Albany veterinarian comes full circle with work at Chehaw Park & Zoo
Staff Photo: Tom Seegmueller
By Tom Seegmueller
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ALBANY – We all have childhood dreams. However, only a few rare individuals have the vision, drive and perseverance to make their dreams come true.
Austin Mobley, D.V.M. is one of that few.
Mobley can be found frequently working to insure the health of any of the 234 animals in captivity at Chehaw Park & Zoo.
“I was actually a Junior Zookeeper here from the time I was 13 through the age of 17,” the Albany veterinarian said. “So I always really liked Chehaw. I have always liked animals, and in middle school I decided I wanted to be a vet.”
Mobley grew up in Smithville and graduated from Lee County High School. Focusing on the goal of going to a college with a school of veterinary medicine, he attended classes at Darton College, Albany State College and Georgia Southwestern College.
“No one school had all the classes I needed,” he said. “I had to jump around so that I could get all the courses I needed without having to go off to another school. That way, I was able to save for veterinary school.”
Mobley met his wife, Alexis, who is originally from Americus, in an English class at Darton. Following the completion of his undergraduate studies, they moved to Starkville, Miss., living there while he attended the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University.
Following his graduation, the Mobleys moved to Spartanburg, Miss., where he worked at a veterinary practice. Alexis worked as a licensed optician as well as establishing herself as an accomplished artist with a growing list of clients requesting commission for her work. That work is something she says she hopes to re-establish here.
“She’s my biggest cheerleader,” noted Mobley with a smile.
After two years in Spartanburg, the opportunity to move back to southwest Georgia came at a perfect time as the pending birth of the couple’s daughter, Ryann Aida Mobley, was rapidly approaching. On Nov. 20 of last year, Mobley joined Karl Dockery and Jennifer Daniel, who are also doctors of veterinary medicine, creating Dockery, Mobley & Associates, where he currently practices.
“I love working here with Dr. Dockery and Dr. Daniels,” Mobley said. “They’re phenomenal at what they do, and they are great mentors as well. They have more experience than me, so I can lean on them if I have a question. I think I’m fairly competent at what I do. But it’s great to have someone with 40 years’ experience right there with you that can say, ‘You might want to think about this, too’.”
Asked him how he drew the “short straw” and got the Chehaw assignment, Mobley smiled like Bre’r Rabbit in the briar patch. Confessing that when he was first considering coming back, “They needed someone to do the Chehaw stuff and I said, ‘That’s perfect, I used to actually work out there and still know a lot of people there.’ It’s been pretty nice.
“When I first went to vet school, I just wanted to work on large animals. But the way the economy is and the jobs that are available in that field, it really isn’t practical. Working here, I get to do a little bit of everything. Large animals, small animals and exotics. It’s different working there because it presents all kinds of challenges.”
With more than 70 different species in the zoo’s collection, Mobley said he sees something different daily.
“All the animals are different, and they each have little things that we have to know how to treat correctly,” he said.
The level of care provided to the animals at Chehaw by Mobley and the staff there is exemplified by their participation in the Species Survival Program. Currently, Chehaw has a black rhino in Kansas for breeding purposes. The wild animal park and zoo is also one of the few facilities with a breeding population of red wolves.
“We treat the animals to the highest standards and level of care,” Mobley said. “Their health is the most important thing, and it is our privilege to have those animals here. They are the ambassadors for the ones in the wild. Especially those in the SSP. It’s very important that they have the highest care we can give them.
“I love Chehaw; it was a favorite part of my childhood. My daughter went out there with me the other day. It was my day off, but there were some things I hadn’t finished up so my wife and little Ryann went out there with me and she got to experience it first-hand. She didn’t really know what was going on, but I can tell her about it one day.”
In reality, life for Mobley has gone full circle and, who knows, maybe another generation has been “infected” with the Chehaw bug.
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