It's full on but fun, says Carterton vet

Young and  personable with a roguish sense of humour, vet Richard Kirton who joined South Wairarapa Veterinary Services, Carterton branch, four months ago, is enthusiastic about his job.  As one of five vets, three specialising in large animal and two specialising in small animals, Richard says his working life is full on,
 
Try this for an active working day:
 
"I usually arrive at work at 8.15, am greeted by our two front of house lady receptionists.  There are also two vet nurses behind the scenes and two office workers, so we have quite a comprehensive team.  The telephone is usually ringing.  My day has begun!"
 
"One of the first duties is to check our hospital patients, mainly dogs and cats, some in critical condition.  After this I usually start my consulting work which is often full on until around 5pm.  You also have to squeeze the odd surgery and usually one of us will be doing this particular work all day.  Any gaps in the day are usually filled by knocking something out, treating something you've seen in the morning, ringing a client or making a house call.  Although we deal mainly with small animals we are now expanding our services to treat larger animals," Richard says.
 
And his working day is not without incidence.  ""Dealing with animals often has spectacular results," he suggests.  "For instance, being squirted with anal gland juice right in the eye, inadvertently giving the owner of one very macho animal a testicular shower (I don't think you will want the details!), and mislaying, only  for a moment, some calving equipment inside a cow - all part of a vet's rich life experiences."
 
Richard graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree in.2001.  He says: "Vet Science is a highly intensive course and it usually takes five years to complete - that's if you are super clever - but I took six years!"  Obviously a modest and tongue in cheek response from this skilled young vet.
 
He explains that you initially sit Veterinary Intermediate which covers the basic sciences - biology, chemistry and physics.  However, the pressure is on as there are only 60 to 70 positions available within the course. " In my year there were 300 would be students all eager to embark on the degree!," he recalls.  "The Intermediate course is a broad one - there's a fair amount of statistics involved - and you get selected from the results of the subjects within the course.
 
According to Richard the more interesting work surfaces once the degree proper is commenced.
 
"You get into the dissections and the practical stuff - usually working with sheep both alive and dead, but it's not until your final year that you are let loose on people's pets.  I found that particular responsibility a bit nerve wracking but as you become more experienced those feelings disappear," he admits.  "My first patient was a two year old Jersey bull, Jerseys are not always kindly patients, but all went well.   Some of my more unusual patients have included a yellow eyed penguin called Sweet Pea and from my overseas experience, a host of bats, badgers, chinchillas and fortunately no snakes,
 
After graduating Richard's first job was in Oamaru, a job he describes as fantastic.
 
"I spent three years there working in a mixed practice that is, working with a variety of animals and an added bonus was that two of my mates with whom I'd graduated with were also working in Oamaru..  Consequently in our off duty moments we had a fabulous time."  Richard admits that they spent most of their money on social outings and when pressed admitted that more often than not the three young vets could be found in the local pub.
 
"We had a really good time, life was good and I felt really supported by the Oamaru community.  I was on my way to becoming an experienced and confident vet," he adds.
 
"At the end of my three year stint in Oamaru I decided to take time out and see a little more of the wider world.  I went on a 'boys trip' through South East Asia and as it turned out it was fortunate that two of the party were also vets."  At this point it was necessary to ask the proverbial'why?'
 
"The presence of a trio of vets was, we thought, necessary if you come to grief and have to treat yourself in a third world country," he explains.  "We really had a great time felt relaxed and refreshed until a small misfortune occurred."  Wanting.to know more, the inevitable "what happened?" was the next query.
 
A slight smile crosses Richard's face as he explains that he suffered a broken jaw in Thailand.  He hastily explains this was not the result of a pub fight!
 
"There was no fighting on my behalf," he says, "I just got into a close encounter in the street where I had my jaw broken by a bunch of hooligans who obviously thought that tourists were fair game.  The net result of this was that I ended up in a rather dodgy hospital having my jaw wired, so my stay was cut short as I had to return to New Zealand to recuperate!
 
"The other down side of the Thailand experience was that I had previously booked myself into a Thai dental clinic to have some run of the mill dental work done.  I'd heard that these clinics are fantastic and the prices are reasonable so I booked in on line to have some fillings done and wisdom teeth removed, but as things turned out it was no use fronting up as a dental cripple!"
 
After a period of rest and recuperation back in Oamaru Richard worked with new graduates to help them through calving time.  "Quite a daunting time for new chums!" he explains.
 
Another shift, this time to Masterton where he worked in a veterinary practice for six months and this new location proved fortuitous as Richard met a young lady who was to figure largely in his life.  They later travelled to the United Kingdom and worked there for two years, returning recently, Richard to take up a position as small animal vet in South Wairarapa Veterinary Services and his young lady to a job in Wellington.  They then settled in Greytown.
 
A final question: "Is this the best job in the world?"  Answer:  "Close to it, I'm loving it at the moment," Richard suggests.  "However, there are some lows, for example, when having to put an animal down.  I've had to get used to this upsetting procedure, it's part of my job, but you never really get used to the raw human emotion experienced by the owners.  The highs definitely include the smile that crosses a child's face when they can hear their dog or cat's heart beat when I let them use my stethoscope - their comments are often priceless.  I also love the client contact, getting to know the person when treating their animals.
 
"Whether it's the best job in the world, that's a tricky one - I think Hugh Hefner has the best job in the world!"  There's that roguish smile again.
 
There has to be a last question:  "Do you own a pet?"
 
Richard explains that even though people pressurise him to take on the responsibility of pet ownership, he has not as yet moved in that direction.
 
"If I did have to make a choice I'd definitely choose a Border Terrier.  They're cool little dogs, sort of scruffy, full of fun, slightly ugly and definitely full on sort of personalities," he says.
 
This brings to mind the old saying that 'people often look like their pets!'- but we won't go down that path until this fun loving vet makes that final choice./ends
 
CAPTIONS
 
1 Carterton vet Richard Kirton with one of his patents who is wearing the latest in doggy fashion that has a serious purpose - to prevent the small canine from interfering with the dressing on his bandaged leg.
 
2 An impatient patient, a Siamese cat, concentrates on making a photo opportunity as difficult as possible.,