Local veterinarian Sue Harrington doubles as dedicated school volunteer

By Kathy Anderson

For a mother of three, a full-time veterinarian, and a dedicated volunteer with the Canton Public Schools, Sue Harrington seems like the kind of person who barely has time to take a breath, but she loves every minute of her professional and personal work.

Sue Harrington with her bulldog mastiff friend Bella

In addition to owning and operating Randolph Animal Hospital, Harrington has immersed herself in school volunteer opportunities. She and her husband, Robert Fichman, bought their Canton home in 1997 and have three children, Claire, a freshman at Canton High; Ryan, a seventh grader at the Galvin Middle School; and Kyra, a fifth grader at the Hansen School.

“When my kids started school I started out doing minor things for the schools such as [becoming a member of] CAPT,” Harrington said, “but the real transitioning point for me was the first override effort. I thought it was going to pass, and when it didn’t I made the decision to get on the steering committee for Canton Pride to work on the second override effort.”

The second override passed in 2008, and Harrington has since become co-chair of MusicCounts! and volunteers to help with costumes for the school drama productions. She is now the costume designer for all dramatic performances.

“I started working with the costumes for the Hansen School, and I realized that the costume room at the high school was a disaster,” she recalled. “It was very disorganized and unusable, and no one was doing it so I did it.”

Once the costume room was organized, Harrington said she discovered many articles of clothing that were in good condition and could be used, but since there is no budget for costumes in the performing arts department, she pays for much of the fabric out of her own pocket.

Just last week Harrington burned the midnight oil to finish creating exquisitely mystical costumes for the Canton High School production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“I love working with the kids,” said Harrington, whose three children are all involved with the schools’ drama programs. “They’re fun and hilarious and I really love it. I think drama is such a great atmosphere and experience for kids.”

Harrington’s passion for the performing arts carries over in her work with MusicCounts!, the schools’ music booster club, for which a recent fundraiser, Cantonstock, raised hundreds of dollars for all of the Canton Public Schools’ arts and music programs.

“We’re really proud of how MusicCounts! is growing during the recent economy, and it’s an excellent example of what parent volunteers can do,” she said.

In addition to her devotion to her children and the schools, Harrington owns Randolph Animal Hospital at 400 South Main Street in Randolph. A Massachusetts native, she received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Oklahoma State and moved back east when she and Robert married. She bought the animal hospital in 1994 and her love of animals vicariously carries over to her ethical and gentle care.

“We really try to focus on two things,” she said of the hospital. “One is high-quality medicine — we try not to schedule too many patients in any given day so each animal is given the attention it needs — and the other is having all of the equipment we need, whether it’s diagnostic or surgical. We have a personal relationship with our clients, and that’s very important.”

Harrington is licensed to work with large and small animals but said she mainly treats small pets, the most common being cats, dogs, ferrets, birds and lizards.

“I did have to do an emergency C-section on a goat once,” she said, “but I never had the desire to treat large animals. We have three doctors here who all do surgery and see patients. Some situations are harder than others, though. One of our strengths is helping clients with the difficult process of having to put a pet down. Assessing pain is hard, especially in cats, and it can be hard to get the owner to understand that they suffer in silence. The decision to put an animal down is painful, but at the end of the day I think people are grateful that we help guide them through the process of determining the quality of life.”

In assisting the Randolph Animal Control Department, the shelter section of the hospital holds strays for ten days, and if they are not claimed, they are vaccinated and put up for adoption.

“We do not euthanize animals,” she said, “but our role is not to just take pets that people want to give up. We work with Animal Control and injured animals.”

At home, Harrington and her family own three dogs — two of which were strays brought to the hospital and one Australian terrier, who played Toto in the Canton High School production of “The Wiz” last November — as well as a guinea pig and a tree frog.

Her dedication to animals and children is an inherent quality about which Harrington is passionate but humble.

“I’m concerned about the school budget and unfortunately see another override as inevitable,” she said. “But by the same token I really believe in public education. It makes me sad that a lot of parents who can afford to opt out, do so. Every child deserves an education that they can be proud of.”

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Apr 1 2010. Filed under Business, Features, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.