Longtime vet retiring after 25 years of service

Dr. Kim will remain available to help with surgery demand at Maui Humane Society

Dr. Miyo Kim's home is often filled with a few foster pets -- this is the "hazards of the job" for someone who has spent many hours for the past 25 years caring for and providing medical attention to animals at the Maui Humane Society.

"I've tried to really watch and control myself so to speak, but all the animals that I've gotten have been rescues," Kim said with a laugh on Thursday. "I just adopted two of my foster kittens about three years ago and I just adopted a little dog two years ago."

And after about 42 years total in the veterinary medicine field and thousands of surgeries later, Kim will be retiring from the shelter as the Maui Humane Society Director of Veterinary Services.

However, she won't be stepping away entirely as she plans to continue helping with the occasional surgery as needed.

"For many people who have adopted a pet, people tell me 'I'm saving this animal, but really that animal is saving me' because, you know, the animals give so much back to us, so that's really rewarding when you see that bond and knowing that you're helpful in maintaining that bond," said Kim. "I just feel so fortunate to be in a profession where I feel I made a positive difference everyday in an animal's life and in many people's lives."

With the additional time, Kim plans to spend more time with family and assisting her mother who recently turned 99 years old, as well as tend to her garden.

The Waiehu resident said that "it's really been amazing" to reflect on her time at the shelter, where she started off as a part-time employee and a new mom. It was just Kim and one veterinary technician working out of a "little room" that was utilized as the vet department, which contained one surgical suite.

MHS has since expanded about four times the size and implemented new programs that aim to support the animals and their owners, she said.

"We've just really grown over the years, so it's just been exciting to see how much more we can do to help the animals," said Kim, "It's just something that I've been proud of and to have been associated with that."

Veterinary medicine can be challenging and includes long hours, but is also very rewarding, Kim said. Being a part of the shelter's progress was one of her favorite things about working at the Maui Humane Society, as well as making an impact in the lives of many.

With the help of volunteers, animals are loved and cared for every day, Kim said. Shelter dogs, in particular, are taken on daily walks, to play with other dogs and toys, to attend the Beach Buddies program off campus, and just to "live a busy and stress-free life."

"For some of those dogs, they probably have never had that before," she said. "Some come from areas where they were tied up all day or had to live in a kettle at home, and coming to the shelter knowing that they can actually go out and run around and go on hikes and go to the beach and go and play sports with people -- it's a good feeling knowing you made a difference and you've given this dog a positive chance at a happy home."

The mother-of-three was born and raised on Hawaii Island and later received her veterinary degree from Washington State University. She was in private practice on Oahu for 13 years until her family moved to Southern California. After three years on the Mainland, Kim relocated to Maui where she continued her career at MHS.

She has been a shelter veterinarian with the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians.

"It's difficult to explain how valuable Dr. Kim has been to MHS over the years. She has been directly involved in increasing MHS lifesaving efforts over 25 years and has brought MHS to where it stands today," MHS CEO Steve MacKinnon said. "Her love of animals and her contributions to the community are immeasurable."

Maui Humane Society veterinary clinic staff juggle the medical needs of the shelter's growing population of nearly 400 animals needing adoption and the additional couple hundred animals living in foster care homes, a new way of sheltering that Kim believes may become a rising trend.

There is also a low-cost spay/neuter clinic, specialized Hope Fund surgeries, and services to respond to trauma cases requiring immediate emergency care.

Kim said she was averaging between 1,000 to 3,000 surgeries a year at the Maui Humane Society as a single vet.

"It just feels great when you've done all those surgeries and see all those animals fixed, and you go 'wow, I really made a difference in the animal world,' " she added.

A second vet joined the staff about five years ago, making their new goal to complete 7,000 per year, which they were achieving except during the COVID-19 pandemic -- shelters nationwide shutdown public surgery services to preserve PPE and medications for the human world.

"Once we started to open back up again, we saw that there was a huge need and there still is a huge need," she said. "We've been booked out about two months in advance" . The positive side is that we learned a lot from COVID and the community came out in droves to help foster our animals, which was amazing because we ended up with very few animals at the shelter and the majority out in foster."

MacKinnon said the MHS is "thrilled she will still be assisting us periodically in surgery but her constant presence will be missed."

"We are so thankful for her service and wish her well in the next chapter of her life," he added.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.