Category Archives: Opinion/Editorial

Dr. Ron Brodersen offers this week’s Doc Tales which he came across in a newspaper article from 1970. “A Pearl of Wisdom — Give a pig and a boy everything they want. You’ll get a good pig and a bad boy.”

In honor of the first day of summer, I thought I would bestow a little knowledge on you (after all, that is the mission of AASV). Do you know why it’s harder to keep your drink cold on a humid day? According to Dr. Dale Durran, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, it’s due to condensational heating. Consider an ice-cold can of your favorite summertime beverage. On a day when the temperature is 87 degrees Fahrenheit and the relative humidity 70%, the condensation that forms over five minutes will heat the can’s contents by 10 degrees. So, drink up! And, remember, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.

Dr. Paul Armbrecht recently visited his soon to be 99 years young father and shared the following tidbits of wisdom his father bestowed upon him: “Your fences need to be horse high, pig tight, and bull strong!!” and “Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none!!”

We just completed the AASV Program Planning Committee meeting for the 2019 AASV Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. The group gathered was energetic, thoughtful, informed and excited. I think they have the start to a fantastic meeting. It reminded me of a quote from Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric. When asked about his standard for a successful meeting, he said, “we bring together the best ideas – turning the meetings of our top managers into intellectual orgies.”

Having just spent a day talking with our Congressional representatives, I’m reminded of the following quote by Jon Stewart: “If con is the opposite of pro, then isn’t Congress the opposite of progress?”

Peggy Anne Hawkins shared this week’s Doc Tales from a 2007 article in the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association newsletter. Two patients limp into two different medical clinics with the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and appear to require hip replacement. The first patient is examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day, and has a booked surgery for the following week. The second sees his family doctor after waiting a week for an appointment, then waits eighteen weeks to see a specialist. Then he gets an x-ray, which isn’t reviewed for another month…And finally he has his surgery scheduled for a year from then. Why the two different treatment for the two patients? The first is a Golden Retriever; the second is a Senior Citizen.

Overheard at a recent dinner meeting, “I’m all about poop!” Swine producers say the strangest things. I was told this statement would stand on its own without any further context. We’ll see.

A lawyer from a lobbying firm in DC relayed the following story during the recent Swine Veterinarian Public Policy Advocacy Program’s first training session. A Washington, DC Councilman showed up at the local veterinarian’s office early one Saturday morning with an old tom cat. The Councilman explained that the population of feral kittens had gone up dramatically in a local neighborhood since this tom cat showed up and he wanted the veterinarian to “fix him.” The veterinarian obliged and neutered the cat. Some months later, the veterinarian received a phone call from the Councilman complaining that the feral kitten population was higher than it had ever been and asked what they should do. The veterinarian advised him that the tom cat he had brought in earlier was probably to blame. Exacerbated, the Councilman said, “I paid you to fix that cat!” The veterinarian replied, “I did, but now he’s become a consultant.”

I’m going to call this Doc Tales “Meeting Expectations”. The following story was recounted during the recent meeting of the AASV Board of Directors and is an example of generational differences. On her first day in a new job, the employee asked her new employer-veterinarian how he synched to his calendar. The veterinarian replied that he didn’t keep a calendar to which she stated, “you’re my worst nightmare!” Feeling that perhaps he should make an effort to adapt to the needs of the employee, the veterinarian went to the storeroom and retrieved a promotional dog food calendar which he proudly hung over the office sink.

During dinner at the recent AASV Annual Meeting, a distressed dieting member was overheard to exclaim, “this pizza was sent here to destroy me!”