The Runaway Heifer

When people first said ‘you should put your body on the line for your job’, they most certainly had vets in mind!

My morning of preg-testing, while incredibly exciting in and of itself, gave me more excitement than I had expected thanks to one escaping cow.

The incident occurred while preg-testing my grandparents’ cows (which are lowlines – basically an Angus but a lot smaller). The experience was exciting enough as it was, as it was the first time I had preg-tested a lot of animals with real management decisions resting on my abilities.

Unfortunately some heifers (young cows) had broken into the paddock the breeding females were in so we had to draft them out, an easy enough task. Usually!

This photo is of some of the cows from a different day – this story is set firmly in overalls-and-gumboots territory

The Power of a Cow

The phrase ‘But you’re not a real Doctor” is one that every veterinarian has no doubt heard within their career. I’m only a student, yet if I had a dollar for every time I’d heard it I’d probably be able to pay off my student loans!

What this question suggests is that there is something inherently more valuable about the role of a veterinarian in comparison to a human physician. You may be thinking right now ‘of course, a human’s life is more important than a dogs.’ On this point I would be forced to agree with you. If I had to choose between giving life saving medication to a small child or to a kitten, the child would win out every time, regardless of how cute the kitten was or how adorable its little tiny paws were. This scenario is a convincing one, however it fails to capture the true nature of what a veterinarian is. A veterinarian’s role does not end with their patient; after all, a horse can’t use an ATM!

In all seriousness, the animals that we treat are not individual entities. They are members of families, sporting partners, loved and loving companions, and for many people around the world they provide a livelihood. The production of food and fibre from animals is an essential part about what makes us human. The value of these animals is the reason why veterinarians came about in the first place – the word veterinarius in latin means ‘having to do with beasts of burden’. For many veterinarians, these ‘beasts of burden’ make up the majority of their work and they can have a huge impact upon the lives of the people whose animals they work with. This is my story about how these veterinarians can change lives, and why not being a ‘real doctor’ doesn’t change the impact we can make.