My sister Adele, owner of 6 Ranch Livestock, takes over the podcast this week! Brooke Hoffman, a local veterinarian, gives a really interesting perspective on the challenges of being a vet in a small town. Her return to her roots after vet school, choosing family and community over potentially greater financial rewards elsewhere, paints a picture of dedication and love for both her craft and her upbringing.
This episode is a testament to the spirit of those who serve rural communities. We discuss evolving dynamics within the field of veterinary science, the ethical considerations ranchers face with antibiotic use, and the importance of community.
Check out the new DECKED system and get free shipping.
My sister Adele, owner of 6 Ranch Livestock, takes over the podcast this week! Brooke Hoffman, a local veterinarian, gives a really interesting perspective on the challenges of being a vet in a small town. Her return to her roots after vet school, choosing family and community over potentially greater financial rewards elsewhere, paints a picture of dedication and love for both her craft and her upbringing.
This episode is a testament to the spirit of those who serve rural communities. We discuss evolving dynamics within the field of veterinary science, the ethical considerations ranchers face with antibiotic use, and the importance of community.
Check out the new DECKED system and get free shipping.
driving out like way out like an hour outside of town at 2 am in a blizzard to go do a uterine prolapse. And I get there and she's not caught. So we end up stretching her between an ATV and a truck with toe straps and I'm just like this, like nobody teaches you this in vet school this is never in the curriculum like how to survive the situation, like how to survive the situation.
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Speaker 3:This is adele shaw. I'm james nash little sister. He let me take over the podcast today, and I invited Brooke Hoffman here because I, brooke, I think your story is so cool, one I relate to a lot just because you grew up here, left here and chose to come back here after having gained skills and assets that could contribute to this community, and I think that so many of us little girls growing up loving animals, we're thinking, oh, I'll just become a vet. Animals. We're thinking, oh, I'll just become a vet because that's what I want to do forever is be around animals.
Speaker 3:And I know for me, I said that. And then I looked at vet school and I was like, maybe I'll stick to ranching, but you could be maybe making more money and working a little less somewhere else, and you chose to come back anyways, and I think, for all those little girls who have those big dreams of becoming a vet and still having a family and still choosing to be in a place and doing a thing that they love, you did that, so can you maybe start with just growing up here and your dad, who we had on the podcast before, was a vet, and you still chose to become a vet and just kind of start there like growing up here and what that was like yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:It's so fun to be here. Yeah, so I guess I yeah, I was born and raised here in the county and obviously spent a lot of time at the vet clinic, like you mentioned, because my dad is also a veterinarian here who I have the pleasure of working with, which not many can say, I guess, the pleasure and the working with their dad part. So yeah, I was born and raised here and we know, was involved in everything 4-H, ffa, sports, all of that jazz. And then I always wanted to come back. I never thought I would go anywhere else, which is a little bit different, I think, and was kind of reassuring I'll get to it later but I had some thoughts about going somewhere else for a little bit, but always knew I wanted to come home eventually. I loved growing up here. My family has a little bit of property outside of town so you know grew up on a farm and my dad and I spent a lot of time together like hiking and packing in the back country and then we're both archery hunters, so we do that together and so the county always, you know it was like everything I ever wanted to do is here. I remember my brother asked why I wanted to come back here, because he was just shocked that I would want to come back because he did not and I told him where else would I go? Everything I like to do is here, but it was really fun.
Speaker 1:I really enjoyed growing up here and it was really hard to leave to go to college but I always knew I wanted to be a vet.
Speaker 1:So when I graduated from high school I went to Oregon State for both undergrad and vet school and I really loved it there. Actually it's a pretty small town for as big of a university as it is Definitely a lot bigger than here, but still relatively small, and I love it's. You know it's like originally an ag community and so it felt like, you know, there was a there's a big ag presence there which I really liked. So that was a little nicer transition for me. So I did a degree in animal science with a pre-vet option and did that in college and then decided I got in a couple places for vet school and decided to stay where I was because I had a church community and like local community that I kind of built there and I felt really good about staying. So I and it's the smallest. At the time it was the smallest vet school class size in the country which I really liked.
Speaker 1:I really liked this, how small there were like 56 in my class, I think. So we're a pretty small group. So I went through vet school and then, like you said, it was very. You know, they weed you out every year, like leading up to vet school, because it's very popular. Everybody wants to be a vet at one point or another, and then the either the tuition or the length of schooling seems like it gets people at some point or another, or it's just super competitive. So just being able to get in is hard. So I did that, which was very challenging. Vet school is very hard. And then I, so I graduated during, which was very challenging. Vet school is very hard.
Speaker 1:And then I, so I graduated during COVID, which was very exciting. It actually worked out in my favor in the end, but it was. I had been kind of debating whether or not. You know, everybody tells you to go somewhere else first to practice, but I just really felt like, you know, the community was really excited to have me back and I was really ready to be home. So I decided to come home, which worked out great because of COVID. So it would have been a lot more stressful to go somewhere else, but I came back then, so that was about four years ago.
Speaker 1:I graduated and moved home and, yeah, I went to work with my dad and then his business partner, so there's three of us there at the clinic and that's been so great. Those guys are such awesome mentors and they just love their job, which is hard to find in the vet world these days. There's a lot of vets that are really unhappy with their. You know either their job or where they're at, and so it's nice to work with people that really enjoy it, because you just don't see it as much anymore. And you are correct, the timing wise with vets are it's a lot easier and I don't know about easier, that's the right word, but it's I would make a lot more money and I would have a lot more time off if I worked in a bigger city, so that was definitely a choice coming back here.
Speaker 1:So we are a mixed animal practice, truly, so every day is really different, like today I had dogs and horses and a rabbit, and so you never know what's going to come in and it's calving season, so you really never know which is fun. But also you know we need to provide an emergency service for our clients and the nearest referral hospital is like three to four hours away. So that's just not an option here. A lot of clinics have started doing that, where you know your general gp practices will close down and then just have an emergency center close by, but that's not an option here.
Speaker 1:So and that's really important to our clients obviously to be able to call when they have an. So and that's really important to our clients obviously to be able to call when they have an emergency. So, yeah, that's kind of my story a little bit and it's I really do enjoy. My dad was a big advocate for me to keep going to vet school, because there's a lot of times you want to quit because it's so hard and then for me to come back here. He worked really hard to get me back here because he really wanted to work with me and so I'm thankful for that because I really love it and I'm really happy to be home and I really can't imagine being anywhere else.
Speaker 3:Yeah, do you want to tell us maybe one of those times during vet school, because I think it's easy to imagine that that's really hard. But I mean, you're basically becoming a doctor right so I think a lot of people are really familiar with maybe some of those schedules and demands of going to med school. But do you want to talk about maybe one of those times in vet school when you're like this is crazy, and how many of those 56 people that you started with did they actually all graduate?
Speaker 1:yeah, not everybody I started with graduated um, but they would all at least in like the first year they would fill that spot. First year or two I think they would fill it. So I'm not sure. I think we ended up graduating. It was kind of hard. They get students from other um schools that come in and do their clinicals with us. I'm actually not sure that number we graduate. We also didn't have a graduation, so it's a little tricky oh, because of COVID, yeah, yeah but I think we were pretty close to that number, we didn't you.
Speaker 1:We lost a, maybe a couple students like the first year or two, and then after that everybody stayed, which was nice. You hope that the weed out process is pretty much done in vet school. You know everybody's made it that far and so it was nice. Most people made it as far as a time. I mean it was probably like an every week occurrence.
Speaker 1:As far as vet school is really, it is, it's medical school essentially. They say I don't want to say it's more challenging than medical school. I think it's just really different. But you're learning for not every species, but you know most species. So definitely dogs, cats, horses, cattle and then they throw like sheep and goats are getting more popular and we learn about those too. And then you do cover like exotics and some other species as well, just not nearly as much. So you're you know even a cat and a dog are significantly different from each other, completely different illnesses, how you treat them, all that. So just the. That's just a huge volume of information you're covering in vet school.
Speaker 1:And so the first three years are so I did four years of undergrad, which is pretty typical, and then you know, in that time got all the prereqs required. I got my bachelor's degree but then also got my prereqs for vet school and then, once I was in vet school, the first three years are like classwork pretty much. Third year they kind of start to throw you into some like sort of clinicals a little bit and then fourth year I mean like a full calendar year is clinical clinical, so you don't get the summer off. You do a full year of clinicals, which is like electives required clinicals like large animal surgery or small animal medicine or whatever, and then also your like internships that you choose to do.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of a mixed bag and you're all over the place and stressed all the time, but it's super fun because you're actually doing things that you learned for the first three years. But I feel like that was the hardest part is you're just I mean you're learning so many different things all at once and you learn it at such a deep knowledge. You know they say that you lose a lot of what you learn just because once you get out into practice it's a lot more like practical and generally you're not seeing a lot of they call like zebra diseases. You know like the crazies that you're only going to see maybe once in your life. We're in vet school. They cover all of it for all species, maybe even ones you're not going to see, and so it's just a lot of like.
Speaker 1:You're just studying all the time and taking exams all the time, so it's like like you know, stressful, like any graduate program, but just a huge amount of species differences which makes it a little extra challenging yeah, I would say that's a little extra challenging.
Speaker 3:What is an animal that you got to work on? That would surprise us.
Speaker 1:Probably. I thought the guinea pig was odd, or a hedgehog. I saw a hedgehog one time. What was wrong with a hedgehog?
Speaker 3:I think it just needed its nails trimmed Everyone was very excited about it, because we just don't see hedgehogs. Right, because you also do that, right.
Speaker 1:It's also like teeth cleaning nail trimming, oh yeah, all kinds of preventative thing yeah, yeah yeah, it depends on the species, um, but obviously for any of them, what you prefer is like preventative medicine, if you can do it so, like vaccines and wellnesses, things like that. That's across the board. But then obviously, a lot of what we do is is things that go wrong or emergencies, or whatever um which is going to happen no matter what right interesting.
Speaker 3:I loved what you said. Um, I think I think I can speak for anybody in this community that we have incredible vets, that you guys are as a team. They're so incredibly educated and, you know, knowledgeable and the skill set is so high. And yet what I think is really amazing is just the level of compassion. Amazing is just the level of compassion.
Speaker 3:I mean, there's been several different times, even for me, that I can think of calling one of you, knowing that you're taking that call without a billable hour in place, and you can either be reassuring, ask all the right questions. Um, help me through. I. I know at one point your dad, I just had a cow that wouldn't get up right and he gives to be able to take that call. Stay present with me, help me through that situation to know if that cow's okay. Is it okay to flip her over right? Is it okay to roll her like? How am I going to do the least amount of harm?
Speaker 3:here, if it is a West Nile situation or a tick down or something like that or if this cow just fell down and hurt herself right and just having those relationships is what I think is so special about coming back to your community.
Speaker 3:You talked about not wanting to leave school because you had built that community there. And coming back home I know for me it was just this big sigh of relief of family and community and that makes everything easier, I think, and I just I know for me I really, really value that, that there is such an honest and compassionate relationship in our vet clinic and you're the next generation of that, which is pretty incredible.
Speaker 1:I tell people that all the time I was just talking to a vet student about it it's like you know you're going to make mistakes and they call it practice for a reason and it's inevitable that that's going to happen. But your reaction is huge, like in this community. You know, you hope and I have seen it over and over with whatever the situation, but they know that you're out to like, do what's best for them, know like, no, like nobody thinks I'm out to get them or their animal, and I think that you know accountability, but also like on both sides, but also just what you're saying. Like you guys know that we care about you and your animal so much and that knowledge just sets such a great foundation for everything else, whereas if you're in a place where you don't know the client or the vet, either direction, then it's a lot harder to trust that they know what they're talking about or like on my end as the client, like understanding what I'm saying, do they? Are they going to listen to what I'm telling them? Are they going to turn around and sue me? You know that's just not something that we deal with here, which is really a privilege in this world today, because it has changed, the dynamic has changed quite a bit, and so it's kind of twofold, I think you know the culture at our clinic, I think, is just amazing. It's really something you don't find very often in a lot of places.
Speaker 1:I can say that now, I said, all of us really love what we do, um, and enjoy going to work, which is something that can't always be said and then also, you know, like, our employees right now are just awesome and we've had, we've been blessed with great employees for a long time, but it is like a family, and so it's nice to have that dynamic. And then, on top of that, I feel like the community is that way as well. You know, this community is just so incredible, the way they wrap around people that need it and support each other. You know, support us as a business, all kinds of things, and so we I don't think any of us have any problem with, like what you're talking about, where you call us and we don't even have a visit. We're not charging you anything for that. But you're a great client and we, you know, we know that you're going to use us for things and we're happy to help you when you need help and not necessarily see anything. We can just kind of talk you through it and you know we have that knowledge to share and I think in a community like this that's such an important part is to know that you can do that and we people all the time thank me for that. They're just you know. Thank you so much for taking my call. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:I think people are understand that that's not. You know something that you can do everywhere. I mean a lot of places I've gone, people I mean I've had job offers everywhere because people are just desperate specifically for large animal vets. Because people are just desperate specifically for large animal vets, I'd say maybe especially cattle work. There's a huge need for that all over the place. I've been in some counties that don't have a single vet anywhere, so they're driving like four hours to the nearest vet, which is just wild compared to here. So, like you said, we've had a history for a long time. I mean Mike started this practice, you know, quite a while ago and it's there's been good vets the whole time and that is rare to have that in such a rural place and to be able to call and know you're getting somebody that knows what they're doing and also, like you're talking about, just is compassionate and can provide that service, because a lot of places don't have it at all and I think we're gonna.
Speaker 1:It's gonna become more and more of a problem. You know, my class was probably 90 small animal focus, so there was only a few of us that ended up going into either mixed or like large animals, specifically usually equine, and then some of those have already switched into small animal, which has been a big trend just across the board in the industry. So it's getting harder and harder to find one people who will go to a rural area and work emergency and then two people who will do large animal at all. It's just not. It's not an easy job. So a lot of people don't like to do it, which I can't blame if it is it physically demanding, and then, like we were talking about earlier, the emergency call is definitely a big toll on people and so but it's going to become a big. It already is a pretty big problem and it's going to get a lot worse a couple great reasons there why that's happening.
Speaker 3:Is there, is there anything else there? Do you think that it's intimidating to work on larger animals? Do you feel like it's more about money and where people can live and kind of the less lesser demand?
Speaker 3:and I'm also curious in that if you, you obviously had a dad who would have never said you know, you're not physically capable right of being a large animal vet, right, um, but do you think that maybe that's still a story out there that you need to be this large man to be able to work with cattle and horses and larger critters?
Speaker 1:great, Great questions. I like this, yeah. So I think it's a combo of all of it. So the shift like I talked about in the small animal like most people going into small animal is true, but also it's mostly female dominant now. So I like to compare. So, like when Dave went to school Dave is my dad's business partner he was, I think it was like 80% men at that time. When my dad went to school it was like 50-50 men, women, and then when I went it was, I would say, 80-90% women and so the shift has been huge over the years in the vet world.
Speaker 1:And I don't know. I've heard a lot of different commentary on that and I still am not exactly sure why. I've heard from the admissions folks that it's actually there's just way fewer men applying to vet school. So it's not like they're just selecting women over men in the application process, it's like men are just not applying like they used to. So I'm not sure. I can't seem to figure out. There doesn't seem to be a really good reason why that is.
Speaker 1:But that is the lifestyle as far as the emergency call is part of it. The money factor is definitely part of it If you look at just time spent with a dog versus a cow. The business makes a lot more money, a lot faster on the small animal side versus the large animal. It's just the economics of it. We cannot charge. Nobody could afford if we charge the same rate. It's just not how it. That's just not fair charge nobody could afford if we charge the same rate. It's just not how it. That's just not fair. So, business-wise, a lot of people have stopped providing large animal services even as a business, because it's just not as economic, economical for the business.
Speaker 1:And then I think that there is a big, like you said, I grew up in like such a different mindset. My dad always encouraged. Like he, I think he had more faith in me than I did for most of my, like you said, I grew up in like such a different mindset. My dad always encouraged. Like he, I think he had more faith in me than I did for most of my, like you know, schooling years, which was so nice to have, because a lot of people don't have that, and especially, you know, I grew up in this community. So I feel like I had a fair amount of cattle practice. I didn't grow up on a ranch. I actually didn't develop. I really love working with cattle now but I didn't develop that until I went to college, which is a little odd. I wish I would have gotten it sooner because I could have had some more hands-on experience when I was younger. But it's just. I did a lot of horse things so I felt pretty good with horses.
Speaker 1:But working with cattle is a whole different ballgame and if you don't grow up in it it's kind of hard to get a foot in the door, just in general. Grow up in it, it's kind of hard to get a foot in the door, just in general. And in the vet world you can get the experience but it is still hard and you have to work for it. Especially, a lot of vet schools just don't focus on it anymore, at least ours. Like up in the northwest you know it's not exactly a hot commodity, the cattle industry, so it's not as focused on in our site probably, honestly, probably this whole half of the country, I would say um.
Speaker 1:And so you really had to seek out experiences. So, like in undergrad I did um like reproductive palpation. Then I actually got most of my experience. Then I was like hardly got any in vet school, um, so I got most of my practice. Then I got AI certified. I did a bunch of stuff just in undergrad just because I really liked it. Um, and then in vet school I sought out that because I really enjoyed cattle and I knew I was going to do it when I got home. So I looked for that experience.
Speaker 1:But it's really hard. I talked to the. It's so different. So, like when Dr Dave went to school, it was like a huge percentage of cattle work that they did, so he got a lot better experience, even just in school, than I did. So he'll ask me he's like well, didn't you learn that in school? And I'm like no, dave, I learned it from you guys. You know we just didn't get that experience like you did.
Speaker 1:And so I think that's hard too. Is you're not? Even if you know you need it, you're not necessarily getting the same level of experience he's used to, just because it's not as popular anymore or not as needed anymore. And then I do think that you know women coming out into it. There is a stigma even in this county. I'd say I'm really blessed here there are I mean, the ranchers are some of my biggest cheerleaders here, which is so cool to see, I really appreciate that because I know like just across the board everybody here has known me since I was a toddler. You know so like literally since I was a baby. So it's got to be so hard for some people to see me and they're like you're a doctor now, like you're working on it. What is happening, you know, it's gotta I just can't even imagine. And so I don't blame people when they are skeptical, because I cannot even imagine. That's got to be just mind blowing to them just to see that you know transition.
Speaker 3:You're always 17 in your hometown. Oh my gosh, forever yeah.
Speaker 1:But I would say people have overall. I mean, I've definitely run into some that have an issue, but overall that's always the case when you're the new person anywhere, right? So it's not not a huge surprise. But coming back home, everybody has been really supportive and I think a lot of people are just thankful I would come home, because they know that it's hard to find vets that'll do it anymore and and they trust me, they know that I'm, they know me from when I was young. So even though I'm young, they know that I'll. You know I'm out to help them and and do my best. So that's really helpful.
Speaker 1:But it is hard and even, like I said, I you know, I, you know, I told you all these things that I tried to do to get experience. The cattle work is some of the hardest to get experience and just because you know, I see so many small animals and the cattle work is so seasonal here because we were, you know, cow, calf and so everything is on a season, unlike a dairy where you're doing the same thing year round. So it's a little, I don't know again, it's not easier, it's just that you see it all the time. So it's a little, I don't know. Again, it's not easier, it's just that you see it all the time, so it's a little bit more comfortable. And so for me it's like, you know, we have calving season and it's gone and you're probably not going to see another calving. You might get one or two, but you're probably not going to see it until next season. And then people have improved so much that calving season is a lot more mild than it used to be anyway, just because of genetics and how people manage. But so it is really. It is really challenging.
Speaker 1:I, you know that's not true everywhere. There's certain parts of the country, obviously, that are really heavy in the cattle industry. But but for here, you know, I last year I went to a couple of different conferences. I went to one in Ohio and one in Tennessee, and they're both cattle focused and that and for vets, and that was really neat to go, just be with people who most of them were actually like large animal only. Some of them are cattle only, and so I felt a little out of my wheelhouse but it was cool to see. You know, I felt really comfortable. I could have taught the class I took on preg checking, so that was really cool to see. You know, like our little corner of Oregon, like we actually do see quite a bit of cattle here, which is really nice to know because the northwest is not exactly known for for our cattle yeah, countrywide, yeah, um, I think that it might be true that a lot of people don't know how much beef actually gets produced in this little corner of the state.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because you think of it as you know, it is challenging the terrain here and the season here, but when we have grass it's the very best.
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I took some hay samples from the county with me on one because it was a nutrition course for cow-calf operations, and they were hugely impressed by our hay. They could not believe that that was our hay. And then they also couldn't believe the price of hay yeah, yeah so it was kind of a mix, but yeah, it's interesting to see well and just to talk to people how they run cattle so differently across the country.
Speaker 1:I mean, we don't have byproducts here, like a lot of places do, and that is is I mean some places that's like all. They feed their cows most of the year. Right and that's just wildly different than here. I'm like we can't even. I mean, it's probably cost more to get those shipped in here than it would be than you're saving on other feed products. Exactly, huge differences.
Speaker 3:The isolation really limits our ability to sell in kind of its highest valuable form right.
Speaker 3:Or to get cheap products in. Just really, we don't have the processing around here. The emergency call part has to be so challenging and, like you said, you were willing to take that on. When you were growing up and seeing that I heard you say right away like that you and your dad spent time in the backcountry and you, you know, got to go hunting and things like that.
Speaker 3:And sometimes when I look at peers who are resistant to go into ranching because their story is they saw their parents just work themselves to death and in some ways they're they look at that as misery and you know they're like why would I ever want to do that? Right, and I'm curious to hear your perspective of growing up, because what I witnessed was my family who loved the work. So, even though there was a lot of it, it was work that we enjoyed doing. But we also took breaks, like we spent time at the lake, we used to water ski a lot, we team roped like two nights a week, we took vacations, we took time to be together as a family outside of work, and I think that that really gave me a foundation to come back to ranching, knowing it was going to be a lot of work, but also knowing that I could balance that out. Did you have the same experience?
Speaker 1:yeah for sure. So I, I used to love to go on emergencies with my dad. It was my. We actually talk about it a lot now because sometimes we'll come in and help each other on emergency and we love it because we just don't get to do it anymore like we used to, and so I loved doing that with him. I loved going into the clinic and spending time on whatever and I think and he loved it too it was so fun, I think, for him to have me go along with him and so, and then, like I said, I just I've met few people more passionate about their job than my dad, and so to have that as like that. You know, he was who I looked up to, growing up and spent time with and that's just such a healthy perspective in your job and your life.
Speaker 1:But then my family was the same. We traveled a lot growing up and so every year we would do a vacation somewhere. We usually did like a fifth wheel trip to somewhere in the country, but I mean we went as far as like the Badlands, so it was like not limited to the Northwest. So you know, I've been to like most of the national parks this side of the country. We also went to Europe one summer. You know we were pretty well traveled, which is a little bit unique, I think, for kids from the county. They don't always have that experience and I just recently told them that because I had the opportunity to take some of my family that haven't got the chance to travel to a place that they'd never been and they haven't really got to go hardly anywhere. And just to see that perspective from them and to know like how blessed I was growing up and getting all the traveling we did, I think that, like you were saying, it's just such a healthy lifestyle.
Speaker 1:You know you don't necessarily have to go far or do a lot, but just to have that balance where you're not always working, whatever that looks like, whether that's ranching or our world and the vet world, to have a mix and like for me right now it's funny because my husband does work in ranching. He's a cowboy and so my breaks are a lot of times ranching. Now that's what I go do for fun and I, you know, I go to work with him and I love it because I get to go not talk to people for a day, and he's always lonely because he's always out by himself. So he always wants to go to dinner or something where he can chat with people. So we have this little bit of disconnect, but this a little bit of disconnect. But you know, I spend my whole day talking to people and so I love the break to get to go out and just be outside and and with the horses or cows or whatever we're doing that day. I really enjoy it. So it's kind of fun.
Speaker 1:But I don't, I think, no matter what it is like, have a hobby and go do that. I think in any job that's so important and then especially in an isolated place like this, you know there is a big world outside of this county and it's really easy to just like put blinders on and headphones on and just ignore everything going on, because we can do that here. We're pretty isolated, but it's not really the reality and it's, I think it's also healthy. You know I've traveled to.
Speaker 1:I did a vet trip to Uganda and then you know I did a mission trip early in life to Mexico and I think some had some healthy perspective, because that is just such a huge contrast to here. You know we have poverty here, but it's just not at the same level, and so that's a good way to also put your life into a little bit of a different perspective and remind yourself that you know we have a pretty awesome life here, and remind yourself that you know we have a pretty awesome life here and we're blessed to be able to just I don't know, it's kind of an old school life. I feel like it's a little bit traditional, and that's why we love it. You know we get to ignore some of that stuff, but it's important to keep it in mind.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I could not agree more. I give a lot of credit to going on exchange in high school Right and and that I think it's one of the most important things, and I acknowledge too that I was really lucky to have a family who let me and supported me doing that when I was younger, so that I carried that forward into my adult life to travel and see other things and experience other places.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:And, yeah, leave here to know what it really is to be here.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Is so important and I think that, like you said, it really gives you that perspective of how lucky we are to not only live in this, this county, but live in this country right all of the things that it's really easy to take for granted, right? If you don't do that and I found I didn't know that I always wanted to come- home there was times when I thought maybe not, but at the same time, maybe not, but at the same time.
Speaker 3:I always had a home, so it was really easy to travel without this, like I'm searching for my place in the world, just traveling to see and experience new things, and I think I was really lucky for that too yeah, I definitely think, yeah, you, I think a lot of people, especially now isn't that the trend?
Speaker 1:like a lot of people, are just out looking for something. It seems like they can't find it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's that it's that community, family and home that we we're so rich in and I think for so many people it's really hard to find um, I think that's true and yeah, we have that.
Speaker 1:I mean, like you said, a lot of people, even people who want to leave and don't necessarily know if they'll come back, they know they have a home here and it just feels like it. I was just talking to a friend who's back in town and he's been off at school and doesn't I don't know that he'll move back here either, but he's like man it's. It feels good to be home.
Speaker 1:You know, like it's just it's just it is. It's just a really nice feeling to have that like grounded place you can come back to yeah, it's a big word home is a really big word.
Speaker 3:It is that feels good and, that being said, you know, like we touched on a little bit earlier, there's easier places to be, right, um. So I'd love to hear some stories on that of the challenges of being a vet here. Um, I definitely know there's challenges of you know your husband being a cowboy here. He runs in the canyons in some really steep country, but you're going out to ranches on every corner of this county too. Um, have there been any like epic tales there?
Speaker 1:I already have so many, which is crazy. I've only been out four years and I feel like I could already write a book. But yeah, I mean I love it. I love like I feel like I drive places and I know so many, like, oh, this person lives here. I've been to that ranch, I've gone here. You know you, you start to get a feel cause you just do it enough. You know we're, you start to get a feel because you just do it enough.
Speaker 1:We're usually out, at most ranches at least pregging or semen testing, depending on the ranch, sometimes several times a year. It depends on what they do. But it's really fun because everybody does it a little different. It doesn't mean it's wrong, you know this. In ranching Everybody has an opinion on what's the best way to do things. But it's true, I mean, everybody has to do it a little bit different, and I talked to them about that. It's like, well, that's not how you're running this ranch. You're out on permits, you're not on irrigated pasture all year, you're not going to get those numbers you're looking for, because that's just not how it goes when you're ranching like that. And so it's so fun to get to go see how people do things differently, sometimes less fun. Sometimes you get somewhere where it feels very dangerous, like the shoot. Really, they really need to upgrade the shoot just for the safety of all involved. Um, but it's still fun. I mean, yeah, I'm out working in shoots that have been there, you know, long before Dave was born, you know, let alone me. Um, but it's so fun I have, yeah, oh man, especially this time of year it's calving season, so I have some, you know like, going driving out like way out, like an hour outside of town at 2 am in a blizzard to go do a uterine prolapse.
Speaker 1:And I get there and she's not caught so we end up stretching her between an atv and a truck with toe straps and I'm just like this. Like nobody teaches you this in vet school this is never in the curriculum like how to survive the situation and uh, but you just do it and like that's the thing, my favorite quote during calving season. I always tell that anybody I'm working with it's calving season is a team sport and like you're gonna have to get like we're all involved here, which is so true. Like, whether it's a prolapse or the calving you know like, and cows are just that way in general, right, like it's just you gotta have everybody on board. But I love that, like, I think that's why I like working with the. You know you're expected to do your job and then I'm expecting them to do theirs, right, so I'm going to show up and I expect them to be ready to get rolling and if not, like maybe give me a call ahead of time and then they're expecting me to keep rolling and let them know if I'm not going to be able to, or whatever it is. And we're all doing it together. We're all working like a team and I really like that part of it because you're all relying on each other. And then you stand around chatting for half an hour when you're done and that's just like not. You know that's not a normal thing in a lot of places because that's, like you know, wasted time, quote-unquote but I don't think it is at all. You know you're building relationships with these people and they're some of my favorite people.
Speaker 1:You know, like you're, you're there at two in the morning in the middle of a blizzard and you're just like, why do we do this?
Speaker 1:Why? Why are we? Or like I had to do a c-section on a cow down in a trailer, like he hauled it to the clinic. We couldn't get her out. She was paralyzed in the back end and it's like, what do you do? Like you can only do the best you can with a situation you're given in any, any time, ranching in general, in the vet world in general, like it's just, oh man, and so you know, she lived, she lived through, but the whole time I was telling him I'm like she is going to die, like there is literally no way, none of this is good, like this whole situation is so bad, but it is what it is, you know, like you just have to deal with it. And yeah, she made it, which I never would have, never would have bet money on her. But, oh man, they're so cattle, especially you have. There's so many good ones, because you know you, they always put themselves in those situations where you're like, what are we? Why are we in the middle of a pond, right?
Speaker 3:now, how did we get?
Speaker 1:here. Why did we get here? Oh my gosh, yeah, but I. It makes for some really good stories later. They really is horrible in the moment.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I hope you write a book. I think that would be. I think that would be epic. That's awesome. I want to circle back really quickly because I didn't mean to miss it. But what was Uganda like?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, so it was actually just before COVID, it was like January of 2020. I went to Uganda for two weeks and it was kind of an odd one. It was a. It was like a separate trip. It wasn't actually like through a vet program or anything, but I traveled. It was actually with a vet in her church, so we went over there and we were um, so it was like a mission vet trip.
Speaker 1:So we did like a rabies clinic where we rabies vaccinated a bunch of dogs there, and then we did some spay neuter clinics and so we were just spaying and neutering a bunch of their, their pets. I mean they're it's really different, obviously, standards than what we have here, but they just do not have vet care there at all. Really. They have some, but it's really limited. And so we did some spade eater clinics. They're just out on a table, out like on this deck in the middle of Uganda. It's very dirty, nothing like here, very different standards. But that was really fun. So it was me and that that vet who traveled over there, and then her daughter, who's my friend, and she has been a vet tech for a long time and she's actually an EMT as well. So she did a lot of the tech work and then her mom and I did a lot of the spay-neuter and then we did, like I said, rabies, and then we would kind of see some other things. And then we got to go work with livestock, which was super fun.
Speaker 1:They have some really different cattle over there compared to here. They have some of the zebu, which we do have, some of um, and then they have the oncole, which I had never seen before. They're really interesting. I'll have to look them up. They have really they're. They're similar to zebu. They're kind of that like boss indicus type cow, but they have these really tall horns. They're really unique. Um, I've never seen anything like it before and so, but they're kind of similar to the Zibu. So we got to go out.
Speaker 1:And so the thing about Uganda is, especially rural Uganda. You have to wear skirts. If you wear, if your knees are showing, so if you wear pants or your shirt, if your skirt is too short, it's considered offensive or kind of offensive. And so it was my first time working cattle in skirts. That was really interesting. And sandals actually I was wearing my keen sandals, but that was so fun. It's very obviously. Pretty much everything they do is completely different than here. So they have alleyways but no chutes and the alleyways are, you know, pretty precarious, but what they do is they just shove the alley full and work them down the alley, um, and then even like their handling. So the cattle are a lot smaller than here, so they like hold the mouth when they're trying to hold. So, like the, these guys were like tribal members it was pretty remote, um, they would come and like hold for you so I'd be giving shots, or so just with with their hand, they just grab a hold of the lip.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like the bottom jaw.
Speaker 1:No, the bottom jaw.
Speaker 3:The bottom jaw.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they warned the vet we were out. So we went to Uganda and we worked with a vet who's been there for 30 years. She's lived there and so she works with the people there, which was really neat to work with somebody who's that well established and so she was warning me ahead of time about some of these. She's like just so you know, like they do things really differently, so like don't tell them not to do it, like that's how they know how to do it, and so yeah, we obviously we brought some stuff with us over there and then she has access to some there. But you're obviously very limited on treatment.
Speaker 1:The diseases there are really different than we have here. There's some that are the same, but in general they're they're pretty different. So that was really cool to see. And then just to get to experience I mean it is wildly different than here. So getting to experience that was really neat.
Speaker 1:And then on the other part of it, we started churches. There too, we were helping with some churches they'd recently planted way way out in remote villages and they are just such a joyful people. So they are like huge pranksters, jokesters, they like love to make people laugh, so that was so fun and then, like their worship is like everybody's dancing and singing, like it's so different than here, um, and so I learned a lot from them, like all across the board. It was really, really neat to go experience that, um. So, yeah, we did that for two weeks and it's very different.
Speaker 1:It's very rugged living in that time because we were out. You know, the cities aren't like that, they're well established, but we were not spending a lot of time there. So, yeah, I was actually just talking to one of the techs at our clinic because she really wants to go on a trip like that. So I was talking to her. I was like, okay, I'll start putting feelers out again and see if we can do another trip, cause it's really a neat experience and getting to, you know, I feel like they bless me as much as we bless them getting to provide some of those services for them. So that was such a like what a great experience. I really really enjoyed it.
Speaker 3:That's so cool. Yeah, that's awesome that you got to do that and maybe, yeah, maybe, go back back, maybe help somebody else experience that. Um, yeah, their way of herding cattle and working cattle. I've only ever seen videos of um, but makes me um think that we're pretty lazy and weak most times it's pretty different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what we do, well, it's just. Yeah, it's just such a different. I mean, they're not out running big herds like we are here, and they're not there. I mean they eat them, but it's not beef animals like here. So it's really different and they're just really limited on what they have access to. So they just have to make work with you know what, whatever they have available to them.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Which is they're very resourceful.
Speaker 2:But it's what we're all doing right when you said don't tell them how to work cattle. You're like you can't do that anywhere.
Speaker 1:No, you should not be doing that, whether you're in the hot or in Uganda.
Speaker 3:Very true, not going to tell anybody. I want to talk about beef really quick because I'm curious as a vet if you ever get into the position of advocating for antibiotics and some of these vaccines and things that tend to. Some of some of it's obviously very valid, some of it's on trend, but in people's concerns about what we're doing to animals that we are going to ultimately consume, I think is interesting versus how sometimes people are willing to treat their dog, they feel really safe, and about treating their pets with some of these things. But then if we're going to consume it, the perspective and the concern is very different and I wonder if you could just speak to that with your expertise.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a great question. I do think that there is such a huge gap between consumers and producers, and so I saw that especially when I went back to school. I mean it's pretty amazing when you you know, here in the county most people have a general idea, but you go places where people have no idea how their food is produced, and so I understand their concerns. But you know my perspective it's so hard. I have a hard time with some of the programs that have become really popular and not to criticize ranchers, because I think they are just doing whatever they can to make it work for them as a business. But I have a hard time because I feel like I'm really limited on some of my treatment. So you know, I might recommend antibiotics but the producer really doesn't want to do it because they're in a program that won't allow that. I mean, they'll allow them to, but they have to pull that animal from the program and I think you know if I'm telling them that I think that's the best treatment option and I think that's what's best for the animal.
Speaker 1:It's a little bit hard to see. You know we're using it within withdrawal periods and you know if you're using it in the right way, then that should not. That antibiotic, that drug is not entering the food chain. You know, and they do a lot of testing. I mean you know this more than I do, but they do so much testing. And so when you're doing things in the proper way, then you know we raise our own beef and I eat it, and so, and I am more than happy to use antibiotics on what I'm consuming, and I do vaccinate them, and so I think you know there's been more studies on some of that than most of the foods we eat.
Speaker 1:In my opinion, I think that there are way bigger problems in the food world that are not being regulated whatsoever, and beef is not one of them. You know it's been such a hot topic for so long. So I do think you know I hate to see animals that I consider I don't know that they're suffering that's a little bit of a strong word, but they're, you know they're in pain and they have this ailment and we're trying not to treat them the way that would be the best way to treat them and the fastest way to treat them, because we're trying to avoid, you know, pulling them from this program or just some people just don't want to use it and I don't. I understand where they're coming from because there is a lot of fear with that. But I also really trust that you know if we're using these things in the right way and we're following withdrawal times. And most of those withdrawal times are like better safe than sorry kind of thing. You know they're not doing it like right on the line, like they're being extra safe, and a lot of times you know, especially in this county, people do a really good job with you know, like BQA standards, so like making sure injections stay in the neck and things like that, or places where it's not going to be a cut of meat, and so you know I think that's like another level of safety in those products.
Speaker 1:And then same with vaccines. You know they have withdrawal times as well. But I would much rather know that my animal is vaccinated. You know they don't need to be quote like over vaccinated, like we try to set up programs. That you know, first of all, they're things we actually think they need to begin with, but then also, you know, of all, they're things we actually think they need to begin with, but then also you know we don't need to be doubling up on things or giving them more than their body can handle, and then again we're following withdrawal times but we're also making sure that they're staying healthy and then maybe we can avoid using antibiotics if we can keep them healthy. You know, on the front end, like we talked about at the beginning, you know that's preventative medicine. You know it's the same as us vaccinating our dogs. Obviously they're not entering the food chain.
Speaker 3:Hopefully, but it's the same idea, right, yeah, yeah, or ourselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I think as a producer, sometimes it is really challenging. You know, we don't use any antibiotics on any of our cattle that we're using for beef, and it is a challenge to know when it's okay right and when it's not okay and making the decision.
Speaker 3:You know you're caring for this animal, you're in charge of its care, you're responsible for its well-being, and if it needs an antibiotic to be healthy, yeah. But then that might mean that that animal no longer has a place in your program, and so for us that means taking it to the sale Right, which may end up in not a great life.
Speaker 1:Right For that yeah.
Speaker 3:Right, and so I do think that that's really challenging. And the bigger challenge there is how do we communicate to consumers Right?
Speaker 1:In a way that actually gets to them. Yeah, yeah, I think that's really because and like you said, like your, your ranch does that, and I know most actually here are in a program. They're all really different but they have, you know, similar, something like that where you get to that point where you have to make a decision and sometimes we can, sometimes you can, you can like go different ways or there's more traditional routes or whatever, that you don't have to jump to medication, and then other times it's like we just like this is what we have to do or they are going to be either suffering or in pain or whatever, and it is really hard because every ranch is so different.
Speaker 1:As far as, like you said, you guys maybe don't have a set. Some guys have a separate program where they'll put you know them into that, and then they can just run them separately or pull them later, however they do it, and then other people don't, like you said, where they'll take them to the sale, and it's not always a great alternative.
Speaker 1:So it's really hard to weigh and balance. But it is hard because I think the beef industry is so different. We're driven so much more by consumers than a lot of places or a lot of industries where. You know, I was talking to a guy one time and he was just like I just have never gotten over the fact that we don't set our prices and it's like one of the only businesses that is like that. You know that you're always relying on other people and it's never very predictable, you know, and I think that's really true. And it's especially hard because there is such a big gap between us and the consumer.
Speaker 1:So we've been enjoying, you know, we raised some just a small group, and we've been. My brother lives in Portland so we sell some to them and it and it's really fun to get to kind of communicate that with them, because they have no idea. You know it's all new to them and they we just love seeing how excited they are about knowing where their beef comes from. And I know you get this a lot because you guys are really founded in that. But it's so cool to be able to tell people and explain why we do things and how we do things and then, you know, send them a picture of a really happy steer out on a grass pasture, you know, like they just love that, and so it's. It's.
Speaker 1:I think that I think that it's going to get better with. I think that's one of the few things that is going to get better with how big social media is now, I do see a lot, of, a lot more like ranching and people in the ranching world getting into socials and spreading that word, and I think that there's. You know, I cannot imagine doing that because I think that's so hard to do and not like you're dealing with a lot of backlash from people. But I think that that is how we're going to start. You know, I don't know how else people are going to learn. You know word of mouth. You can only do so much.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Especially here we're really isolated, and how much are we actually talking to other people? But I think that that realm is making it really different and kind of bringing a new stage where you know, even though we're isolated, we can still have a big audience.
Speaker 3:Yeah, those who tell the story rule the world right.
Speaker 3:And and I think that's why you know, tell the story, rule the world right and, and I think that's why you know, if there is um kind of this shortage in maybe women going into large animal vets, hearing your story matters and that this is possible and this is rewarding. And this is, you know, something that you maybe shouldn't shy away from, or maybe don't need to shy away from um if it's intimidating and if there is more demand similar to the consumer, they're really the ones with the power so if there were more, you know, vet students interested in large animal, then obviously they would change their practicals and things yeah, to go focus on that include um horses and cattle.
Speaker 3:I think that we're getting close. I want to ask you, before we wrap up, about being a rodeo queen um, and the reason why is? I know it's something that we both did, and for me, it's something that I never thought I would do Because I wasn't that girl. That was my story of it, right? I'm not that girl.
Speaker 3:So you talked about hunting and going to the backcountry and fishing and being kind of a daddy's girl and then being becoming a rodeo queen, right, and so I am so glad that I did it and and I totally advocate for it to this day, and so I yeah, I just want to ask you what you thought of it before you did it and what you did after and then, as you've traveled around, if you've ever had the opportunity to tell somebody that your has been rodeo queen and that fun reaction oh, I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it feels like it's been a long time, doesn't it?
Speaker 3:it feels like it's been a very long time. Yeah, definitely the has been crowd for sure, oh man yeah, so I actually almost didn't do it.
Speaker 1:I kind of always thought I would, cause I did horse 4-H. Um, like all growing up, like from fourth grade, I've always been the horse crazy girl since I was tiny. Um, like I started riding horses when I was four, pretty actively and so, and my parents never did, so that was new. You know, I was the one that got us into that Um, as a four year old. You were like I demand we have horses.
Speaker 1:My first word was horse when I was a baby, so I think they knew they were in for it pretty quickly and so, and I think my dad had always wanted to get into packing and so I think it was like a pretty easy jump for him to start learning. And then obviously he was a vet at the time and worked on horses a lot and so, um, he knew enough to get started at least, and so we got into it pretty young and so I did that. You know, I did 4-h all through um, and then, like I said, yeah, dad and I used to go ride um, and so I almost didn't do it. I was trying to flake last minute, I don't know, probably because I was a teenager and we're hormonal and we're issues, but my dad, again, is the one who convinced me to do it. He really wanted me to, he really thought it would be good for me and I loved it.
Speaker 1:I was with Celia there was only two of us on that year for the Chief Joseph Day's Court, um, and we were like it was so great, she is awesome and so we. It was such an easy year, which was really nice. Our parents got along really well, so it was such a. We had such a fun year, um, and I loved I learned so much in that, like public speaking, how to just how to communicate with people effectively, um, like how to be in front of people and present yourself. Um, I don't think I had any idea how to do my makeup before then, like I was, also not that girl do my hair.
Speaker 1:My mom was so frustrated I she also loved it. She had a great year or summer, but she was like I never thought I would spend so much time curling your already curly hair. Like that was just wild to her. And then, unfortunately, I went on to do tuckarettes for three years, so so she really had it coming. So my mom had to help me with that every year, but I loved it. I still talk about my experiences quite a bit, especially like when talking to younger girls. I feel like, yeah, I think well, I mean that's just not. Yeah, people have like learned it about me when I've been out and it's just such a I feel like here it's like expected almost if you're in those circles, you know. But like when you go other places they're like you did what you what, like you're waving in a circle as you rode around, like what are?
Speaker 3:you doing. They just have no idea that still exists in the world. What, yeah?
Speaker 1:but it's so I thought, oh man, I gained so much from it, like same as some of the like FFA and things I did in high school, like all of that was just like career development. You know social economics, business, all of that. It's a pretty amazing way you can get out of it and rodeo is definitely that for me. I still really involved. Most of the board and like people involved in the rodeo are our clients, so I see them all the time and I just really you know that rodeo is a really big thing for our community and so it was really fun to be. You know they really I thought they did a good job. You know telling us you are the advocate for this rodeo and so that's a big deal when you're that age and it's a big thing to do.
Speaker 1:But the, you know you step up and do it and a lot of girls do and you just grow Like it's amazing to see some of like when you start to finish, you know how much more confidence you have and you know ability to interact with people and public speaking is huge for sure. And then even like with my horse, I gained so much. It really pushed me into. You know, like I said, I did tuck rats afterwards and that was a huge transition from even from rodeo court to go to that and I feel like it.
Speaker 1:I hugely benefited me as a horse woman, you know that's a whole different set of skills you need to have to be able to do that. I highly encourage anybody I talk to to do it if it's within reason for them, because I think it's so great. I think there are so many skills to be gained from it and it's fun. Those memories are so fun to look back on. I mean silly, and I still reminisce some of our fun court stories because you have that when you're traveling together all summer yeah, yeah, I couldn't agree.
Speaker 3:I think that I think some of the resistance is the girliness, the like makeup the so much hairspray. I think, there's less now, but I don't know so many curls and so much hairspray and glitter and all of that. That may not seem like your thing. And then just just, I think there's this underlying story that girls can't get along right. That if you're gonna pit each other because it is a competition, right, so you're competing to be a princess or a queen, just seems really silly, but it's part of it oh yeah and there's this there's a story there that that's gonna be awful right that it's part of it.
Speaker 3:And there's this there's a story there that that's going to be awful right that it's going to be catty, and all these things that we learn about being a girl.
Speaker 3:And for me, that summer was spent riding a horse really fast, um, signing autographs for little kids, speaking to people, learning how to represent something that's larger than yourself, yeah, so learning about what that means and how to hold yourself with that level of composure and grace and all those important skills. And then you got to go travel everywhere with your friends, um, so, looking back, you know, it's like how else would you ever want to spend a summer as a teenage girl? Right, and, and you did have to go door to door and knock on strangers doors and try to sell them something. And if you want to try to build confidence in yourself, um, I don't, I don't know a better way to do it and push those boundaries. And such a fun summer I definitely, definitely advocate. It also comes with a lot of funny, funny stories for a lifetime, yes, um and I think that you had a great point.
Speaker 1:I mean, there is a lot of like, either assumed drama or there can be drama associated with it, but I think that you know it's hard for me to speak to because, like we just didn't have that our year but we didn't bring it. You know, like we didn't bring that to the table, we were really laid back and you know we were really respectful and tried to do. It's basically a job, you know, and you are paid for that job. That's what the ticket sales is about, and so I think that's some skills to learn in itself is learning to be in a team and doing it well and still managing to have a good time that carries through.
Speaker 1:I mean, how many times since then have you been on a team that you didn't necessarily love? I mean, how many times since then have you been on a team that you didn't necessarily love? Yeah, but if you, you know, have a good attitude and you do your best and bring your best self into that, then you know that's a great skill to learn at that age too, because that does not get easy. In fact, it gets significantly harder later in life. But it's going to be, you know, just because you don't necessarily either. Maybe you're not the best of friends to begin with, but you can still. You know there's a lot of life skills to be gained from that as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:How to be in a team.
Speaker 3:Totally agree. Be a rodeo queen, yeah, if you have the chance.
Speaker 1:What's next for you? What are?
Speaker 3:you excited about.
Speaker 2:Oh, surviving calving season, you're almost there there.
Speaker 1:No, well, I just got married last year, so right now, and then we bought a house. Actually, we got engaged, bought a house and got married within two months, so it was kind of a whirlwind of a summer, yeah, but we've been loving, pouring time into our place, and so that's where I'm at, outside of the vet world. And then we're kind of moving and shaking in our clinic a little bit because Dave's retiring this year, so that's going to bring some big changes. So I'm planning to buy into the practice, so that's a big deal for me. So we're looking forward to that transition, as much as we're very upset about losing Dr Dave. That's going to be a huge hit to the clinic, so we're pretty upset about that.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I just I'm feeling, I feel like I'm in the groove now where I've seen and done a lot of things quite a few times. So I'm enjoying myself a lot more as a vet and feeling a lot more confident, and I love it makes it a lot more enjoyable just overall, where I don't feel like I'm constantly learning all the time. You know you're always going to be learning, but once you get over that hump a little bit. So I'm in that phase right now, that era of my vet life. So I'm loving that, so it's been really fun. It's a lot of you know those are some big changes in both my life outside of the vet world and in it, and so that's been pretty fun.
Speaker 1:And then I've been, like I said, I did some conferences last year specifically with the beef side and so I'm hoping to bring some of that to the table a little bit now that I'm not in the midst of trying to plan a wedding and buy a house and things like that. So, yeah, hoping to bring some more of that into our clinic is kind of a you know. Again, it's not a big moneymaker for us to do stuff like that, but I just love the idea of just being, you know, full circle for our beef clients and providing some of those things that we just don't have easy access to that out here, and so, um, and it's easier for me to do that where I kind of know everything that they're doing in their program for the most part and like tying in nutrition and things like that is is really interesting. So, yeah, Very cool Lofty goals.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good, well, congratulations on all of that and your era right now is awesome, Incredible and just yeah.
Speaker 3:I know that we're just so grateful that you, you did choose to come back and that we're going to continue to have the same level of vets here in this community, and we can't do it without you. So it feels good to be supported like by people like you yeah, um and thanks for doing this with me today oh my gosh, it was so fun.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me I just want to take a second and thank everyone who's written a review, who has sent mail, who sent emails, who sent messages. Your support is incredible and I also love running into you at trade shows and events and just out on the hillside when we're hunting. I think that that's fantastic. I hope you guys keep adventuring as hard and as often as you can. Art for the Six Ranch Podcast was created by John Chatelain and was digitized by Celia Harlander. Original music was written and performed by Justin Hay, and the Six Ranch Podcast is now produced by Six Ranch Media. Thank you all so much for your continued support of the show and I look forward to next week when we can bring you a brand new episode.