Dogs have been immanently woven throughout the life of Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health in Worcester.
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Dogs have been immanently woven throughout the life of Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health in Worcester.
He met his wife because of her dog, a little black lab named Q, who caught Dickson’s eye at the Boston Marathon.
Once married, the pair bought their first home because it came with the opportunity to adopt the former owners’ 13-year old-dog Rusty. Rusty stayed under the care of Dickson and his wife, in the home he grew up in, until he passed at age 21.
Dickson’s son took his first steps at six months old, propelled by the tail of one of their family pups.
A self-identified introvert in an extrovert’s job, Dickson’s days are often filled with meetings, standing at podiums, and talking to elected officials.
“But I don't have to put on a show for the dog,” he said. “It's just unimaginable to me, not having a dog.”
Dickson’s connection to his dogs has been strong from the get-go, with the ashes of his childhood dog Benji buried on his home property.
“When I went in the Army when I was 18, the hardest part was lying on a bunk for the first time and not having a dog at my feet,” he said.
That’s certainly no longer a concern. Throughout his adult life, Dickson has almost always had at least two dogs at all times. Today, he’s father to Sandy, Lars, and Moxie, along with his two cats, a 25-year-old chinchilla, and nine horses, including 46-year-old Rusty, who, coincidentally, came to the Dickson family with the same name as their beloved dog and bore a striking resemblance to him.
Every morning, Dickson wakes up at 5 a.m. to feed the dogs, who then accompany him outside to feed the horses. But skipping the coffee, the breakfast, and the morning news is far from an inconvenience.
“I always feel like I've already accomplished something today. I already took care of something that's important to me today,” he said.
And while owning the menagerie of pets he does has limited certain aspects of Dickson’s life, such as travel, it’s more than worth it.
“Not so many people can take care of three dogs and 12 horses and still get to work at eight o'clock, but it's a trade off I couldn't imagine making,” he said.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
