The Rural Voice, 1980-09, Page 9deeply involved with agriculture. "Vet
work gives you a chance to really use
your brains. Walking up to a strange
animal (who cannot tell you how he feels
or where he hurts) and diagnosing what
is wrong with him is tremendously
challenging."
Ben feels that if you are not sure of
the diagnosis, you must have the
self-confidence to say to the client "I am
not sure what this is. It doesn't look like
"A" or "B", but it could be "X" or
"Y". I would like to go back and discuss
this with my colleagues and do a little
studying. Then I'll be back."
Ben points out that the popular idea
that students are attracted to vet work
because they prefer working with
animals rather than people is a mis-
conception. "If you don't get a kick out
of people (at least as much as animals)
you'll never make it as a practising
vet," he explains.
"A vet must be able to successfully
diagnose and treat the animal, but he
must also be able to get along with the
owner of the animal." Ben believes that
as a vet "you have to get down off your
high horse" and share your knowledge
with the farmer. "The more a client
knows about vet work, then the more
inclined he is to call you early, when the
symptoms first appear, rather than wait
until the animal is a basket case."
Rural Voice learned from the gradu-
ation program that in addition to being
one of the top four graduates from the
vet course, Dr. Miltenburg was also
awarded the Holstein -Friesian Associ-
ation of Canada Prize, the Ontario Pork
Producers Marketing Board Prize and
an OVC Alumni Association Proficiency
Award.
••••••
Dr. Jim Fairies was born and raised
on a dairy farm near Gorrie in Huron
County and is the son of Norm and Edna
Fairies. He is a graduate of F.E. Madill
High School in Wingham, as are Karen
Galbraith and Ben Miltenburg. After
completing one year at the University of
Guelph. Jim joined the 1000 other
students applying for the vet course,
knowing that if he was not accepted he
could always complete his Ag course
and then return to farming.
But as he says, "Vet work was my
first choice." He felt that the selection
interview was really in depth and was a
good test of the student's poise and
ability to communicate. When he and
Karen Galbraith found out that they had
been accepted into the course they
"danced in the halls" before "phoning
home with the good news."
A BALANCE BETWEEN
HOME AND SCHOOL
While a student, Jim met his future
wife, Mary -Lou Mazer from Ancaster,
Karen Galbralth came from a beef farm near Wingham. She works at the
Goderlch Vet Clinic.
who graduated from the O.A.C.
Resources Management course in 1977.
They were married in 1976 and have a
14 -month old son, Jamie. Jim found it a
challenge to achieve a balance between
school and home life and credits his wife
with a great deal of understanding
about the long hours of study and work
necessary in order to pass the vet
course, which Jim did with Honours.
He is now working with the Harriston
Vet Clinic, and is finding quite a
change from school. "For one thing,"
he said, "some of the drugs we used at
the University are called by different
names here in the practice. And it's
quite a change learning to be on your
own after working with groups of vet
students and professors at the Univer-
sity."
Jim has had a bit of excitement since
starting with the Clinic. His first night
on call by himself, he went out to see a
gilt who was having trouble farrowing
and ended up doing a Caesarean section
in order to get the pigs out alive.
GLASSES KNOCKED OFF
When asked about the dangers of vet
work, Jim says "Well, you certainly
have to be careful. I've had my glasses
kicked off a few times." But there are
lots of compensations for the hazards
and hard work, Jim says. "I get a real
thrill out of delivering twin calves when
they are both alive and the cow is O.K."
••••••
Dr. Karen Galbraith had it in her
mind all through public and high school
that she wanted to become a vet. She is
the daughter of Evelyn and Brad
Galbraith and was raised on the family
beef farm near Wingham. She and her
two sisters have always helped with all
of the farm chores, both barn and field
work, so hard work and long hours were
nothing new to her.
Karen carefully prepared for a career
as a vet. For two and a half summers
she worked for the Wingham Vet Clinic
and then for four summers for the clinic
at Drayton. The summer after her first
year at Guelph, she worked in an
THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1980 PG. 7
4