The bulldog-mix with the sweet disposition was hungry for attention. She obviously had been a house pet because she knew some basic commands.
Still, the dog was found wandering with no collar near Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Third Ward when Dr. Aziza Glass received the call to help the animal.
The Houston veterinarian and star of Disney XD’s “Roman to the Rescue” loaded the 40-pound pup into the back seat of her car before heading to fill in at Affordable Pet Clinic in Katy.
“I’ve been waiting for the right dog,” Glass said, who isn’t a pet owner yet. “I’m calling her, ‘Imani.’ It means faith.”
In an industry that is almost 90 percent white, Glass is rarity. There have been so few veterinarians of color that veterinary medicine once was labeled as the “whitest profession in the nation.” Only a handful of veterinarians are Black in Houston, she said. Even fewer are in leadership positions like Dr. Tony Malone, medical director for Houston Humane Society, and Dr. Roberta Westbrook, chief veterinarian for Houston SPCA.
“There are a lot of young people who will see me and see themselves,” Glass said. “They might see possibilities that they didn’t know were available. There are not a lot of people of color in this business from veterinarians to animal behaviorists to shelter owners. There is a seat for us in this space.”
Glass is finding her space in the animal world.
*This feature story about CAHS graduate Dr. Aziza Glass appeared on the university’s website after the Houston Chronicle published it.
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