Milliron Monday: Vets and Clinic Care

Original Art (c) Sandra Russell

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), including his wife Jody (1938-2021). 

 

So many people are concerned about the cat population in our communities. Dr. Smith was an advocate for controlling stray and feral cats. Guest writer Sandra Russell gives her insight to ongoing concerns...

Vets and Clinic Care

Art and Story by Sandra Russell

With such a large need in our area for access to veterinary services, some of us are hard pressed to find or afford basic animal care.  Unfortunately, people still dump and abandon animals in my neighborhood, and a few people then are swamped with the burden between not wealthy or healthy enough to care financially or physically, but with hearts that care enough to try to feed and water them, again the overpopulation is an expense that is unmanageable.

I would hope that part of the county animal shelters funds would be to offer spay neuter clinics at the shelter, or via a mobile unit to attempt to include some of the feral population. It seems such an expense would profit the counties in the long run, because it would control some of the burden on housing the hundreds of animals with no one to care for them. I 'own' 2 cats; but I feed 6 others every day (two of them, I will keep as their owner died and they are fixed; the other two are ferals).

I know of an elderly lady who spends much of her budget on food and care for stray cats, she has at least a dozen. Another elderly couple who feed 27 stray cats every day, and yet another couple who have 30 cats. The couple with thirty cats say that when they 'give them away' people torture and abuse then. And I don't doubt that, as I have seen some evidence of that here.

So again, if kindness and care is not taught to the children, the culture of abuse continues. I will bring a note of hope to this conversation; and that is, that while spay/neuter is not an option; there is a vet clinic that visits once a month for basic shots, worming, chips, and exams. I have taken my pup there and will again today. While more costly than buying shots at a feed store and doing it yourself, is much less money than going to the brick and mortar vet and you get a paper trail for the shot records which is good and necessary to have.  There is a clinic at the local farm supply in Logan and Athens on Saturdays. the number to call for locations and dates in your area is 1(800)427-7973.

 

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Milliron: The Biography

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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.