Texas Equine Veterinary Association

www.texasequineva.com • page 30 I was giving a talk at the veterinary school at Texas A&M to a group of undergraduate students just the other day and it started my brain to thinking about why I do what I do. These students were all pre-vet majors and hoped some day to get to do just what I do every day for the rest of their lives. As I talked to them they asked question after question about being a veterinarian and what life was like. They all had stories of other veterinarians that had told them they should not do it. It is true, it seems as if many veterinarians have become bitter and burned out on our profession and actively tell up and coming pre-vet students to pursue a different path. After the class was over I had to drive back to Lamesa. This is a seven-hour drive resulting in plenty of time to think about what all we had discussed. I wondered what made all those vets so bitter about our profession that they would actively tell the next generation to do something else. I finally decided that it was because they had never kept a "why I do it" drawer. About 20 years ago I started putting "thank you' letters in the bottom left hand drawer of my desk. Letters from people who were so appreciative of what we had done for them and their critters at the clinic. There are stories of little girls whose horse would have died without a colic surgery, stories from old women who were so thankful to still have their dog. There are cards from people who just wanted to thank us for making the last few days of their pets life comfortable, and stories of pigs that won a big show. There are cards signed by 50 little first graders thanking us for letting them tour the clinic. Cards from saddle recipients that won at ropings or barrel races we have sponsored because we have been blessed enough that we have a means to share. There are pictures of horses winning big races and little kids holding a puppy. There are FFA students standing in the winner's photo with a lamb that would have died if we hadn't met it. There are booklets from graduations ceremonies that I have been blessed to be able to speak at and would have never been afforded that opportunity without that education and exposure that being a veterinarian gave me. There are hundred upon hundreds of thank you cards reminding me that is some little corner of the world, I have made a difference. And this drawer, this bottom left hand drawer of my ancient metal desk that came with the clinic when I bought it 23 years ago, has now spilled over to the other drawers. No longer do a have a "why I do it" drawer, I have three drawers full. And when I get down on being a veterinarian for what ever reason that day offers, I sometimes open one of those drawers and read why I do this, one little letter and note and picture at a time. The next time I go to a venue and talk to students that are hoping some day to get to do what I do for a living, I am gonna reach into one of those drawers and pull out a handful of reasons and take them with me to read. I am really glad I made the decision all those years ago to save precious little notes from the people whose lives I have touched. I had no idea that some day it would possibly encourage the next generation of folks who want to spend a career making people and their animals smile. WHY I DO IT DRAWER by BO BROCK, DVM, DABVP FROM DR. BROCK

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