Introduction
I have been inspired to start writing some of my more memorable, and not so memorable experiences as a rural veterinarian working in a mixed animal practice. Along with being a veterinarian in our...
View ArticleAgility training
I asked my wife what would be a good story to start introducing myself and my work and this was it. Some day last week I was on my way to the third farm stop of the day. As a fairly new person to the...
View ArticleTwo toes
Right now we are in a cold spell in North Dakota so I like to reminisce about the warmer days of summer. One of the things that I thought was the strangest service that we offered as a clinic is what...
View ArticlePorcupine encounters
Many people have heard of or seen dogs that had a run-in with a porcupine. While in truth any animal curious enough to check out the slow moving porcupine can earn some new facial piercings (I have...
View ArticleA hectic day in the life
First of all I have to qualify this by saying normally we have one vet work on Saturday and one on back-up. Unfortunately, on this particular Saturday, with holiday travel and events, I was on my own....
View ArticleGlenda the Goat
I am sure when Mrs. Jones and daughter came to the clinic with Glenda there was a fair amount of excitement in the preparations. Glenda was due to give birth for the third time. They thought she had...
View ArticleCowboys
One of the adjustments that I had to make coming to North Dakota was the change from "ranchers" to "farmers". Essentially what I mean by this is I grew up in ranching country in Northern Montana where...
View ArticleWinter
One of the first questions that I asked before I came to North Dakota to visit was, "How bad are the winters really?" Now keep in mind that I grew up in Montana so a little cold doesn't frighten me....
View ArticleMonkey?
I was out at a farm to pregnancy check and "Bangs" (Brucellosis) vaccinate some heifers. Things seemed to be moving along at an okay pace until we got one heifer that was just a little too impatient....
View ArticleSad Cat
I realized I hadn't posted any stories about cats. I will admit they are not my very, very favorite patients (the whole claws on every foot, sharp teeth, reflexes much faster than my own, and a...
View ArticleAnger management
Springtime in a mixed animal practice generally means one thing: calving season. Saturday was a usual busy calving day with a wide variety of calls from farmers with sick calves, calving problems, and...
View ArticleC-section on the side
Many times I have pondered how things would be different had I decided on human medicine rather than veterinary medicine. Often when working with farmers or pet owners they comment on how much smarter...
View ArticleWallow
If I could choose to be an animal it would not be a pig.It had already been a very busy weekend on call with more than enough challenging and patience-trying cases to go around. I was driving home and...
View Article6th Grade
Calving season is finally slowing down. Although the entire season has potential for unusual and unexpected things, sometimes the end brings the biggest surprises. Yesterday and the week before I had...
View ArticleGuts?
Before starting practice I thought I had a pretty good idea of the types of things I would be seeing and the calls that I would get from clients. Of course I was wrong in that assumption and now it is...
View ArticleI wish not
Most of the time I love my job as a mixed animal veterinarian. There are very few times that I look at what is going to be coming in and have an unpleasant intrinsic reaction. One thing that can really...
View ArticleNot always Rabies
Living in North Dakota brings with it some unique experiences. One thing very common here that I haven't had to deal with anywhere else is Rabies. It is a big problem and we have several cases a year....
View ArticleTop Ten
If it is not number one then this day has to be close. Number one worst day ever, that is. It started out with food poisoning trips to the bathroom from 2 am to 7 am, but I won't go into details. After...
View ArticleSometimes people make me wonder
Today was a funny people day. As a veterinarian I hear this a lot, "Oh it must be nice working with animals, and not have to worry about working with people." I think they forget that the animals don't...
View ArticleStuds
Of all horses that I deal with I would have to say that stallions come with the most baggage. I think this stems from many things. First of all they are ruled by testosterone; probably more so than any...
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