'He lived his dreams'

Friends, colleagues remember popular Whitefish veterinarian

Hugh Rogers was an unassuming humanitarian, a quiet philanthropist and a champion of animal caregiving, friends and colleagues said Thursday as they remembered the well-known Whitefish veterinarian.

Rogers died in a plane crash late Wednesday afternoon on the ice of Hungry Horse Reservoir.

It was his 50th birthday Wednesday, and friends and family were gathered for a surprise party at Mountain Trails Saddle Club in Whitefish when they got word the plane had gone down, said Kari Gabriel, a friend and former co-worker of Rogers at Alpine Animal Hospital.

"I can't think of anyone who lived a fuller life," Gabriel said. "He lived his dreams, and died doing what he loved doing best."

Rogers had a private pilot's license and enjoyed anything having to do with the backcountry, including flying, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.

But it was his wide-reaching humanitarian work that earned him admiration among Flathead Valley's animal-care community.

"He was one of the original veterinarians that saw a need for the Spay & Neuter Task Force," recalled longtime Humane Society volunteer Myni Ferguson. "He saw the need and he'd just be there. Whenever I had a super emergency, I'd call him and he'd be right there."

Flathead Spay & Neuter Task Force President Mimi Beadles said Rogers had worked with the organization since 1998, "from the very first clinic." Several of Rogers' staff members also helped out.

Beadles recalled the time she found an injured cat on the roadside at 10 p.m., and Rogers met her to offer assistance.

Marje Guest, shelter manager for the Humane Society of Northwest Montana, said Rogers always stepped up to the plate to help.

"He was just a champion of homeless animals," Guest said. "He wouldn't hesitate. He was such an inspiration and I can't say without crying how much we'll miss him. We've lost a remakable person and a wonderful friend."

Guest said when Rogers was asked to donate his services to help a homeless animal, he'd say "absolutely."

Several of Rogers' clients and friends remembered how he didn't hesitate to travel south to help Hurricane Katrina's animal victims.

"He just hightailed it there, without being affiliated with any group," Ferguson recalled. "He walked in and rolled up his sleeves at the shelter. He'd always put politics aside and just get on with it. He was an extraordinary man."

Gabriel said Rogers was "quietly philanthropic," supporting a wide variety of charitable causes, including the local food bank, Jaycees, Lighthouse Christian Home, Stumptown Art Studio, Back Country Horsemen, Human Therapy on Horseback and the Whitefish Community Foundation. He was a regular blood donor at the Red Cross and helped needy families at Christmas time.

He was an active volunteer for Angel Flights, a flight service for those with medical needs.

"He's one of those people you meet once in a lifetime," Gabriel said.

Several friends also fondly remembered Rogers' unique and often dry sense of humor.

"He'd say the most outrageous things with a deadpan face. Then I'd look at him and he'd have this twinkle in his eye," Ferguson said with a laugh, then paused. "It's so overwhelming to think that [he] isn't going to be around. It's so unfair."

In his veterinary practice, Rogers also made great strides. He was one of the first veterinarians in the area to perform the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy, a surgical technique used to overcome the effects of the cranial tibial thrust. Last year he delved into digital ultrasound in his practice, Gabriel said.

Dr. Don Betts of Driggs Veterinary Clinic in Driggs, Idaho, where Rogers was an associate veterinarian for six years, said Rogers' death "will leave holes in the lives of everyone who knew him.

"He was a terrific veterinarian, a perfectionist," Betts said. "He never did anything half way. He was someone you could always count on."

Rogers was born in Concordia, Kan., and was a 1985 graduate of Kansas State University Veterinary School. He did his undergraduate work in Chicago at Northwest University.

Rogers' interest in veterinary medicine began in the 1970s while reading James Herriot's books, according to a biography on Alpine Animal Hospital's Web site.

In his summers off from veterinary school, he worked as a trail cook in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and also managed a barn with 57 horses. He first practiced in Delafield, Wis., in an exclusive equine practice, then moved to Kansas City, where he was a small animal surgeon and the veterinarian at the Kansas City Stockyard.

He eventually moved to Jackson, Wyo., married his wife, Roxane, and worked in a mixed animal practice for six years. Then he moved to Driggs, Idaho, to practice for another six years before heading to Whitefish, where he purchased Alpine Animal Hospital in 1997.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com