The Incredible Dr. Pol - General Discussion

[2727]

11 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

l loved seeing the old photos of Diane and Doc.

Charles' fiancée Beth looks even more like Diane when we see the young Diane!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm so happy for Beth and Charles.   

It's amazing that the Pols wore the same clothes to their vow renewal that they were married in.  

[LittleIggy]

BTW: I got a forum started for Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER If any Dr. Pol fans here watch that series.

[LittleIggy]

In one of the montages of animals in the waiting room, they showed a little baby goat gamboling about. If that wasn’t cute enough, it was wearing a onesie! ?

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

In one of the montages of animals in the waiting room, they showed a little baby goat gamboling about. If that wasn’t cute enough, it was wearing a onesie! ?

That was adorable! 

As was the screaming Louie, who successfully got the Pol staff to take him out of his cage and let him hang out with them in order to shut him up.  They never said why he was there or - as I recall - how long he'd been there, so hopefully he was just a neuter or something.

The little calf with a polar vest on was also quite cute.

They deal with so many breeders on this show, and I cannot with those people.  "Golly gee, the only reason I can think of for my dogs attacking each other is hormones; I had one with puppies and one pregnant with access to each other, and, boom - fight."  Screw you; fix your damn dogs and make money another way.  I want to hope she's the same great dane breeder we saw a couple of episodes ago (whose face I can't properly call up in my memory), continuing to piss me off, rather than another great dane breeder, meaning there's even more of them in the area.

[LittleIggy]

I hope the calf in the vest made it. And that poor Nubian goat.

[LittleIggy]

To the guy whose gorgeous dog was always getting loose and running up to the clinic: It’s called a fence! Get one!  ?

Loved how the newly three-legged kitten was running around like a pro (like Tater!).

I want to visit the baby goat nursery room. ?

[Emkat]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

To the guy whose gorgeous dog was always getting loose and running up to the clinic: It’s called a fence! Get one!  ?

He also needs to be neutered.  I see your balls Rusty!

[Bastet]

That poor cow!  That looked awful, and had to have been a vicious attack.  WTF, dogs?

Those porcupine quills inside the mouth looked awful, too.  Poor doggy.

And, yeah, while we're on dogs:  That's a frakkin' coonhound.  If he's not properly contained, he will take off after every little thing that strikes his fancy, which can include a whiff of something on the wind.  So, ya know, properly contain him.  And neuter him, if that's part of his wanderlust.

Nerves can regenerate, and they take a long time to do so (I severed a nerve in my finger, had surgery to repair it, and it was a process of years to regain "full" sensation, which - about 20 years later - remains at about 95%, and my cat had a numb foot for a week just from the nerve being pricked by an IV needle), so I hope they actually determined the kitten's condition was permanent.  It wasn't clear to me that they knew the injury was old (since Sweetheart was a found kitten), but I hope so -- in which case, yep, with complete loss of sensation after time, amputate.  I'm frequently bothered by the minimal diagnostics done by the Pol vets, so my suspicion is heightened, and probably unfairly here -- that seems to be more scenarios of just assuming it's something, giving an antibiotic or steroid, and sending them home to see if it works.  Major surgery was probably not as casually recommended!

Dr. Brenda saying she wishes the patients could talk is one of the reasons I'm impressed with vets -- their patients can't say what's bothering them, so they have to go on symptoms, physical responses upon examination, and test results.  Which is what doctors with human patients use, yes, but they also have the starting point of "I feel dizzy when I do X" or "I have chronic pain in my upper stomach" and such, plus the patient being able to answer follow-up questions as a potential diagnosis shows itself in order to hone in on the right answer.

[BookWitch]

I hate that the show tried to play off that dog running around as funny. See how funny it is when he attacks someone or gets hit by a car or shot. Idiots. The guy will NEVER have him neutered. That goes against the "man code". 

Seems like every episode this season has a dog attack. I hope they do something about it off camera. 

[walnutqueen]

15 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I want to visit the baby goat nursery room. ?

I want to live in the baby goat nursery room.  ;-)

[2727]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

I want to live in the baby goat nursery room.  ;-)

Can you maybe put a couple in your back-to-nature backyard? And take pictures? 

I already said the baby hippos in the [whichever] zoo show were the cutest, but I'm changing my pick to goats. Dr. Pol did one of his interstitial educational segments with two baby kids on his lap and he looked so content. They are noisy, though. 

Dr. Pol telling the story of how Tater was brought in to be euthanized but Pol looked in his eyes and just couldn't do it was sweet. Vets face those sorts of decisions so often and they can't save everyone.

I felt for the new vet (Michelle, is it?) as she winced and groaned in sympathy with the mother goat's birth pains. Oof!

The dog with the masseter disease was back to normal so quickly! Gotta love steroids. 

[walnutqueen]

30 minutes ago, 2727 said:

Can you maybe put a couple in your back-to-nature backyard? And take pictures? 

I already said the baby hippos in the [whichever] zoo show were the cutest, but I'm changing my pick to goats. Dr. Pol did one of his interstitial educational segments with two baby kids on his lap and he looked so content. They are noisy, though. 

Dr. Pol telling the story of how Tater was brought in to be euthanized but Pol looked in his eyes and just couldn't do it was sweet. Vets face those sorts of decisions so often and they can't save everyone.

I felt for the new vet (Michelle, is it?) as she winced and groaned in sympathy with the mother goat's birth pains. Oof!

The dog with the masseter disease was back to normal so quickly! Gotta love steroids. 

I would love to have some goats - although I'd need to have an enclosure built lest they escape through the broken, rickety fences or devour all the brush the other critters use for cover.  I want chickens for eggs, too.  Maybe some day, if I find an animal loving handy person with a disposable income ...  :-)

The cutest babies are whatever I'm looking at.  We had a saying in wild bird rehab whenever asked what our favorite bird was : "Whichever one I'm feeding at the time".  I have a LOT of favorites!

Barnyard Babies with the tiny baby fainting goats - SQUEE!!!

I'm assuming a lot of the diagnostics & stuff are edited down for the show, and that the wee kitten really did need the amputation.  It certainly helped the little one get ambulatory quite quickly.

I liked the two farmer brothers teasing the "newbie".  It shows acceptance.

[LittleIggy]

That kitten’s leg looked as if it had been through a mangle. It really didn’t look salvageable minus (possibly) a great deal of expense.

I call baby goats “gamboling addicts.” Love Doc’s “farm baby” segments. You can tell he loves them too!

[LittleIggy]

Poor horse. ?I can’t get through an episode without crying.

Dr. Pol was cute with the little children. When the little girl said she wanted to work with him one day, he said “You better grow up fast.” The boy with the tiny puppy in his jacket was cute too.

OMG, the dogs with the porcupine quills! ? That was the worst I had seen on any of the vet shows. 

The farm life isn’t good on the complexion, is it? The poor horse’s owner had the deepest wrinkles on her neck. 

[walnutqueen]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Poor horse. ?I can’t get through an episode without crying.

Dr. Pol was cute with the little children. When the little girl said she wanted to work with him one day, he said “You better grow up fast.” The boy with the tiny puppy in his jacket was cute too.

OMG, the dogs with the porcupine quills! ? That was the worst I had seen on any of the vet shows. 

The farm life isn’t good on the complexion, is it? The poor horse’s owner had the deepest wrinkles on her neck. 

I couldn't watch the horse segment.  Pol Vet Services NEED a portable X-ray unit.

Dr. Pol is great with kids, and they seem to love him, too.  He also loves baby animals.

Those porcupine quills were the worst I've ever seen, too - and on TWO dogs!  That porcupine must have walked away nearly nekkid!   ;-)

[2727]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

Pol Vet Services NEED a portable X-ray unit.

That was bad. I actually went online after the show to see how much they cost! Turns out the manufacturers didn't specify ("contact us for a quote") but I can't imagine it's ruinous or anything. Drs. Dee and Oakley have them in their practices. An accurate diagnosis would have saved that nice horse a couple weeks of pain.

I loved the rest of the herd being so nosy when Pol was treating the young bull with a hoof abscess.

Edited September 23, 2018 by 2727

[Bastet]

This episode annoyed me.

Why don't they have a portable x-ray machine, when farm calls are a significant portion of their business?  (That poor horse and his owners; a freak accident that wound up being the worst-case scenario.)

Did determining which cows were pregnant have to be done that day, so Dr. Brenda had to be pulled out of her sick bed after only one day of rest when Dr. Pol was too sick to keep the appointment and had to instead take his flu-ridden self to bed?  Because that sounds like something that can wait.

More fucking breeders.  Thirteen more puppies in a country that already has millions more of them per year than there are homes for them, and it's great because they're cute?  I respect you Dr. Emily, but on this subject, get stuffed.  You know who else is cute?  The dogs euthanized in over-crowded shelters.

The two dogs with the porcupine quills - ouch!  The one pawing at his/her face particularly had me sitting forward in my chair, anxious to get them anesthetized so they could stop feeling it and get those suckers out.  All 500 of them.  Yikes!

The rest of the herd wondering what was going on with their injured friend, and then welcoming him back when his hoof was all healed, was a real bright spot.  And, wow, that was a lot of pus. 

[walnutqueen]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

More fucking breeders.  Thirteen more puppies in a country that already has millions more of them per year than there are homes for them, and it's great because they're cute?  I respect you Dr. Emily, but on this subject, get stuffed.  You know who else is cute?  The dogs euthanized in over-crowded shelters.

THIS!  It is why I love Dr. Jeff and his philosophy above all others - he'll fix your animal for pennies on the dollar, but only if the animal also gets "fixed".  "Spay and neuter every patient" is his Golden Rule.

[BookWitch]

I thought the "needing " to do pregnancy checks was kind of a dick move too. You couldn't wait a couple days?

 

The woman with the goat and mutant kids. They need to find out if that's genetic or maybe add some more branches to the goat family tree.  Bleah. 

[2727]

Yeah, both kids being deformed was definitely fishy.

My suburban ass wonders why farmers don't do their own pregnancy checks. I get that some wouldn't want to, but it doesn't seem like a difficult skill to learn and most farmers are very self-sufficient (and thrifty!) with regard to their animal husbandry.

I always enjoy the post-treatment interviews, especially with the farmers, when the producers ask them to describe the care they received: "Uh. We love Dr. Pol/Emily/Brenda. They come out when we call and, uh, they stitched up that calf real good." Shuffle and look down.

This is not just Dr. Pol, but I can't remember fees ever being discussed except on Rocky Mountain Vet. There must be owners who can't afford an operation or cancer treatment but we never see it. I guess the producers think it would either be too depressing or not in keeping with the uplifting theme of "everybody adores their animals and would pay any amount to save them." Or maybe people who have to euthanize because of finances don't want to be filmed doing so.

[SRTouch]

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

This episode annoyed me.

Why don't they have a portable x-ray machine, when farm calls are a significant portion of their business?  (That poor horse and his owners; a freak accident that wound up being the worst-case scenario.)

Did determining which cows were pregnant have to be done that day, so Dr. Brenda had to be pulled out of her sick bed after only one day of rest when Dr. Pol was too sick to keep the appointment and had to instead take his flu-ridden self to bed?  Because that sounds like something that can wait.

More fucking breeders.  Thirteen more puppies in a country that already has millions more of them per year than there are homes for them, and it's great because they're cute?  I respect you Dr. Emily, but on this subject, get stuffed.  You know who else is cute?  The dogs euthanized in over-crowded shelters.

The two dogs with the porcupine quills - ouch!  The one pawing at his/her face particularly had me sitting forward in my chair, anxious to get them anesthetized so they could stop feeling it and get those suckers out.  All 500 of them.  Yikes!

The rest of the herd wondering what was going on with their injured friend, and then welcoming him back when his hoof was all healed, was a real bright spot.  And, wow, that was a lot of pus. 

Yep, and to add another cripe I had - Dr Pol drawing up water in a syringe out of a water tub to flush out the hoof access after - repeatedly - sticking his ungloved finger into the wound. Hey, I get that these are farm vets doing barnyard procedures, but how much does a bottle of sterile water and a pair of gloves cost?

I enjoy the show, but being a city boy I've always viewed my animals as companions and part of the family rather than next year's hamburger... I get tired of seeing them shoot up the animal with penicillin and/or steroids and hoping for the best

Same with the dogs and cats... how many breeders and/or intact dogs and cats have we seen? Seems every other episode a breeder comes in with puppies or a pregnant momma in trouble - we've seen the Yorkie breeder at least twice. This last episode we were treated to pregnant wolfhound having some fight in the kennel (if there was a kennel - probably just in the yard) resulting in major abcess. 

Edited September 24, 2018 by SRTouch

[BookWitch]

8 minutes ago, SRTouch said:

Yep, and to add another cripe I had - Dr Pol drawing up water in a syringe out of a water tub to flush out the hoof access after - repeatedly - sticking his ungloved finger into the wound. Hey, I get that these are farm vets doing barnyard procedures, but how much does a bottle of sterile water and a partial of gloves cost?

That's another complaint I have as well. I get that its a farm and it's winter and there's mud and snow and crap(literally) but please for the love of Mike, make an attempt to have the animal penned up or tied up and reasonably cleaned off. I doubt anything Dr. Pol did at that point really helped or hurt since it was standing ankle deep in mud and shit all day anyway.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I do remember an episode where the owner of a pregnant dog couldn't or wouldn't pay for a c-section, so  the owner took the dog home, and she gave birth by herself.   However, since the vet , I think Dr. Emily in the early days, was heavily criticized because they didn't do the procedure without pay.     The first person that is stiffed on bills is the vet, or the dentist, or other medical suppliers, and that's why you have to either make arrangements for credit at the office, or pay when services are rendered.     

I did see that there is a benefactor who started a fund to pay for medical procedures that owners can't afford at the Pol clinic, but I still think there should be stipulations like mandatory spay/neuter goes with getting the funds.  However, I can see people rejecting the money because they refuse to spay or neuter ever.  

They're showing reruns, and the season finale is tonight.     Fortunately, I have a decent memory so if I recognize a bad outcome, I watch something else. 

Edited September 29, 2018 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

My blind cat Aemon Targaryen has grand mal seizures. I’m starting him on phenobarbital next week (when it’s delivered). He had a bad seizure last Wednesday evening and was in a torpor for two days. Except for food and potty breaks, all Aemon did was stay in his bed. I was so worried, but today he came out of it. So glad that doggie is doing well.

That Hereford calf was so beautiful. He didn’t have the typical coloring at all.

Baby goat in a diaper! ?

[SRTouch]

2 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

My blind cat Aemon Targaryen has grand mal seizures. I’m starting him on phenobarbital next week (when it’s delivered). He had a bad seizure last Wednesday evening and was in a torpor for two days. Except for food and potty breaks, all Aemon did was stay in his bed. I was so worried, but today he came out of it. So glad that doggie is doing well.

Sending get well wishes for your furbaby.

Hope he takes meds better than my Sammy did. This was years ago - I let a little pregnant stray (upstairs neighbor asked me if I had seen a little bitty pregnant kitty - so of course she became Little Bit) inside out of the cold and she had her kittens a couple days later. Little Bit HAD an owner - knew that because she had a collar - but I never found out who it was. Her daughter Sammy had a heart murmur and had problems beginning at about 9 months old. I THOUGHT Sammy was swallowing her heart pills - only to find several in a corner where she was spitting them out. I checked with the vet, he told me I could grind up the pill and mix it in fish oil - viola, she started coming running when it was time for the tuna/med mixture. Luckily, Sammy grew out of her problem and I only needed to give her pills for a couple weeks - she died peacefully in her sleep at around 13yo - can still get teary eyed about losing her, and it's been 4 years.

Quote

That Hereford calf was so beautiful. He didn’t have the typical coloring at all.

Baby goat in a diaper! ?

Yep, love the babies. Ah, but yet another litter of puppies brought in a mama dog in trouble. ?

Edited September 30, 2018 by SRTouch

[walnutqueen]

11 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

My blind cat Aemon Targaryen has grand mal seizures. I’m starting him on phenobarbital next week (when it’s delivered). He had a bad seizure last Wednesday evening and was in a torpor for two days. Except for food and potty breaks, all Aemon did was stay in his bed. I was so worried, but today he came out of it. So glad that doggie is doing well.

That Hereford calf was so beautiful. He didn’t have the typical coloring at all.

Baby goat in a diaper! ?

Sending good thoughts for Aemon Targaryen your way, @LittleIggy.  I haven't done any research on this, but have you considered trying CBD oil or medical marijuana for Aemon's seizures?  The reason I ask is that I know it has worked miracles for children who suffer the same debilitating ailment, and there's plenty of info on the internet about that, so it just might help with animals, too.  I think I saw an episode on Viceland about it as well - one toddler suffering hundreds of seizures a day became seizure free after using the oil.  It was incredible.  Feel free to PM me about it if you need any kind of help with research or acquisition.

Jeez, Dr. Pol is the Energizer Bunny personified.  He has more pep at 76 than I've ever had in my life!

I think people who refuse to spay/neuter should be spayed/neutered themselves, so they don't pass on the stupid-ignorant gene to future generations.  Dr. Pol seems to be really good with kids and educating them, so I hope he would teach the little ones not to breed household pets, and to adopt instead.

BABY GOAT!!!  Squee.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

Sending good thoughts for Aemon Targaryen your way, @LittleIggy.  I haven't done any research on this, but have you considered trying CBD oil or medical marijuana for Aemon's seizures?  The reason I ask is that I know it has worked miracles for children who suffer the same debilitating ailment, and there's plenty of info on the internet about that, so it just might help with animals, too.  I think I saw an episode on Viceland about it as well - one toddler suffering hundreds of seizures a day became seizure free after using the oil.  It was incredible.  Feel free to PM me about it if you need any kind of help with research or acquisition.

 

 

Thanks for the info. ?I’ll ask Aemon’s vet about it. The phenobarbital (in chewable treats!) is expensive.

[Bastet]

ELEVEN puppies.  Sigh.

I don't understand why the owner of the seizure dog had apparently never addressed the issue before.  It wasn't as if she said tests had indicated idiopathic seizures, the dog was only having them a few times per year and they were brief and mild, so it had been decided not to do anything given the medication side effects, but now this was worse so they were going to have to kick it into high gear.  It was as if the test results and medication possibilities were new to her.  I hope that was just bad editing.

I hope that horse with the bum legs turned out okay; the owner didn't strike me as particularly invested in or capable of putting in the work Dr. Emily said would be necessary.

I'm glad the dog who jumped out of the moving car wound up making a full recovery, and that her owners took her to the orthopedic surgeon to get her the specialty care she needed.  I wonder how far away they have to go for services like that, since Dr. Brenda was not just doing the suture removal, but checking the post-op range of motion.

Dr. Pol's repeated declaration that one doesn't need an x-ray to determine if a bone is broken, that he can just declare a limb to be fine based on physical exam and how the animal is walking, bugs me.

[Claire85]

I think Lily, the dog with seizures, was on a previous episode. Dr. Emily treated her with steroids, and she made a good recovery. 

[Bastet]

Dr. Brenda asked the owner if the dog was on steroids or some other drug, and she said no.  Not, "No, we gave her the meds for X time and then stopped," just no.  If the dog's condition was such that in the past it had been determined by a vet that steroid therapy and/or other drugs aimed at reducing the likelihood/severity of a seizure was not indicated - the seizures were infrequent and mild enough that daily administration of drugs with side effects wasn't the best thing for her - and the reason she now needs to be on them for life is that things progressed and changed, they did a piss poor job of establishing that because they gave no information on what testing and treatment had been done in the past and, in fact, included parts of the conversation that made it seem the answer to that is none.  So if the answer is not none, they really did wrong by the owner in editing.  If the answer is none, then while the owner quite clearly adores her dog, I give her the side-eye, because it didn't need to get to the point of "I don't think this dog is going to make it" before treatment was commenced.

[peaceknit]

Is the season over? It looks like Dr. Oakley is on now, which is ok, because she's a great vet too.

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, peaceknit said:

Is the season over?

Yep, the 9/29 episode was the last of the season.

[RealityCheck]

I saw a commercial that a new season of The Incredible Dr Pol is premiering Saturday January 5, 2019.

[LittleIggy]

Why was this forum put here?

[Bastet]

On 12/2/2018 at 2:31 PM, RealityCheck said:

I saw a commercial that a new season of The Incredible Dr Pol is premiering Saturday January 5, 2019.

And leading up to the new season, Nat Geo Wild is doing long marathons each day.

[RealityCheck]

On 12/2/2018 at 5:31 PM, RealityCheck said:

I saw a commercial that a new season of The Incredible Dr Pol is premiering Saturday January 5, 2019.

Last night, I saw a commercial that said the new series will premiere Saturday January 12, 2019 so all I can say for certain is the new season premieres in January.

[LittleIggy]

On 12/29/2018 at 7:10 PM, Bastet said:

And leading up to the new season, Nat Geo Wild is doing long marathons each day.

I’m enjoying the marathon (except for all the crying I am doing!) since I’m getting to see episodes I didn’t see because I didn’t have cable or the right cable package. I didn’t know Dr. Emily had a husband or kids! What happened to the vet named Elizabeth? I had never seen her before.

[Bastet]

33 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

What happened to the vet named Elizabeth?

It's sad seeing old episodes with her during the marathon, given what happened -- she'd gone back home (to Georgia; I remember a scene in which she and Emily bonded over being from Georgia, yet not being traditional southern women) for Christmas* and when her intoxicated husband requested pain relief, she gave him a syringe of something pretty strong that, when he injected it, combined with the alcohol he'd ingested throughout the day, it landed him on life support and ultimately caused his death about a week later.  In the period in between, she attempted suicide and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.  I never read any more about her, or the investigation into the events.

*There were also references to her practicing locally, so I'm not sure if she left the show because of what happened, or if she'd actually already relocated to her native state and was home for good, not just for the holidays.

[LittleIggy]

OMG, that is so sad. 

[SRTouch]

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I didn’t know Dr. Emily had a husband or kids!

There have been a few references to her family - as well as episodes showing her making farm calls while pregnant, then while she was out on maternity leave and coming back.

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

What happened to the vet named Elizabeth? I had never seen her before.

Quite the shocker. When I saw her the other night I went and checked for any updates - and found nada. Here's an old article https://gazettereview.com/2018/05/what-happened-to-dr-elizabeth/

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, SRTouch said:

There have been a few references to her family - as well as episodes showing her making farm calls while pregnant, then while she was out on maternity leave and coming back.

Quite the shocker. When I saw her the other night I went and checked for any updates - and found nada. Here's an old article https://gazettereview.com/2018/05/what-happened-to-dr-elizabeth/

I saw IDP in parts of 2012-13 then not until earlier this year, so I missed all of that. Hooray for marathons!

Here is where Dr. Elizabeth Grammer is working: https://animalamourpetvet.com/about-our-clinic/our-team/

Guess her legal case was resolved in her favor.

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

I saw IDP in parts of 2012-13 then not until earlier this year, so I missed all of that. Hooray for marathons!

Here is where Dr. Elizabeth Grammer is working: https://animalamourpetvet.com/about-our-clinic/our-team/

Guess her legal case was resolved in her favor.

Thanks for digging that up - I always liked her on the show. Quick glance at the site - looks like more focus on companion animals, some exotics, but no more farm calls. Have to say, just from watching farm calls on Dr Pol, not sure I'd be happy doing them.... but than, after watching some of the idiots who bring in their companion animals to TV vets... not sure how they can hold it in with some of their clients.

[Bastet]

It's an interesting aspect of watching this show for me -- while I would not take my cats (or other domesticated animals, if I had any) to Pol Veterinary, if I had farm animals, Pol would be the ones I'd call upon.  (And especially if I had a chicken, duck, or other animal no other vet in the area will see; I certainly understand their reasoning - it's the same one that prevents me from taking a case in an area of law I'm not properly versed in - but I appreciate his "well, I'm better than nothing; let's give it a try" attitude, too.) 

Yet watching the farm visits can be especially aggravating.  It's a sobering reminder for this "I get most of my meat from family farms" omnivorous city dweller that, while certainly an improvement over factory farms, a family farm does not automatically mean all best practices were used.  Not enough to make me a vegetarian, mind you, but enough to make me dig a little deeper.

I've mentioned more than once in the now-vaulted forum how cows would be extinct if the percentage of stalled labors seen on the show was inherent to the species so it must be something we are doing, and the marathon brings home that it must be the practice of breeding for over-sized calves.  Virtually all the "Oh, crap; the calf is surely dead and if we don't pull it out for her in time the momma cow will be too" scenarios are introduced by a "Oh, that's a big calf" sentiment expressed by the vet upon sticking their arm in there.

Watching a good bit of the marathon also compels me to mention again how much I appreciate that they show stories that end in death.  They're sad to watch, but that's a big part of practicing medicine (and of having pets).  I love the Dr. Jeff show on Animal Planet, too, probably even more than this one, but they edit for happy endings and I appreciate the full picture presented here.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Bastet

[Claire85]

Poor Dr. Elizabeth! I had no idea. 

[LittleIggy]

I saw the episode in which Charles took piano lessons to learn Moonlight Sonata so he could surprise his mom for Mother’s Day. 💕💕 That was so sweet! 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I've been told that because of artificial insemination, and factors like the huge amount of meat on some animals, like the modern turkey, the animals don't even try to breed any more, and are too misshapen from the extra meat to actually breed.   

Some cousins had a huge dairy farm, and the wife was terrified of the bulls they had over the years, because they were very bad tempered (some breeds really are, but the cows from that breed were very sweet), and if they ever escaped it would have been very dangerous.   She was very happy when you could get frozen semen for breeding, and the bull went away.   

They showed a preview, and apparently Charles and Beth are having their wedding shown next week, this season sometime.  I found it totally impossible to get a description of the episode for next week on Nat Geo Wild's website.     I'm not sure when they'll show it, but I can't wait.   I love a great wedding.

Edited January 13, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

So happy new Dr. Pol episodes are back! I was worried about the little dog that had bloody discharge from the rear. I was dreading the sad music. So glad to see him barking like a typical toy dog the next morning. 😀

[Momofollieboy]

22 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

So happy new Dr. Pol episodes are back! I was worried about the little dog that had bloody discharge from the rear. I was dreading the sad music. So glad to see him barking like a typical toy dog the next morning. 😀

The poor dog passed away the next night.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Momofollieboy said:

The poor dog passed away the next night.

In the follow-up, they showed him at home running around with another dog. The clip was also shown on the promos. You must be thinking of a past episode.