Ferry Ride

Weekends mean emergency duty.  Emergency duty means one never knows where one might be or what one might see.  On this cold late October morning it meant a ferry ride across Lake Champlain to a farm near Ticonderoga, NY to see a sick cow. 



Lake Champlain ferry with the Crown Point Memorial in the background

Almost a year ago during a blinding snow squall our closest link to New York State dropped into the lake in a controlled demolition.  The nearly century old bridge had been found to be unsafe due to severe cracking in the cement of it's piers.  Around six weeks later a free ferry was established to bridge the gap until a new bridge is opened.  Since we have a few farms on the New York side of Lake Champlain, we get to take an occasional ferry ride. The last autumn leaves mixed with a cold, light rain as I chatted with a former client who was on today's ferry crew.  I must admit, the forced down time can be relaxing, sometimes fun and often scenic.



Ready for surgery



Today's call was to examine a cow that had stopped eating and dropped in milk production.  The farm's hired man had already listened to her and diagnosed a left diaplaced abomasum, commonly referred to by farmers as a "twisted stomach".  Although I knew this hired man was pretty good at diagnosing a twisted stomach, he is sometimes hard to take.  He's never at a loss for words and always ready to offer his view of the situation.

"It's a twisted stomach, ain't it, doc?"

"Yup, she should be OK for surgery"

"I knew it was.  I was right, wadn't I? Already gave her a bottle for ketosis.  I coulda been a vet, you know."  Off he went, toting buckets of milk to feed a bawling line of calves.

He was right as he usually was.  His expertise could only extend so far, though.  This condition required an operation.  A cows abomasum (her fourth stomach) normally lies low and to the right of her midline. When it displaces it fills up with gas and floats up like a balloon, usually to her left side.  This is a common condition in dairy cows and it is our most frequently performed surgical procedure. 

For the surgery, the cow is sedated and novocaine in injected so that her entire side is numbed.  She is shaved and scrubbed, then from her right side I reach around pull the stomach back into it's proper place.  Everything is sewn down so she can't displace again. The whole procedure takes 45 minutes to an hour and she is usually eating and making milk by the next day. 

New Bridge Pylons

Today's surgery was no exception.  Everything went as planned, my patient cooperated beautifully, and soon after a conversation with the hired man about gagging calves I was in the truck for the ride back to Vermont.  My emergency pager was ringing and instead of a relaxing boat ride I had been speaking with a worried owner about my next emergency case.  Our ferry docked, the gate came up, and my big white truck disembarked toward my next weekend call.

Why large animal vol. 2

Slow day on the road today.  Our indian summer has passed (in the 60's in late October the past 2 days) and seasonable weather has returned with temps in the 40's and rain today.  I took advantage of the warm afternoon yesterday and planted garlic for next year - I consider it the official start of the garden season.  The 2010 garden season is still going; I still have kale, chard, brussels sprouts and broccoli to pick.  I also have spinach and lettuce growing under a row cover.



One of our client dairies in the fall



Time to sit at the laptop and write a little about why I love large animal practice.  With today's nasty weather providing just the right amount of irony, I though it would be a good time to talk about my office - or lack of office if you prefer.  Yes, we do have an office where our office manager answers the phone, dispenses supplies and generally runs the show, but for me and the other vets in the practice our real office is outdoors and in the barn. 

I've always said that large animal practice is a nice combination of mental and physical labor and working outdoors fits into that little relationship very well.  Despite the extremes and the difficulties of working outdoors I love that part of my job.  I go stir crazy in just a few hours indoors.  I'm just not cut out for the exam room and the white smock.


Our little town with the Adirondacks in the distance.


Our practice area is in west central Vermont, 5 miles from Lake Champlain, 10 miles from the green mountains and 20 miles from Vermont's only real city, Burlington.  The high peaks of the Adirondacks lie directly to our west.  Our practice area extends 60 miles north to south and around 30 east to west.  We even cross the lake and service a few farms in New York.  I've driven this valley for 25 years and still haven't tired of it's beauty. 

I try to spend as much time as possible outside.  I'm sure it drives my wife crazy when I escape for a hike or a day on the slopes when there is house and yard work waiting.  She's a saint for her patience and for allowing me the time to escape outside.  Today, though, I'll just have to wait for better weather.



Two of my favorite hiking companions 



View from my "office window", summertime in the Mad River Valley

Why large animal vol. 1

Many people ask me why I have chosen to be a large animal veteinarian.  After all, don't small animal vets make more money?  Don't you get tired of being cold and dirty?  Aren't you afraid of getting kicked?  Aren't you sick of all that crap?

OK, we all have some of those days.  And yes, the job would be a bit nicer if I didn't have to deal with crap (both the literal and figurative kind).  All in all, however, I really love what I do - and the reasons generally fall into three categories; the animals, the outdoors, and especially the people.



Young Joe with Chipper

 First of all, the animals.  I guess it goes without saying (or it should) that a veterinarian loves his or her patients.  I began my career with animals as a zookeeper in my home town.  I feel very fortunate that I had experiences that very few people get to have - from cleaning a giraffe stall to playing with a baby jaguar.  This job sparked my interest in animals and I began to hang out with the zoo veterinarian Dr. Larry Ackerman.  The tortuous road from chimps to cows may come out over time but there's no doubt that my time there cemented my love of animals.









My time now is spend almost exclusively with dairy cows, although our practice does often see sheep, goats, a few horses and beef cattle. Our exotic animals are limited to llamas and alpacas (although I did draw a blood sample from a zebra once.  The same client had some ocelots - but that's for another day).  Having grown up in a city with little experience with cows it still is sometimes a surprise to me that I have ended up where I am. 

Cows that are well cared for are among the most gentle, forgiving creatures that exist.  Not much in the brainpower department but once you understand what makes them tick and how they perceive the world you can't help but fall in love.  I've been fortunate to work with dairy cattle who are used to a humans presence and learn to trust the people that care for them.  Treat them with respect and kindness and they will respond in kind. I still love my dogs and cats but my place is with the herd and I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else.



Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog - Views from a country vet.  I hope to use this blog to let folks know what a rural veterinarian does on a day to day basis.  I'll talk about some of the characters I work with, their animals, some of the crazy situations I find myself in, and the beautiful place I am able to live and work.  I'll also share some of my views about agriculture, food production and the food system,  animal care and welfare and a variety of topics related to animal agriculture.  Since you're a captive audience, you'll probably hear about other things I love like my garden, my family, my dogs and hiking and skiing in the great outdoors.  I'm also looking forward to getting to know some of you!  I hope you enjoy this blog - please let me know what you think.