Veterinarian Aided By Foundation to Help Animals During Fire
By Teri Merry

Matthews performing some equine acupuncture.

One of our local veterinarians, Dr. Jon Matthews, keeps a busy schedule taking care of Ramona's horses.

Matthews has been an equine veterinarian for over 18 years, and he comes from a family of vets. His great grandfather was a vet, his brother is a vet, and his sister-in-law is a vet.

Matthews was raised in Poway and Valley Center, where his parents bred and raised thoroughbreds. As a teenager, Matthews earned money breaking horses and exercising racehorses for the track.

When he started college, Matthews was originally an art major. After discovering that to make a living in art he would have to live in a big city, his rural roots prevailed, and he decided to become a vet.

Matthews considers himself about as holistic a vet as you can get. His practice blends both Western and Eastern medicine. He utilizes high-tech ultrasound equipment and digital X-rays, yet finds some miraculous results with acupuncture, chiropractic work and nutrition.

Veterinarian Jon Matthews checks on the condition of one of the horses burned in the October Witch Creek fire. The horse is making a steady recovery. Photos by Regina Elling

His start in Eastern medicine was a bit by chance. He didn't really believe in acupuncture. About 15 years ago, he was treating a horse with colic. He was inserting a needle in various places on the horse's abdomen to try to aspirate some fluid out of the horse's belly.

At one placement of the needle, the horse went from extreme pain and anxiety to being comfortable and normal. Both he and the owner looked at each other and he said, "What just happened?"

He thought that something huge and miraculous just occurred that was outside of his Western medicine education. His acupuncture interest was piqued, and he continued to explore and learn about alternative medicine.

One of the acupuncture miracles that Matthews has witnessed occurred in a service Labrador who belonged to a paraplegic friend of his. The dog developed severe hip dysplasia at a young age, and he could no longer jump into his friend's van to assist him away from home.

Matthews treated the lab with acupuncture. Following treatment, the dog turned and jumped into the van effortlessly, which he had not done in months.

During the fires, Matthews treated all kinds of animals for burns and injuries, including abandoned or injured animals rescued by the humane society and firefighters. The firefighters even brought him burned wild bunnies that were found.

He said he knows of 10 horses that perished in the fire, and he treated an additional 10 for severe burns. The horses that perished were inside barns that burned or trapped in pipe corrals adjacent to homes or barns that burned.

He said the horses that did the best were away from flammable fuels, such as structures or trees, and were in an open pasture area.

During the fires, the Teddy Cole Foundation for Horses Inc. of Beverly Hills came forward to help.

Foundation representatives told Matthews they wanted to make sure that the burned or injured animals got the best medical care. This included animals that were rescued and the owners were unknown, animals of owners who had suffered the loss of their home, or animals whose owners could not financially provide necessary treatment.

Matthews said if anyone is looking to donate to a fund that provided care for our animals during the fire, he would recommend a donation to the Teddy Cole Foundation.

Veterinary problems didn't end after the fires. For the following two weeks, Matthews treated a lot of horses for colic, especially among older horses. He believes it is due to the stress of fear from being threatened by fire if left behind and/or the stress from evacuation and relocation efforts.

Matthews said compared to the 2003 Cedar fire, everyone was more prepared this time around. He said the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, fire departments, animal services and humane society all worked well together. Because of this, he believes a lot of animals were saved. He also said Ramona's horse owners were more prepared.

Each time disaster occurs, Ramona's horse people learn more about how to take care of themselves and their animals before and during an emergency. Many resources are available on the Internet to help horse owners learn about animal preparedness for an emergency.

Hopefully, when disaster strikes again, we will continue to make progress in helping to keep our animals safe. And, when injuries occur, we are fortunate to have skilled veterinary care available to help.

Jon Matthews, DVM, can be reached at Matthews Equine Services by calling 760-789-5334.