76 | May• 2019
“A N I M A L I A .Thetermincorporates
anuntoldnumberofeclecticanimals
thatinheritourplanet.Formanypeo-
ple,theyaresimplythesporadicco-
habitantsoftheirworld– thespiderin
thebathtub,orthebirdintheirgar-
den.Forme,theyhave
alwaysbeenanintrin-
sicpartofmylife.I had
wantedtobea vetsince
I wassix.
Fast-forward 31
years,my passionis
evenstronger.Annu-
altripstoAfrica,and
thewiderangeofspe-
ciesI havebeenfortu-
nateenoughtowork
with,haveonlyservedtobroaden
myhorizonsastohowspectacu-
lartheanimalworldis.Wheremy
three-year-oldselfwasoncecontent
withchickens,lambsanddogs,his
37-year-old counterpart deals with
giraffes,leopardsandrhinos.Forjust
asanaddictcraveshisnextfix,ora
surferlongsforthatnextbigswell,my
drugofchoicehasalwaysbeenthe
animalkingdom.
Yet thisevolutioninmyinterests
has not detracted or
diminishedfrom the
joyandthrillI stillget
every dayas a rural
veterinarysurgeon in
the UK. Elevenyears
in,andthejobisstill
fascinatingandchal-
lenging. What will
the day hold? Dog,
cow, rabbit, horse,
chicken, pig, alpaca
or tortoise?Death, life, tragedy,
triumph,hilarity,solemnity,routine
orbizarre?
Everydayisanemotionalroller-
coaster,wheretheminuteyouthink
you’ve cracked a problem, something“Whatwillthe
dayhold?Dog,
cow,rabbit,
horse,chicken,
pig,alpaca
or tortoise?”