HomeMy WebLinkAboutFarming '89, 1989-03-22, Page 18/■
A18. FARMING ‘89, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1989.
Vet prefers the barn ahead of office
Four year old Luke Sturdy watches while his dog Tuffy proves ‘this won’t
hurt a bit’. Luke’s mom assists while Dr. Lavern Clark takes a blood test
from Tuffy.
Continued from page A17
and disadvantages thus one proce
dure is not better than the other. It
is simply a matter of personal
preference. The choice Dr. Clark
opts for is the left side incision
technically called the Utrecht Ap
proach.
A spot approximately 10 inches
in diameter is prepared, then the
cow is given a local anesthetic.
Other than the odd attempt to kick
the culprit inflicting this discomfort
the cow co-operates fairly well.’Dr.
Clark then proceeds by carefully
making an incision eight inches in
length. Taking into consideration
the less than sterile conditions of
the operating theatre, it is impera
tive that everything be done as
cleanly and as swiftly as possible.
The sooner the operation is com
pleted the better.
The purpose of the surgery is to
deflate the cow’s stomach by
pushing it down. With careful
administration, Dr. Clark sutures
through the cow’s stomach using
umbilical tape. He then passes the
tape through the bottom of the cow,
tying it underneath. This complet
ed he sutures the incision closed.
The entire procedure takes no
longer than three quarters of an
hour.
Another cow in the same barn
displayed similar symptoms. How
ever, during the examination a
large swelling was noticed above
the leg indicating a blood clot. Dr.
Clark informed the farmer that
little treatment should be required
and the condition would right itself.
If not, economics must be con
sidered.
The next stop on Dr. Clark’s
schedule was at another dairy
operation near Londesborough.
The cow was running a fever of 105
degrees, four degrees higher than
normal. Dr. Clark concluded that
the animal had eaten hardware,
probably from a bale of hay, a
common problem with cattle. This
diagnosis is reached by the “back
door’’, according to Dr. Clark after
all other probable causes have been
eliminated. As treatment the cow is
forced to swallow a magnet in the
hopes that it will stabilize the
offending hardware. Antibiotics
will also be administered.
The farmer then asked Dr. Clark
if he «<could take the time to
determine whether one of the cows
was pregnant. (My only comment
on this is that while an affirmative
diagnosis is most pleasant, the
actual examination is far from it.)
Ringworm was discovered on the
ear of a third cow. Dr. Clark
declared that though cattle can
receive the same medicine as
humans do for1.this, cattle may
experience side effects from it,
such as birth defects and with
drawal from milk. The best solution
for them is a topical treatment of
old oil, which is readily available
and inexpensive for the farmer.
A major portion of Dr. Clark’s
practice involves what is common’y
referred to as herd health. This is
essentially like a physical and is
done on a regular call basis every
five or six weeks. This particular
call is on a dairy farm just outside
of Blyth. Dr. Clark checks for
specific concerns and does numer
ous internal examinations to help
the farmer determine accurate
breeding times and to diagnose
pregnancies.
During these ‘house calls’ Dr.
Clark stays in close contact with his
office by two-way radio. He notifies
his secretary, Ella Ives, of his
whereabouts, while she in turn
keeps him posted on the calls that
have come in. Dr. Clark reports at
this point that he is coming into the
office for lunch before he begins his
afternoon schedule.
Routinely following lunch Dr.
Clark and his right hand person,
Bev Snell, conduct office hours.
This usually involves the vaccina
tion of pets and while he shows the
small animals the same tender,
loving care as he had shown earlier
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to the farm animals, it seems that
he can hardly wait to get back out
there in the country. His office
hours are completed at 2:30 and
Dr. Clark wastes little time getting
out of his white coat and back into
the coveralls and rubber boots he
seems so comfortable in.
His first call of the afternoon he
tries to determine why a 10-day-old
beef calf refuses to keep its tongue
in its mouth. After concluding that
the calf is otherwise quite healthy
and there seems to be no medical
problem, Dr. Clark assures the
farmer that he does not feel it will
hinder the calf’s nursing.
A dairy cow which had delivered
a calf on the previous Sunday and
had yet to lose the placenta, was
Dr. Clark’s next concern. An
extremely tedious and messy pro
cedure followed, carried out by Dr.
Clark with the same aplomb as the
simple vaccinations had been. All
Continued on page Al9
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