant to participate at first, but after the director mentioned that the only alternative would be to actually slaughter the sheep, he agreed.
"I anesthetized the lamb and when that scene started, the lamb was lying on its side sleeping, looking dead, [and] they covered it with the blood and organs and began filming the scene of a very large and loud explosion in the nearby area, with a lot of black smoke. After the smoke cleared there was crying and wailing and shouting and they centred the camera on the lamb with all the organs and blood over its body," he said. "Just as they got closer to the 'dead' lamb, it woke up, jumped up and ran away - it was kind of funny, but the director was not pleased. We had to repeat the scene two more times until the lamb stayed anesthetized long enough to complete the scene."
Mark says he had been interested in pursuing a career as a veterinarian since he was just 12 years old, living in Montreal. As a paperboy, he delivered newspapers to his neighbour across the street, who was a veterinarian himself.
"He invited me to come to his clinic in Montreal, which happened to be one of the best clinics in the city at that time," says Mark. "That's how I got interested in being a veterinarian."
Now, after almost 50 years in the industry, he explains that serving customers in the Gatineau Hills has been a unique and rewarding experience.
"Before coming here, I worked in Toronto and Ottawa, and it's not the same at all," he says. "[Here] the entire community is very close-knit." He adds that, whereas in the city he may have only seen clients about once a year, here in the Hills he has been able to develop closer bonds with his clients, who he saw much more often.
As he steps away from his job this year, he expresses his hope that future veterinarians in the region continue to treat the animals as best as they can.
"I just hope that the same traditions are continued of caring and going over the top to take care of pets," he says. "Whatever veterinarians do, they should do the best they can, and with the best care [possible]."
For more about Mark's over four-decade-long career as a veterinarian in the Gatineau Hills, he recommends taking a look at volume 39 of the popular, local historical book series "Up the Gatineau."