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Thanks To The Veterinarians Who Take Care Of My Creatures Great And Small
As a young child, at the top of my list of "what I want to be when I grow up" was a veterinarian.
I loved the furry four-footed creatures on our farm and spent hours inside the barn playing with kittens and calves and outside of it riding my pony.
A career in which I could spend the majority of my time with them and heal the ones that were sick and injured seemed like it would be the perfect job for me.
My fondness for animals continued as I grew up, but by my teen years I had a more realistic view of the skills needed to be a veterinarian, and I knew that I lacked them.
Not only did I struggle with my high school science classes, but dissecting frogs and giant locusts made me squeamish. I knew that if I pursued a career in veterinary medicine, I would face far harder academic challenges than 10th grade biology.
Though I pivoted from my plan to be a veterinarian, my admiration for them continued. I jumped at the chance to help them with our farm animals when they came to do routine work like pregnancy checking our horse, Beauty, or treating sick cows.
I appreciated their skills and the way they performed them — with kindness, patience and ability to not get flustered when the animals were less than model patients. They extended the same consideration to my dad, who did sometimes become impatient with the cows and with family members like me, who were helping the veterinarians.
Over time, the veterinarians became more than just professionals who came to do work on our farm, but also friends. I enjoyed sitting around the dinner table with them after they finished their work with our animals. I listened to them talk about the path that led them to being vets and asked them questions about their job.
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As an adult with a family and animals of my own, my respect for veterinarians has grown even more. The men and women who have treated our family's horses, dogs and cats have unfailingly been solicitous of our pets and of our family members.
On short notice and after clinic hours, our veterinarians have traveled as much as 100 miles roundtrip to come to our farm for emergencies or to euthanize suffering animals.
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I still recall how, in the early hours of a winter day about 20 years ago, Dr. Jeanette Bjornstad came to euthanize, Gypsy, our 28-year-old mare that suffered a heart attack during the previous night and couldn't get up to stand.
Dr. Bjornstad was gentle and kind with Gypsy and equally so with me. She understood my tears and grief over making the heart-wrenching decision whether to try and treat Gypsy or to euthanize her. She patiently waited for several minutes, without judgment, to let me weigh the choices until I made the decision that, at Gypsy's advanced age, it was kinder to euthanize her. She didn't hurry the process, but instead, sat with me in the straw while I said a final goodbye to Gypsy.
Dr. Nathan Kjelland was similarly compassionate when he came to our farm a few months ago to euthanize Rosebud, my daughter's golden retriever. Rosebud had been my daughter Ellen's companion for nearly 15 years.
Dr. Kjelland made an evening visit, after hours, so that Ellen and the rest of our family could say goodbye to Rosebud on the farm where she had spent so many happy times with us and her canine and feline friends. Rosebud spent her last minutes with her family, laying on a blanket on the grass in front of our house, our hands stroking the fur that we had run our hands through so many times before.
Afterward, Dr. Kjelland, and his staff, like Dr. Bjornstad and hers, sent a card with handwritten notes that expressed their empathy about the loss of our four-legged family member. Our family knew that the gesture was more than rote, that the veterinarians and their staff truly understood our love for our pets and mourned their loss, too.
During the month of November, Agweek is featuring stories about what people who benefit from agriculture are thankful for and the people, places and things people in agriculture are thankful for.
At the top of my personal Thankful for Ag list is veterinarians. So to Dr. Bjornstad, Dr. Kjelland, Dr. Casey Wollangk, Dr. Charlotte Klose, Dr. Katie Wolf, Dr. Rick Odegaard, the late Dr. Charles Aafedt and the many others who have taken care of our animals — and our family members who love them — over the years, I say a heartfelt thank you. I hold you in my highest esteem for your kindness, skills and compassion.
Ann Bailey lives on a farmstead near Larimore, N.D., that has been in her family since 1911. You can reach her at 218-779-8093 or abailey@agweek.Com.
Ann is a journalism veteran with nearly 40 years of reporting and editing experiences on a variety of topics including agriculture and business. Story ideas or questions can be sent to Ann by email at: abailey@agweek.Com or phone at: 218-779-8093.
SpokAnimal Remains Closed, Now Believes Mystery Respiratory Illness Seen Nationwide Is To Blame For Sickening Dogs
Veterinarian Dr. Jessica Prewitt says SpokAnimal made the call to close the shelter and quarantine after 80% of the dogs got sick.
SPOKANE, Wash. — A mystery illness sickening and, in some cases, killing dogs across the country may be here in the Spokane area. That's the belief of Spokanimal, which has been closed for around two months after most of its shelter dogs came down with an unknown respiratory illness.
"Makes me want to cry," Executive Director Dori Peck said.
"I know," Dr. Jessica Prewitt added. "It's been very difficult. Very busy, but this is our number one priority."
It's been difficult for staff at the animal shelter, providing the round-the-clock care to more than 50 dogs, including hand-feeding and providing breathing treatments.
It's also been difficult because they still don't know exactly what's wrong, according to Prewitt.
"Late September, early October, we had what we thought was a routine outbreak of kennel cough," Dr. Prewitt, one of Spokanimal's veterinarians, said.
But when 80% of the shelter dogs got sick and didn't get better with routine treatment, the doctor knew this was anything but.
"They're testing everything they could think that it is," she said of samples they've sent to labs across the country. "It's largely coming up negative, which is hard."
Spokanimal closed the shelter in mid-October and initiated quarantine protocol to stop the spread. They believe what they have is the same unknown respiratory illness infecting dogs nationwide. There have been reported cases in Oregon, New Hampshire, Colorado, and other western states.
According to Washington's Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for tracking such illnesses, there have been no confirmed reports in the state yet.
"We have not received any official reports from veterinarians nor any laboratory confirmations of this respiratory infection," said Washington State Veterinarian Dr. Amber Itle per a press release Monday.
Dr. Prewitt says they have sent samples to labs leading the investigation into the unknown illness, including Cornell, a lab in Oregon, and WSU's disease diagnostics lab.
"On the phone almost every single day since it started with experts around the country," she said.
The good news, she said, is most of the infected dogs have recovered; only two died during the outbreak, one that was found to have an underlying heartworm infection.
Though they are now focused on alerting dog owners in the area to be watchful.
"We are seeing dogs that get sick, cough for a few weeks, develop pneumonia and pass away within 24-36 hours, so they decompensate quickly," she said of the disease.
With how quickly the disease can spread and worsen, SpokAnimal recommends pet owners look for any cough that doesn't go away and get to a vet quickly. It's also recommended pet owners keep their dogs away from high traffic areas like boarding kennels and dog parks.
"Any way we can minimize the co-mingling of dogs at this point," Dr. Prewitt said.
The Washington Department of Agriculture is urging vets to report suspected cases.
SpokAnimal issued the following statement on the suspected illness on Tuesday, stating:
"SpokAnimal is currently dealing with a highly contagious respiratory infection at its shelter. Sometime near the end of September or beginning of October, our shelter dog population experienced an outbreak of what we thought was routine kennel cough. All affected dogs were started on kennel cough protocol and the entire shelter population was then revaccinated. However, approximately eighty percent of the population became symptomatic and severl developed severe pneumonia.
Unlike typical kennel cough and routine causes of pneumonia, our established course of antibiotics and other treatment did not seem to be effective. Unfortunately, one such dog became sick enough, despite treatment, that humane euthanasia was elected for his own sake. At that time, with an abundance of caution in case something larger was going on, I elected to shut down our shelter to the public and stop any dogs coming in or going out of our shelter. This was to protect the public and the general population of dogs in Spokane. We then sent the dog to WSU for necropsy (autopsy) as well as samples on living dogs in hopes of obtaining some answers and to guide treatment going forward. Most of the diagnostics were largely negative, including the testing we have continued to do weekly.
However, one report identified Streptococcus Zo, a bacterial infection that can piggyback on top of the virus that originally was brought into our shelter.
We immediately started aggressive treatment for Strep Zo for all animals in our care. Significant improvement was seen and we are confident that the bacteria has been eradicated. In the last few weeks, we have seen most animals completely recover, however, we are still seeing some illness in our population from an unknown virus.
Since the beginning we have been working closely with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington State University Veterinry Diagnostic Laboratory, Cornell Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, as well as being in constant communication with consultants specializing in infectious disease in shelters. We are still seeing a few dogs become sick, but the numbers of new sick dogs are few and getting lower all the time.
Our staff has been absolutely amazing during this time. They have been diligently deep cleaning our shelter 3 times daily and providing treatment including administering medications, fluids, and nebulizing every sick dog several times daily. During the peak of the outbreak, several staff members, including our Executive Director, were coming in every 2 hours throughout the night to hand feed our patients that were not eating on their own. Specialists with whom I have consulted have confirmed we are doing everything we can, and quick and thorough treatment likely saved many dogs who might not have made it.
Although we are seeing much improvement, the cause for the illness has yet to be identified. As such, for the safety of the dog population of Spokane, we will only open the shelter back up to the public after we are confident that all animals in our care are completely healthy. We have spoken to many other shelters and general practice veterinarians nationwide that seem to be experiencing the same type of as-yet unidentified respiratory illness that does not respond to normal treatment protocols.
While we do not know if this will affect owned dogs in the Spokane community, we highly recommend all dog owners keep their dogs up to date on annual vaccines, including the Bordetella (kennel cough) and DAPP (distemper/parvo) vaccines. Please seek veterinary care if their dog exhibits any signs of prolonged coughing, nasal discharge and lethargy. With the holidays approaching, we are aware that some owners may plan to board their dogs while they travel. If at all possible, we encourage dog owners to think about alternative care for their dogs like a dog sitter/house sitter to avoid any chances for illness from a high volume of dogs in one area."
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Why You Should Consider Adding Yaks To Your Maine Farm
This story was originally published in November 2021.
Mainers don't have to book a trip to the Himalayas to see yaks — they're well-suited to be raised by farmers right here in the Pine Tree State.
Filled with personality and well-acclimated to Maine's climate, yaks have the potential to be a popular livestock in the state. Those who already own and love yaks say that the charismatic animals might not catch on, though, unless hurdles in accessibility and product popularity are surmounted first.
Adria Horn has become a "yak evangelist" over the past five years. She owns Wooly & Grunt Farm in Pittston with her husband, Lokie, and has had a number of funny experiences with yaks, from heifers hopping on hay bales to a baby yak named Oreo imprinting on her and following her around the house.
"I love them and I really think they're just such cool animals," Horn said. "They're interesting. They're curious. They're super funny."
Aside from having fun personalities, yaks love Maine's cold weather and are much less demanding on the land than other ruminants, particularly cattle. They eat about a quarter of what a cow eats, according to Horn.
They're also multipurpose. In addition to being talented draft animals, yaks can be raised for meat, milk and high-quality fiber and don't even need to be shorn like other fiber animals.
Yaks also make great pets for hobby farmers — though Chris Devaney in New Limerick, who currently has a herd of 16 yaks, bristles at the term "hobby farm."
"It's not a hobby farm for me really, it's just a way of life," Devaney said. "I do harvest the fiber but because these guys are just pets and almost like kids to me I don't sell it, I give it away. If I were selling the fiber, it would be like putting the kids to work and stealing their paycheck."
Like any animal, yaks come with their quirks. They like to roam and require intensive fencing. Due to their thick hides, Horn said that sheep-level voltage electric fencing is insufficient.
"Back in the early days when the yaks were breaking out all too regularly, in order to keep community relations on the good side, I started naming new baby yaks after the neighbors and friends," Devaney said. "It was a big hit. During a breakout, if a yak went into a neighbor's yard, the neighbor would often come out smiling and ask, 'Is that my yak?'"
Over the past 18 years that Devaney has owned yaks, he hasn't seen many other yak farmers come onto the scene. A few farms have shown interest, and some have even owned yaks for a short period of time, but not many have stuck with the project.
"Frankly, I'm surprised there aren't more yaks in Maine," Devaney said.
There are a few reasons that more Mainers don't give yaks a shot. First is the challenge of getting a yak. The Horns are among the only farmers in Maine — or America, for that matter — that have yaks.
"If you want to purchase one, you have to have interstate logistics figured out," Horn said. "You have to pay for transportation, which is wicked expensive."
Socializing yaks can be tough, too, as Horn found out firsthand when she and her husband first decided they wanted to get yaks. They purchased their first herd from meat processors, and the giant horned creatures didn't let them get close enough to milk them. Eventually, they started bottle feeding baby yaks and are well on their way to developing a friendly herd that will let them near their udders.
"Socialization is time consuming and it's definitely something that, if we have to bottle feed a yak for someone, it's going to be a more expensive yak," Horn said.
Between the Horns and Devaney, though, there is an opportunity for Mainers to purchase socialized yaks in-state — the question is whether farmers can profit off the animals.
Aside from having fun personalities, yaks love Maine's cold weather and are much less demanding on the land than other ruminants, particularly cattle. Credit: Courtesy of Chris Devaney and Adria Horn
A market for yak products exists, Horn said, but it has been a challenge to make inroads in Maine. Her efforts to find markets for yak products were derailed by the pandemic, as restaurants and specialty stores stuck to their usual products rather than risky new ones.
Still, Horn has found niche markets for her yak products, including a high-end knitter looking to supplement cashmere with yak fiber, a personal trainer in New Jersey seeking yak meat for its leanness and the pet supply retailer Chewy.Com wanting yak milk to turn into dog chews.
"I definitely think there's an opportunity here but they're slow to grow and you have to be willing to take some of the lessons learned," Horn said.
Finally, there is the matter of veterinary care for yaks in Maine. Horn and her husband are comfortable doing a lot of the simple yak care themselves and have learned through online resources. For example, yaks have slightly different dietary requirements than cows, and the Horns had to tinker with their bottle feeding formula for baby yaks to get the right level of fat content.
For Devaney, though, the yaks are well worth it and he hopes to see more in Maine.
"It's a beautiful environment for them and they do have a lot to offer," Devaney said. "It's worth it in the long run. My life is heaven with these guys here."
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