‘The Incredible Dr. Pol’ Star Jan Pol Says There Are ‘4 Things’ Every Large-Animal Vet Needs
If you’ve ever wondered what large-animal vets need to make it in the business, The Incredible Dr. Pol star Dr. Jan Pol explained his view on the matter in his memoir, Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow: My Life as a Country Vet.
Here are the indispensables Dr. Pol says he’s found get the job done.
What farming community vets should have to be successful
With over 50 years of experience as a veterinarian serving farmers and pet owners in his Michigan community, Dr. Pol knows what he’s talking about. Pol’s childhood spent on farms has only helped him in his vocation.
“Because of my upbringing, I’ve always been comfortable working on a farm,” he wrote. “…If you’re interested in wearing clean clothes or smelling good, then you can’t make farm calls. We’ve worked in every possible condition, from the heat of a Michigan summer, when you work up a sweat just getting out of the car, through the blistering cold of a Michigan winter, when the only way to stay on the road during a blizzard is to follow the telephone poles.”
In his book, he shared what he’s learned are four necessities for vets. And one of them requires a high tolerance for bad smells.
“A large-animal vet needs four things: the tools to do whatever the job entails, the skills to do it, the ability to ignore foul odors, and a really good washing machine,” the vet revealed.
Dr. Pol says getting dirty is a given for large-animal vets
In many episodes of the popular Nat Geo Wild program, Pol can be seen with his arm almost completely inside the back ends of cows and so, when he says a certain level of untidiness is expected as a veterinarian, he means it.
“It’s never a question of whether or not you’re going to get dirty; it’s a question of how dirty you’re doing to get,” he continued. “If you work with animals, you are going to end up smelling like animals. I’ve spent my days and many, many nights walking through mud and muck; lying on cold, dirty floors; and feeling my way around the inside of an animal.
“You can’t ever pick your working conditions; you have to work wherever you find the animal. … Working in manure, getting it all over your arm when you reach inside an animal — that’s part of this profession. Cows are never housebroken; they go to the bathroom as they’re eating.”
The veterinarian’s very good question
The vet admitted in his memoir that even he has his limits, however, when it comes to … unseemly odors: “One time I had to check a bunch of sick pigs on a farm, and the farmer was keeping them in a lean-to beside the barn. There is one thing I have never understood about pigs: Why did God make an animal stink so bad but taste so good?”
