Blood Smells Surprisingly Sweet and Metalic

Came in this morning to find a “crazy cow” in the head catcher with Dr. Hunter attending. Patsy had taken a stitch on the side opposite the vet. On his side, he had cut an incision into which he could reach and replace the displaced stomach. When he got it where it needed to be, Patsy tacked the stomach there. The cow was also suffering from ketosis and was seriously cranky, ready to run at anyone she could see.

I learned how to fill out Coggins forms, picked up manure in the pastures, and groomed “Buck,” the ophthalmic patient horse. He was so grateful for the attention and started nickering at me whenever I’d walk by later. Poor guy, he was the only horse in the place.

It was an incredibly slow day. I went to the small animal side and observed two spays (was surprised at the reproductive anatomy of the dogs: the uterus is Y-shaped and looks a lot like intestines). Then came back over when Walt and Deb showed up with three steers: one for castration, one for dehorning, one for injections. The dehorning was seriously bloody work, and I left that day with the smell of it still in my nose. Soon, a pregnant cow came in, straining for an unknown reason—not in labor, so Dr. Hunter asked the owner to observe her overnight and call him in the morning. Left the hospital around 6 p.m.