MONTICELLO — Karen and Keith Robertson had been bringing their family to Monticello for years; however, when tragedy struck in 2021 and completely erased their home in Louisiana, moving to Indiana permanently surfaced as the next step. Karen is the veterinarian at Twin Lakes Pet Clinic, and her husband is the bookkeeper/office manager of the veterinary practice formerly owned by Charlie Anderson, DVM, who was considering retirement about that time.
It became clear that moving to Monticello permanently was a “God thing,” Karen explained, quoting Kathie Lee Gifford’s term for when something is meant to be.
“Once we bought the practice, I began thinking about how to brighten things up on the big west wall on the exterior,” she added. “Being a woman vet I wanted to represent women in science.” The Robertsons reached out to Tetia Lee, director of The Arts Federation, located in Lafayette. Working together, they determined they wanted a portrait of a woman scientist. Lee helped set up interviews using Zoom before the couple chose Alex Ann Allen, a self-taught artist from South Bend. Allen was chosen because her specialty is portraiture and she has been gaining recognition on her completed works in the renowned Bright Walls Project in Jackson, Michigan.
As for the mural, Allen created a Jack Russell terrier and Dr. Sophia Yin, and beautiful vibrant background to help draw attention to this brilliant woman scientist who affected the current training trends for pets.
Dr. Yin earned her veterinary degree from UC Davis in 1993. While in private practice she observed the toll that behavior problems took on the bond between pets and their owners. Inspired by her observations, she later returned to UC Davis to earn a Master’s Degree in Animal Behavior. Dr. Yin authored several books and produced many resources on animal handling that have helped the veterinary community provide stress-free medical care for patients. Dr. Yin is widely recognized as an expert in animal training. Her videos can be found on YouTube and her publications at Cattle Dog Publishing.
In 2014 at the age of 48, Dr. Sophia Yin took her own life. Her death had a profound impact on the veterinary community. The rate of suicide among veterinarians is double that of other healthcare professionals, and several times higher than the general population. Dr. Yin’s untimely death sparked an awareness of mental health issues faced by veterinarians, an open discussion of those issues, as well as a large support group on social media (Not One More Vet) with over 28,000 veterinarian members.
The Robertsons selected Dr. Yin as the focal point of their mural to honor her contributions to our knowledge of animal behavior and positive training techniques for pets.
“We hope that her portrait inspires young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We also hope that folks who take time to enjoy the mural and learn about Dr. Yin’s legacy will also pause to consider the important role that mental health plays in the health of our community.” Karen Robertson said. “We would like to offer The Arts Federation a big thank you for assisting with this project.”
A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts helped Lee and the Robertsons to bring this project to Monticello.
