The Rural Voice, 2005-11, Page 41Book Review
Recalling a vet's life
Even Cows Go to
Heaven
By Linda Knox,
The Brucedale
Press,
140 pgs.,
paperback,
$14.95
By Bonnie Gropp
I've never met Dr. Mel Knox but
certainly feel now that 1 know him
well.
A country vet with a twinkle in his
eye and a penchant for teasing, is
chronicled in a book Even Cows Go
To Heaven. Sub -titled "Veterinary
Antics of the 1960s", the book shares
anecdotes from Knox's career and
family life as remembered by his
daughter Linda Knox.
Doc Knox was born on a farm near
Millbank in 1912. In 1934 he left for
the Ontario Veterinary College. He
originally began his practice in
Chesley, but poorly -plowed winter
roads prompted a bit of a career
change. However in 1939 after being
sent as a federal meat inspector to
Edmonton, Alberta to work in a cold
meat -packing plant for little
satisfaction or pay. Doc made
another move.
After graduating as a Doctor of
Veterinary Public Heath from the
University of Montreal, he returned
home to contemplate his future.
Hearing that a vet in Owen Sound
was retiring, Doc drove up to have a
look. He eventually met his future
wife,'the former Marj MacFadden at
the boarding house where he stayed
and they married in 1943. They
purchased a clinic in town and as
Doc wanted to keep animals of his
own, also bought a farm, Rock
Acres, in 1950.
Doc also worked as Grey County's
public health veterinarian.
His daughter, one of the clinic's
"donut nurses" recounts through her
prose, her father's humour and his
dedication to the livestock and pets
he treated. Down wintry country
roads or in the clinic he delivered his
brand of care to a variety of animals,
and no-nonsense advice to their
owners.
Dealing with the eccentrics who
occasionally resided on the farms
was as much of part of Doc's
adventures as the capricious creatures
he treated. There was the man so
proud of his new bull that he
neglected the cleaning of the milk
machines in order to keep his prized
animal looking like a winner.
But there were also stories of life in
the Knox household. Most of these
were about the family pets,
Norwegian elkhounds that babysat
the children outdoors, hunted
groundhogs, fought with swans and
intimidated Jehovah's Witnesses.
The author says her inspiration
came while reading James Herriot'
books of life as a veterinarian in
Britain. "Since I saw many similar
attributes in my father's veterinary
practice I was motivated to record hip
adventures — someday."
While some of the colourful
character's dry wit is less amusing in
translation than one can believe it
probably was in 'reality. the book
creates a clear image of the type of
man Doc Knox was. It's also a vivid
memory of another era. when country
life was simpler and the demands on
the country vet perhpas even more
challenging than today.
Even Cows Go To Heaven is
published by The Brueedale Press in
Port Elgin.0
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NOVEMBER 2005 37