Dr. Lore Haug, DVM, MS, DACVB, CABC
I grew up surrounded by animals in a typical residential neighbourhood. My brothers and I at some point accumulated almost every type of small animal you could imagine (dogs, cats, rabbits, a wide variety of rodents, ferrets, parrots, finches, fish, and various reptiles and amphibians), much to my father’s dismay. (He eventually adopted the “if you can’t beat’em, join’em” approach.) In addition to the usual “pets,” we also frequently rehabilitated wild birds and small mammals, of which the owls were most fascinating. Because my oldest brother was enraptured with reptiles and other creepy crawlies, I developed first an acceptance, and then absorption, of my own (in part to prevent him from being able to torture me through my entire childhood).
I began participating in competitive obedience with Doberman Pinschers in 1980. Over the next 20 years, I titled Dobermans and a Dalmatian. I also competed in conformation, and played around a little with tracking and agility. I instructed obedience classes for many years, both privately and in association with a club. I have had a long-term love of Doberman Pinschers. Since the death of my last wonderful Doberman, Obeah, in October 2012, I have opened my heart and home to a lovely pit bull mix rescue dog, Sunny.
Similar to many young girls, I grew up fascinated by horses but unable to own one. I have been fortunate to rectify this and now have friendship with a wonderful Polish Arabian gelding.
Making the decision to become a veterinarian was not hard. In fact, everyone around me assumed that was my career path before I even accepted it myself. Choosing behavioural medicine as a specialty was a little more difficult. Although I loved behaviour, I was also rewardingly challenged by other medical disciplines such as critical care and neurology. In the end, the brain won. The brain is one of our last true frontiers. It is astonishing how much science has learned about the brain and the way it works. Yet despite this, we still have such a poor grasp on why humans and animals behave the way they do. The more questions that science answers, the more questions there are to answer. Behavioural medicine allows me to be a neurologist and internist as well. It also allows me to help people try to achieve the indescribably life-altering bond with their animals that I have had with mine.
From 1994-1999, I practiced general medicine with a special interest in behaviour and exotic pet medicine. I also have 15 years of part-time and 2 years of full time emergency medicine experience. I like to think this gives me a broad perspective when working with my behaviour patients.
In 1999, I returned to Texas A&M to complete my residency. After finishing this, I remained on faculty at Texas A&M to run the Animal Behavior Service until 2007. In the summer of 2007, I returned to Houston to begin a behaviour referral practice. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at TAMU, but I have been able to provide a broader and more thorough service in my position here in Houston.