Texas Equine Veterinary Association

The Remuda | Fall 2023 Edition 37 DR. V AND THE ROOSTER Bo Brock, DVM, DABVP Brock Veterinary Hospital, Lamesa, Texas It is such a wonderful life, being a veterinarian in rural America. I was recently talking to one of my good friends on the phone, Dr. V, a veterinarian in south Texas. I have always had an interest in how each veterinary practice that I know has such a distinct personality that reflects the people of the region they serve and the personality of the veterinarian that serves them. Dr. V is a character. He is one of those people that practice veterinary medicine for all the right reasons. He wants to help people and animals and he wants to have fun doing it. During the course of our conversation he told me a story of a recent client encounter that made me laugh for days. Dr. V goes down to the border once a month and stays for a few days taking care of the horses and livestock of the people in that region. He has done it for years. It is a totally different culture with some of the kindest and hardest working people you will ever meet. I have been down there many times and have learned to love the locals and how they think and the traditions that they live by in an environment that most people in America will never see or understand. Dr. V has a way with these folks. Most of them are so kind, often poor and humble, but their animals still need care and Dr. V has such a big heart that he goes out of his way to make sure they get the best care he can muster up and not lose too much money doing it. The barter system is in full force just north of the border. People here are used to trading goods instead of money, and Dr. V has learned to play that game with the best of them. The old farmer had two bulls that needed castrated and a cow with mastitis. Dr. V told him how much it would cost, (barely above what it cost him to do it) and the old gentleman approved the price and soon had two steers and a cow with a happy udder. After the procedures were over, the farmer asked Dr. V to do a few other procedures for free (since, of course, he had already paid for the essentials). This is often the way things happen. The locals get the necessary things done with the money they have and then try to get the "luxury" things done by some sort of persuasion. This fella wanted Dr. V to float the teeth of three

• Cover