Texas Equine Veterinary Association

www.texasequineva.com • Page 19 Super Bowl Sheep BO BROCK, DVM, DABVP Does it even seem possible that it has been eighteen January's since we all were looking at our stores of dehydrated water and alkaline batteries and wondering what we gonna do with them now that Armageddonnnnnn didn't occur when 1999 left? Well it has been that long. Think about it, people that were 25 at the time are now 43, sheesh, that 43 sounds pretty old. Or maybe even worse, people that were 35 at the time are now actually 53 (me), now that is really getting old. But when I think about notable January events, I always think of the Super Bowl. It is a big deal and something I always want to watch even if I don't care who wins. All the cool commercials and half time mishaps make the actual game seem like an after-thought. There was one January that occurred 25 years ago that is a bigger deal than Y2K in the eyes of Dr. Bo… and of course, it happened on the day of the Super Bowl. I was just getting settled into my chair and watching the team introductions when the phone rang. Now if you are not familiar with being a small town veterinarian you may not realize that emergency calls subscribe to Murphy's Law. Any time you set around the table with the family to eat a proper meal, you can count on the phone calling you away. If you all stay in the living room you may get away with no calls. If you want to go fishing, the phone will ring, if you want to go to town and watch a movie, to phone will ring, or they will stop the movie and page you (actually happened to me). This time the emergency was my good friend Gordon. He raises show sheep and has a flock of some of the best ones in the world. There are roughly a hundred of these ewes and they all live in a pasture just north of his mom and dad's house. The tone of Gordon's voice was nothing less than extreme. Ole Gordon is generally one of the slowest most monotone-talking humans I have ever met. But today he was rattling off words so fast I couldn't comprehend. This, coupled with voice tones a few octaves higher than his normal baritone, made me take note. It seems that some rascal dogs had gotten into the herd and chewed up the ewes. He was telling me numbers of attacked animals and severity of lesions so fast that I couldn't keep up. I finally just told him to relax, I would get my sewing kit together and be there in 20 minutes. I told him to get the ones that had been chewed on up and in a pen and we would get them put back together. I grabbed my bag and headed his way. As I approached the pasture from the south I saw about ten ewes grazing in the pasture and all the rest were in a pen beside the house. What? Maybe he misunderstood me. Surely those were not the only ten ewes that had not been attacked. As I pulled up next the pen I encountered his two daughters with tears streaming down their cheeks and good ole Gordon, still talking as fast as an auctioneer. He had penned all the ones that had been attacked, 78 to be exact. The lacerations ranged from small puncture wounds to a few that were nearly skinned. I began categorizing them and separating the emergencies from the "this can waits". I got the girls and Gordon shaving wool off the damaged flesh and scrubbing them up so I could start sewing. I called a tech and asked if she could bring more lidocaine and suture material, and we went to work. Seven hours later and over 90 yards of suture material (almost as long as the football field they play Super Bowl on), we put the last stitch in. We wound up using, over the next few days, close to a gallon of penicillin trying to keep down secondary infection. We got those ewes up everyday and washed the wounds and topically treated and flushed the punctures. And with our best efforts, we still lost three of them. But here is how life eventually shows us what is really important… ……I don't even remember who was playing in that Super Bowl. I bet you don't either. I can't remember who sang at half time or one commercial from that event. But even though I grumbled about having to miss it, I made a memory that day I will never forget. From "Crowded in the Middle of Nowhere" written by TEVA Founding Member and Past President, Bo Brock, DVM, DABVP. Available for purchase on Amazon. LEVELS OF MEMBERSHIP: All memberships are on an annual basis and expire on December 31 of each year. First Person—Regular Annual Membership..............................................................$295 Second and ird Person—Regular Annual Membership ..................................... $275 Annual Intern or Resident Membership......................................................................$100 Annual Veterinary Student Membership (Includes First Two Years Aer Graduation)...................................$25 Annual Retired Veterinarian Membership..............................................................................................................$50 Annual Veterinarian >65 Years of Age Membership...........................................................................................$150 Lifetime Membership.......................................................... .................................................................................$2,500 Annual Group Practice Membership (4+ Veterinarians).................................................................................$1,000 More details on all membership levels, available online. DOWNLOAD or COMPLETE THE MEMBERSHIP FORM ONLINE @ WWW. TEXASEQUINEVA.COM BECOME A TEVA MEMBER TODAY! MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS: • Opportunities for professional development close to home and to build relationships with regional colleagues who share commonalities. • Reduced rates on all TEVA seminars and other meeting fees. • Subscription to TEVA's publication, The Remuda, a veterinary journal and informational magazine. • Link to legislative actions in Austin, which may affect the horse, you, and your practice. • Notice of health updates and other news via email and special rates or discounts from industry businesses and more!

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