Did you know that Americans own over 88.3 million cats and 74.8 million dogs? I think those numbers are a clear indictor that people enjoy owning pets. Farmers keep different kinds of animals and for different reasons. Meat, dairy products, eggs, leather, and fibers are all resources that are harvested from animals on the farm.
Whether you keep animals for companionship or raise livestock on a farm, at some point in their lives, your animals will need someone to take care of them.

This is when you call the veterinarian. A veterinarian is “a person qualified to treat diseased or injured animals”. There are many different types of veterinarians.
- Small Animal or Companion-Animal Veterinarians treat animals for wounds, diagnose illnesses, perform surgeries, administer vaccines, and prescribe medications. The majority of veterinarians are small animal vets.
- Veterinary Specialist – Just like doctors, veterinarians can specialize in a section of veterinary medicine (dentistry, pathology, surgery) or in a particular species or group of animals (i.e. cats, dogs, poultry).
- Food-Animal Veterinarians diagnose and treat illnesses for animals primarily on ranches and farms that are raised for human consumption.
- Food Safety and Inspection Veterinarians may inspect livestock and animal products like eggs, dairy, and meat to ensure they meet sanitation standards. In some cases, they might need to quarantine infected animals to prevent illness from spreading to other animals and humans. Still others are involved in testing the safety of medications and additives. As you can see, these veterinarians do a lot to improve public health.
- Research Veterinarians review past findings and techniques to work toward better methods for diagnosing, treating, and preventing health conditions. They solve both animal and human health problems. This usually requires a specialized education beyond a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree.
But what does it take to be a veterinarian? I asked the people who take care of our cattle, the employees of Shelby Vet Clinic, what does a day look like for a veterinarian? I know their day starts pretty early so when I called at 7:00 a.m. I was not surprised to find all the vets were busy working on their small animal practice. Clients bring their pets into the office and the animals are treated there. Some animals are treated and can go home right away, however others may need to stay for a day or two, depending on their reason for seeing the vet. While the animal is there, they are cared for around the clock by dedicated employees. Dr. Clayton McGargill had a busy morning vaccinating three dogs and spaying three cats.
We have a slightly different experience on the large animal – or food animal side. If the veterinarian is planning on treating just one or two cows, calves, or even bulls, clients can load up their livestock trailer and bring them in. This would include semen testing a bull for productivity, emergency treatment of a sick calf, or even performing a cesarean on a cow who is having trouble delivering her calf. Just this morning, Dr. Clay pregnancy checked two cows right there at the clinic. He used an ultrasound device to see if the cow was pregnant and how far along in her pregnancy she might be.
However, most of the time the veterinarian makes a visit to the farm and turns a cattle shed into their office. It may be to treat the entire herd, give a large group of calves vaccinations, or it may be to assess a large animal that would not be able to be safely transported due to illness or injury. The veterinarian comes prepared with everything they need in their work truck. They are a hospital on wheels.
I asked Dr. Clay what things he carried in his truck and he said it varies. Since each vet usually goes on two or three calls a day (sometimes as many as seven or eight) the supplies need to be restocked daily. In Shelby County there are a lot of cattle farms so that equipment is mostly what the vets carry. Calf pullers to assist in calving, syringes, and a variety of medicines are just some of the items. One interesting feature that the vet trucks have is water onboard. They can clean equipment and have hot soapy water even if they have to operate on an animal in a field.
A veterinarian has to know a lot about animals. They learn in vet school. Most vets attend four years of school, earning a bachelor’s degree and then apply for and attend vet school. This is a highly competitive process. Only about ten percent of applicants get in and then they have another four years of schooling to complete.
“The best part of my job is the diversity. No two days are ever exactly alike,” says Dr. Clay. “I also like the seasonality of the job.”

Are there any downfalls to being a vet? “We work a lot,” says Dr. Clay. Long hours are nothing unusual for country veterinarians. The hours of operation for the Shelby County Vet Clinic are from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm and one week a month each vet works on-call and is available for emergencies around the clock.
Did you have a love for animals and think of being a veterinarian when you grew up? Caring for animals is an admirable profession and one that cattle farmers, like my husband and myself, could not do without.
-Melanie