Second act career brings great adventure

by Candy Puterbaugh

As a schoolteacher years ago, Erin Hunt worked with energetic second graders. She never dreamed she would one day find herself in an operating room with a 500-pound polar bear. But as part of her second career — supplying medical devices for injured animals — that’s exactly what happened.

“I loved teaching, but this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” Erin says.  “Growing up, I liked animals and children, and knew I’d do something with one or the other. It’s so rewarding not only to help a patient but to see something so out of the ordinary — to touch a polar bear!”

This is no run-of-the-mill polar bear. This is Nora, the Oregon Zoo’s most popular resident, recently returned from Utah’s Hogle Zoo after a 2½-year recovery from surgery for a broken leg. Likewise, Erin is no run-of-the-mill medical device supplier. She is one of only four sales consultants in animal health nationwide for Ethicon, part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

After working as a consultant on the human side for 10 years, Erin switched to animals four years ago. She helps get products such as prostheses across the country to fix fractures — sometimes needed urgently to save an animal’s life.  Her work also includes educating veterinarians on products, sometimes in operating rooms, other times by video call.

“I advise the surgeon and help keep the nursing staff prepared,” Erin says.  “I stayed for Nora’s day-long surgery in Utah three years ago. She had a bad break, probably from roughhousing at the zoo with her bear friend, Hope.”

Being part of surgery at a zoo was a first for Erin, especially with a polar bear. As 90 percent of her business serves dogs and cats, helping with exotics like Nora is a rare treat.

Nora was born in 2015 at a Columbus zoo. Rejected by her mother and hand-raised by keepers, she came to the Oregon Zoo in 2016 before moving to the Hogle Zoo a year later. Recently she returned to Oregon.

“We’re so excited to welcome Nora back!” says Amy Cutting, Oregon Zoo Interim Director of Animal Care and Conservation. “She’s kind of like the kid who goes off to college and comes home all grown up. She has grown into a beautiful bear, and she’s been having a lot of fun exploring the Oregon Zoo’s new Polar Passage habitat. Visitors might see her splashing around in one of the deep, chilled saltwater pools, but she also might be napping inside — it’s all up to Nora. Although there’s no set schedule for when she might be out, she’s typically most active in the mornings before 11 am. Nora’s got the whole place to herself right now, but another female polar bear will be joining her this fall. We’re looking forward to introducing them.”

Erin, 50, had always hoped to work in animal health. She had a friend in the medical devices business, and after her son and daughter were born, she made the change.

“I teach a lot in this job so it’s a good fit,” she says. “My number-one priority is my patient.  This is one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had.”