Dr. Patrick Mornane has had a long and fulfilling career as a practicing veterinarian. He graduated in 1967 at the age of 22 from the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he was in a mixed large and small animal practice before going to Adelaide for equine practice.
In 1972, Dr. Mornane set up what was to develop into a multi-person practice in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory and outback Australia. The practice covered many hundreds of square miles. At the time, other than an existing practice in Darwin, the nearest private practice was 1,000 miles to the south in Alice Springs or another 1,000 miles to the south east In Mt. Isa Queensland. Referrals were out of the question as it was over 3,000 miles to a University, so indeed, a lot of self reliance and ingenuity were developed.
In the early days, many trauma cases were seen and orthopedic skills were soon sharpened. Heartworm was in epidemic proportions and daily preventive care had just been released. Diagnostics were more limited and the art of veterinary medicine was very much to the fore in case selection for treatment. In addition, there were tropical diseases in canines such as Babesia and Ehrlicha, which at the time, there was limited knowledge about both and neither had not yet been positively diagnosed in Australia. And, with a pathogenic strain of hookworm, it made for a Parasitologist’s dream.
Dr. Mornane made contributions to the Australian horse racing industry by organizing sponsorship for the Darwin Cup (now the premier tourist attraction in the Northern Territory). He was involved in legislative changes and served as chairman of the Darwin Turf Club for 9 years. In the early 1980’s, he was made a Life Member and inducted into the local hall of fame .
In addition, Dr. Mornane served on the NT Veterinary Surgeons Board as Deputy Chair for 14 years. He gained a diploma in Advanced Tropical Horticulture, and his interest in botany served him well in setting up intradermal skin testing services for allergic pets, which in those days was in its infancy. He took an active interest in adaptional problems of the thoroughbred in the tropics and gave a seminar in Hong Kong representing the NT Government.
In 1992, he sold his practice, Parap Veterinary Hospital, and went to New York to do a post graduate course at the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan. From there, he was selected as the Charlie Bild VIP at the University of Florida, a position for successful private practitioners to give students a different perspective and to become current with newly introduced technologies. He spent six months pursuing his interests in dermatology and Equine Anhidrosis there.
In 1993, he completed the necessary certification to become licensed in Florida and developed Aussie Animal Hospital in Miami into a premier veterinary Hospital. A canine frozen semen bank and advanced reproductive techniques were added making this the first Miami based veterinary hospital to offer these services. It was during this time that he developed expertise in surgery for brachycephalic dogs of which Lynn, his wife, has six French bulldogs and has since retired from showing or breeding them. Dr. Mornane expanded Aussie Animal Animal Hospital to Miami Beach and Pinecrest before selling both to concentrate on the South Dade location. He sold the practice to Dr. Carlos Machado in 2010 and still travels down twice a year to help out.
In 2006, Dr. Mornane and his wife, Lynn, moved to Union in the Upstate of South Carolina to settle down into partial retirement .They purchased an historic home (Nicholson Mansion) with the mission of completely restoring it back to its former glory. He continued to commute to Miami and do other part time relief work. In 2011. he linked up with Dr. Doug Chappell, a well respected and long time veterinarian in the Upstate, to develop Care Animal Regional Emergency Clinic of Spartanburg, a very busy emergency hospital servicing Spartanburg and surrounding areas.
In 2015, Dr. Mornane founded Fairforest Veterinary Consultants. Located in Union, SC, his private veterinary practice offers a wide variety of services including Veterinary Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Consultations, a wide variety of surgical services including Orthopedics, and Advanced Reproductive Techniques. Dr. Mornane has always maintained that the secret to a long and satisfying career is investing in continuing education and current technologies, and these attributes will be foundation for this new venture into private practice.
