76 | May• 2019
“A N I M A L I A .The term incorporates
an untold number of eclectic animals
that inherit our planet. For many peo-
ple, they are simply the sporadic co-
habitants of their world – the spider in
the bathtub, or the bird in their gar-
den. For me, they have
always been an intrin-
sic part of my life. I had
wanted to be a vet since
I was six.
Fast-forward 31
years, my passion is
even stronger. Annu-
al trips to Africa, and
the wide range of spe-
cies I have been fortu-
nate enough to work
with, have only served to broaden
my horizons as to how spectacu-
lar the animal world is. Where my
three-year-old self was once content
with chickens, lambs and dogs, his
37-year-old counterpart deals with
giraffes, leopards and rhinos. For just
as an addict craves his next fix, or a
surfer longs for that next big swell, my
drug of choice has always been the
animal kingdom.
Yet this evolution in my interests
has not detracted or
diminished from the
joy and thrill I still get
every day as a rural
veterinary surgeon in
the UK. Eleven years
in, and the job is still
fascinating and chal-
lenging. What will
the day hold? Dog,
cow, rabbit, horse,
chicken, pig, alpaca
or tortoise? Death, life, tragedy,
triumph, hilarity, solemnity, routine
or bizarre?
Every day is an emotional roller-
coaster, where the minute you think
you’ve cracked a problem, something“What will the
day hold? Dog,
cow, rabbit,
horse, chicken,
pig, alpaca
or tortoise?”