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ISLAND PEOPLE….The traveling veterinarian and his Ocracoke clinic days
By SUNDAE HORN  It’s
the third Wednesday of the month and the familiar SUV is parked in
Trish Palmisano’s driveway, stacked full of plastic containers.
Dogs, cats, and their people arrive by car, by foot, and by bicycle,
and hang out on the screened porch. “Hey!” booms a voice from inside the house. “Come on in!” It’s Dr. Mark Grossman, and once again, he’s arrived on Ocracoke with his portable veterinary clinic. “This is a good dog,” he says jovially about Polly, a yellow lab that belongs to Riggs Ellis. “Now this is an interesting case,” he adds. “She’s got Addison’s disease, which is rare – a month ago she was dying, but now she’s a whole new dog.” Grossman welcomes more of his canine and feline patients and their owners, greeting each pet and person by name. Veterinary technicians Diane Brown and Hilda Baylyss work at his side, handling animals and dealing with human paperwork. They set up shop every month in Palmisano’s kitchen, bringing supplies, medicine, patient records and good appetites. “Trish always makes something delicious for us when we get here,” says Baylyss, pointing to the fresh-baked muffins. Grossman has been meeting Ocracoke’s veterinary needs since 1992, when he first started seeing patients at Margaret Haris’s house on Back Road. When Haris moved off the island, Trish Palmisano offered her house and as she says, “Fourteen years later, they’re still coming here.” “There was a time, about eight years ago, when there were three other vets serving Ocracoke. Two lived here and one visited,” says Grossman, “but even though it was slow for us, we decided to keep coming for the people who wanted us. Over the years, the others fell away, and we’re still here.” Grossman started out spending mornings on Ocracoke and afternoons on Hatteras, but in the past few years, he has gotten so busy on his Ocracoke days that he visits Hatteras on a separate trip. He also alternates months at Ocracoke and Hatteras with his wife, Dr. Mary Burkart. Their home base is their Roanoke Island Animal Clinic in Manteo. Grossman used to make the trip down with one tech to help him, but now he needs two. “[Veterinary technician] Melissa Cooper and I did this by ourselves for 12 years,” he says, “and she still works for us up in Manteo. Now Diane’s been with me three years and Hilda’s been coming for four years since Hurricane Isabel.” “Even after Isabel, they kept coming,” explains Palmisano. “They came over on a boat, and I picked them up at the docks.” Felicity Gage is bringing her new Yorkie puppy, Lulu, to meet Grossman and get a round of shots. “It’s wonderful that they comes here,” she says. “I can just come over on a long lunch break and go back to work – it’s convenient for everyone.” Ocracoke pet owners appreciate Palmisano’s part in the clinic days. “Trish is wonderful,” says Riggs Ellis. “I don’t know what we’d do without her – it’s very generous of her to open her house and put her life on hold for a day.” Dog owner Emily Devan agrees. “She’s got cats and dogs everywhere!” she says. “I think it’s awesome that she lets it take over her whole house.” Palmisano keeps the appointment book for the monthly Ocracoke clinics, and helps Brown and Baylyss assist the doctor. Her own dogs stay in the bedroom while the other animals visit the house. She treats her house for fleas after every clinic day and scrubs her kitchen down with bleach. “I really have to clean after they’ve been here,” she says. “Sometimes they neuter cats right on my kitchen counter!”  The veterinary staff members feel at home in Palmisano’s house, and Grossman enjoys seeing his patients in a casual setting. “In the clinic, everything is so medical, and people wait out in the waiting room,” he says, but here they can see me working with other animals, they can see everything I do, and it’s completely informal. “I’ll tell you what,” he adds. “It has made me a better vet.” “It’s an art,” Baylyss remarks. “Yes, it is an art,” agrees Grossman. “I have to think on my feet. I can’t leave the room and look something up. I’m thinking ‘What can I do to help this animal – and not hurt it – before I get the blood work back? What can I do right now?’” Client education is an important part of the mission of the veterinarians. “When I first came to the Outer Banks in 1992, we were treating a heartworm case every week,” he says, and now we see one maybe every couple of months. We’ve been able to educate people about heartworm, feline leukemia… Coming down here makes it possible for people to get preventive medicine.” Grossman loves the animals he treats, and he grieves with pet owners when sad things happen. “The loss of any pet is a terrible ordeal,” says Leslie Monticone, “but Dr. Grossman and his staff helped us through our loss with incredible kindness, understanding and compassion. We’ll always be grateful. To have such a dedicated group of individuals coming to Ocracoke is truly a blessing for all pet owners.” Grossman goes outside to make car calls to two dogs that can’t make it up the stairs. He promises to call a client on her cell phone that evening as soon as he runs her dog’s blood test. Palmisano takes a call from some visitors who’ve been asking around at the Variety Store for a vet, and Grossman tells them to come on over. More cats, dogs and people gather on the porch, and Grossman greets each one with unflagging enthusiasm. “He really cares,” says Brown, and that makes a big difference.” 
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