Charles City Animal Clinic welcomes new veterinarian

Dr. Shaine Hoffman brings lifelong love of animals to work

By Mitchell Hanson, mhanson@charlescitypress.com

It started with a Siberian husky named Tasha.

“I’ve been around animals my whole life,” said Dr. Shaine Hoffman DVM, the newest veterinarian at the Charles City Animal Clinic. She began at the office last month and splits her time between Charles City and the Greene Veterinary Clinic.

Hoffman said she “wanted to be a vet since I knew what a vet was,” and never had any alternative in mind for her career.

It helps that she’s always had a love for animals. A native of Rockton, Illinois, she grew up with dogs, cats – Mike and Bill – and her grandparents’ horses and cattle herd.

She went to Iowa State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and dairy science in 2012. She decided to return to vet school in 2018 to earn her doctorate in veterinary medicine.

While at ISU, she also met her future husband, an Osage native with his own cattle herd. They currently have two dogs, Betty and Josie, and two cats, Opie and Carl.

Hoffman stated that cats and cows are her favorite animals.

“Cats are more independent, and you have to earn their affection,” she said, adding that “any day you can pull a calf is always a good day.”

That was among her favorite experiences on the job. She added that helping animals with C-sections is also a rewarding task, mentioning a time she “got to bring seven live puppies into the world.”

It’s not only relationships with animals that Hoffman finds worthwhile about her career.

“I like getting involved in the community, developing relationships with pets and their families over the years,” she said.

“Seeing a pet become part of a family” is possibly the best aspect of her career, Hoffman said.