Abbott "Pete" Smith, D.V.M.
June 16, 1938 - February 22, 2010 |
Welcome to Milliron Monday where every Monday we celebrate the legacy of Pete Smith, D.V.M., and Milliron: Abbott “Pete” Smith, D.V.M. The Biography (Monday Creek Publishing 2017). A graduate of Colorado State University and a well-known veterinarian in southeast Ohio, Dr. Smith continues to motivate and inspire.
Dr. Smith was known for his quick whit and whimsy. He could tell the best of jokes. Many of his clients have retold his famous jokes to me again and again. One former Milliron Clinic client told me just last week... "Did you hear Pete's joke about the two bulls? Well, there were two bulls on a hill, an old one and a young one. The young bull says, 'Hey dad, let's run down the hill and get one of those cows.' The old bull replies, 'No, son. Let's walk down the hill and get them all.'"
I suppose the joke may be off-color to some, but to a veterinarian, he probably heard it first-hand. Dr. Smith seemed to have a one-on-one connection with cattle. I think he liked vetting cattle - he was good at it. And the joke reminded me of Johnny.
One time Dr. Smith was vetting our Hereford bull, Johnny. My dad would get a new bull every few years, and he always named the new bull Johnny. Dr. Smith had a rough appointment with this particular Johnny. It was late at night in our lower barn and my dad put Johnny in the barn away from the other cattle. Johnny had pinkeye and needed vaccinated so it wouldn't spread to the herd. I was just a kid - a farm kid who knows how these things go. But this time things got really noisy! Crash! Bam! Snot flying from the bull's nose, flinging just over my head. It's amazing how a huge bull with tiny legs can jump and pirouette like a ballet dancer. Manure flying, I ran behind the hay-mow to find refuge. The bull was everywhere in the stall. "Oh, he's very gentle," I heard my dad shout out, who was helping. My dad lost his wedding ring that night, and probably some pride, as the bull would not cooperate until Dr. Smith sedated him. I suppose it's difficult to sedate a moving target, the needle has to go just right...
I love the smell of cattle and the winter barn. When the weather was really severe, we fed the cattle in the barn. We put their grain in long troughs. With snow on their topline, steam rolled off their backs.
At Christmastime, I always believed the cattle celebrated, too. I remember watching a TV show, The Waltons. They aired a Christmas episode and the children were talking about the Christmas Miracle, how the cattle kneel and pray on Christmas. John-Boy,
the oldest child of the Walton family, told the story to his siblings on Christmas
Eve. The children all went to the barn and gathered around. “Tell us the story, John-Boy.” John-Boy said...
"When Jesus was born, it was in a stable. And the first things to lay eyes on him, except his mama and his papa… The uh, first things to lay eyes on him, was the sheep and the goats and the cows and all the other animals that lived there. All dumb animals. But they were the first ever to see Jesus’ face. And ever since that night, animals all over the world wait up… and at the stroke of midnight they kneel down and they pray and speak in human voices."
A thoughtful tale of animal love, we ponder the scene; the creatures worshipping the Creator. My parents would not let me go to the barn to see if Johnny and his herd knelt and prayed. I think they did. I believe. Do you?
Enjoy the journey to Christmas!
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Through captivating, powerful, and emotional anecdotes, we celebrate the life of Dr. Abbott P. Smith. His biography takes the reader from smiles to laughter to empathy and tears. Dr. Smith gave us compelling lessons learned from animals; the role animals play in the human condition, the joy of loving an animal, and the awe of their spirituality. A tender and profound look into the life of a skilled veterinarian.
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