The Castrating Catastrophe!

So...Have you ever had one of those days?  The day that begins with, "Hey Doc, I have a few colts for you to castrate. Can you give me a deal?" Let's just say that this has been a huge learning experience, and for the record, don't ever negotiate in the middle of the road.  

Let me start at the beginning.

The other morning I was sitting at a red light when I turned my head to see a gentleman waving me to roll my window down.  "Hey Doc, how much to cut a colt?"  About that time the light turned green. The next light stopped us again.  "Hey Doc, how much to cut 3 colts?"  I jumped out of the truck and handed the fella my card. The light turned green and my phone rang.  

I agreed to a multiple horse discount and the deal was done.

A few days later I found my way to his place.  It was conveniently located on the Moon up a 6 mile switchback gravel road at a 45 degree grade.  My truck asked me several times why were we doing this?  As I pulled up three horses were anxiously tied to the hitch rail.   The gentleman explained that one had been handled some, good to know.  

The problem was that none of them were interested in being touched, must less castrated!  

I will "cut" to the chase, but needless to say, one castration went fine, one went okay, and one was a complete disaster, complete with a thorough stomping of me, and my equipment.  

My steel bucket will never be the same...

In the end I survived, and so far, so have the "three gelded amigos."  My body is still a little achy, but that too will pass, at some point...

The moral of the story is to never make deals in the middle of a busy intersection, and always ask more questions.

Life on the Road

The life of a veterinarian has been extensively illustrated in countless autobiographies, magazine articles, and interviews.  Each one sharing the personal and many times humorous aspects of what we do.  As a student I read them all, and more.  James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small was the veterinarian to be with his wonderful adventures of barnyard antics.  

What many of these tales failed to mention is that the life of a mobile or ambulatory veterinarian is about life in a truck.  Don't misunderstand, I enjoy driving, well most days.  The summer drives up the Big Thompson canyon toward Estes Park, the scenic rolling hills of the Pawnee Grasslands are all beautiful, but sometimes the weather is less than desirable.  

The sun is not always shining.  The snowpacked and icy interstate in the middle of the night when your truck's lights only illuminate the next ten feet in front of you, and the white knuckles and the stress in your shoulder blades for fear that you may be the next vehicle off the road are all too often the reality.  Thank goodness for GPS when the daylight is gone and the address of the house is difficult to find.  

Okay, so maybe that is the reality for everyone on the roads these days.  Maybe I am spending too much time over analyzing as I drive, or even too much time talking to myself!  The other side of this is that I do it for a reason.  Yes, I need to make a living, but I could find other occupations, I could even find other veterinary opportunities that would allow me to work within a temperature controlled environment.  The reason I drive 40,000 miles a year is because I want to.  I enjoy what I do.  I enjoy the clients and the animals.  

The life of a large animal veterinarian is not exactly what I envisioned it would be when I read all those books and articles. It's even better... 

Christmas Cold

I love this job, but no one ever told me that it meant living in Carhartts and long underwear!  When the temperature is this cold, a nice cozy desk job sounds very inviting... 

Through all of the wind and cold, the owner's gratification and the care you provide to their animals makes this all worthwhile, although some hand warmers and something hot to drink is always welcome.