Latest / Beyond the Green Bibs / Ep 12 Chat with Dr. Courtney Matthias

Transcript

Ep 12 Chat with Dr. Courtney Matthias · Beyond the Green Bibs

• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, and welcome to Beyond the Green Bibs.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I am Annie, a cattle vet, farmer, mom of two boys, and business owner with passions involving agriculture and personal finance.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: I am on a mission to inspire and encourage women who want to be involved in large animal medicine and also be a mom and so much more.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: I believe we as women can create a community to provide support to other women as we build a life filled with gratitude and purpose.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you are in the vet truck on your way to a farm call, a mom running the kids to school, a gal that loves animal agriculture, or heck, all of the above.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining me.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And let's roll on with today's conversation.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome back to another episode of Beyond the Green Bibs.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Annie.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: A couple things before we get into our interview.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm getting through the last few interviews from last fall, but wanted to bring a couple things up before we get into it.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I had someone previously ask about an update on our farm and the calves, and so every so often I'm gonna try and remember to do that.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: So today's the day that I am gonna go ahead and share our farm update.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: We are getting into fall harvest, so we are starting to chop some corn silage to feed our mama cows just to help them through the winter, get them a little extra nutrition.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: We will be digging some potatoes.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: Our family raises quite a few potatoes to feed ourselves through the winter as well as our community.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: So a couple of those things, and then it is fall time, so it is butchering time.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: So our beef animals that are close to being ready to go are gonna be heading to the butcher here in the next couple months.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what's happening here at the farm.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then I did want to share this very interesting story that happened at our farm just in the last couple weeks that the veterinary interest folks will probably enjoy.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: You never know what you're gonna run into as a large animal veterinarian and then have your own cattle, and you really don't know what's gonna happen.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: But we actually had one of our heifers who uh she will be having a calf hopefully this next spring.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: She decided to try to be friends with a porcupine.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And this has never happened at our farm before.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen porcupines around.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but for whatever reason, our heifer named Dorothy decided she was gonna try to be friends with a porcupine.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: And fortunately, I've been going out to check on the cattle every day as we're getting to fall and trying to start getting the calves interested in eating feed, other than having milk from their mom, so we can start that weaning process.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I've been out there just about every day checking everybody and giving them a little bit of what I call treats, it's a little bit of a pellet mix to get them a little bit of nutrition outside of mom's.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: And she always comes up to see what's happening because she was a calf not so so long ago.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: And she came up and I saw her face and went, oh no.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: So she had porcupine quills on the side of her face on both of her front legs, and I knew that was gonna be a problem, and I had to do something about it.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I guess my family's thankful I'm the vet to take care of that.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: We didn't have to call anyone, but I did have to figure out how we were going to get all those quills out when we don't really have a working facility per se for the cattle.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: That is something I would like to get in the future.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think it would be very helpful for us.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: But um, for the time being, we can tend to use gates and halter ropes and um make a working facility that is, I would say, safe for everyone involved.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so I had to get some manpower of um my brother and my dad to help me get her off of the pasture where she can just run free for acres and acres and get her to come into a smaller pen and then get her on a trailer so I could then work with her, which we did accomplish, and I was quite impressed that she was so well behaved because I mean we see them every day, we talk to them every day when we're especially out on the pasture.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: At least we're talking to them.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: We may not be touching them in the barn.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: We do tend to touch them once in a while, you know, in the morning and the evening when we're feeding or or walking through.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: But um, she was very cooperative to go ahead and come into the pen.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: She brought some of the other young calves with her, and uh, we were able to sort her out of the group and send the calves back in with everyone else and get her on our livestock trailer, and then um we hauled her up to the barn, and this is now getting to be like nine or ten o'clock at night.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's pitch black.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: We're using headlights to get her on the trailer.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I said we're not gonna start this project tonight.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we gave her some feeding water in the trailer, and the next day was operation day, if you want to call it that.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so the next day I went and uh sedated her and got her to lay down and um take a really nice nap, and then um actually used um a pair of pliers or hemostats also work, but I used a pair of pliers that have like needle nose grip, and um I got to got to work on pulling all the quills out.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: I was going to count them, but then I got sidetracked and I did not count them.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: But it was probably about a 45 minute to an hour project of pulling them out of her face, getting her legs and her front legs and feet kind of out where I could really get a good look at them and a good feel of them.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: Pull all the quills out of each of the each of the front legs, and then um I went and got and gave her um some ivy banamine for pain because I'm sure those hurt, and coated the areas where the quills were with some fly spray because some of them were bleeding, and so try to try to help her out in that way.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then um we just went ahead and let her wake up and we took her back out to pasture with her friends, and I don't think she's ever gonna try to visit with a porcupine again.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: So that was that was an interesting experience.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Another thing I wanted to share about is you may have seen on other episodes, and it's gonna show up on this one, but there is now a spot where you can support the podcast.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: And if you feel so inclined, awesome.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: It helps me to to go ahead and and produce more of these.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Previously, it was free to publish a certain amount of time or a certain amount of episodes, and then after that, it's more or less, you know, the trial has ended, you gotta pay.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: So um, if you would like to support me in that way, thank you.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I just wanted to share that that's gonna be showing up on there now.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then another fun thing that I just happened to be finding as I was looking at the podcast as I go to the website to go ahead and upload and whatnot, is there are seven different countries listening to this podcast.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that just blows my mind because I I didn't really know who would want to listen to it, and I was hoping to get some people in the United States to listen to it and and hopefully get some folks interested in large animal medicine and and know that they can pursue that that dream if that's something they want to do.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: But to hit seven different countries just blows my mind.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks for listening and share this with a friend, and um, hopefully we can continue to grow that list of countries.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's get to our interview now.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: We have a repeat state.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: This is exciting, and I have a feeling we're gonna have a lot more repeats from this state because it's my home state of Michigan.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: So the interview today is with Dr.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: Courtney Mathias, and she is from Michigan.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: She works in a large animal practice.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: They actually have a small animal um sector of it, but she does all large animal.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And she had some really, really good little little tidbits to to take along that I wanted to share.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things that she said is it's very rewarding to see students succeed.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: So students who are riding along, which by the way, if there's somebody who is interested in riding along and you're in Michigan, for sure reach out to me and we can potentially make something happen.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: But it's so rewarding and fulfilling to help the next generation of veterinarians, hence why I'm even doing this podcast.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: And another thing she said just about as we're going through vet school and we're, you know, we're taking that next test, we're taking that next test, we're passing the class, we're getting ready for boards, is to take a breath, take a pause and appreciate where you are in the moment and what you have accomplished so far.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because regardless of what you do in life, you are accomplishing things.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe it's something little, maybe it's something astronomically huge, like passing boards.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: But take a second out of your day to just pause and think about what you've accomplished so far and um have some have some gratefulness and some grace for you know where you've fallen short and where you're heading.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: She and I aligned very much on personal finance, which was another interesting thing because I've never met Courtney previously.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it was great to to kind of meet her and go, oh my gosh, yes, we're on the same page of this.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, one of the things she said is to live within your means.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And our goal for anybody listening to this podcast, and anybody just in general, is we want people to set themselves up for financial independence.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: That is that is the true goal in life.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: If you are financially independent, you really have a lot more freedom to do things that you are passionate about that may not have the biggest income, um, but you're already set up.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: So that is that is huge.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I was just tickled pink that that that was something that um she wanted to talk about, you know, some of the Dave Ramsey um topics of the some of the things that he promotes.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we agree on a lot of them.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: So that was that was very cool.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then um one more item of of things to think about as you're a vet student and looking at contracts and talking to future employers is to find out what your expectations are for work.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: What are your hours?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Does that include your drive time?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: She has some long drives.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: I know in my past position, I had three hours sometimes to drive just to get to a location where I was gonna be visiting farms.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so that makes for an extra long day when um you have to drive a significant amount just to get to the place to do your work.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: So find out what your expectations are at that job.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: And she, as well as myself, welcome anyone to ride along and see what we do as a large animal vet in the field because a lot of times it will surprise you.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um I don't think it's what people typically think what we do.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And um the farms we visit are not what people may think of the stereotypical farm.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: There are there's a lot of diversity, there's a lot of variety of farms and practices um within animal agriculture.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: So um I'm gonna go ahead and let her talk, and I hope you enjoy this interview.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: All right, I am here at the AABP conference.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: So everyone here is a Calvet, yay, and we are in Omaha, Nebraska.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Courtney, and she is a fellow Michigander, so we're gonna have a fabulous conversation.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Courtney, for joining me.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_03: So happy to be here.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so I'm gonna give a few questions, we're gonna have a great conversation.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to start off with telling me a little bit about yourself.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, where you're from, what school you went to, and what you're up to currently.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, so I am from a very small town right in the middle of Michigan.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_03: It is a blinking light, and there probably literally are more cows than people.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I went to Michigan State for undergrad, and I also went there for med school.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: But actually, before I went to Michigan State, I did community college for two years, which highly, highly recommend.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_03: Could not recommend anymore.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so yeah, that's where you're from.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: All right, and then what are you doing currently in practice?
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, so right now I am a large animal veterinarian and owner for Sterner Veterinarian Livestock Professionals, and we have our large animal clinic in Westphalia, Michigan, and we have a small animal clinic in Ionia.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_03: And so that's a little variety too.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_03: I I don't practice any small animal, but still have ownership, so that's it's a fun balance.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: That is very cool.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: So when you were growing up and then going to vet school, I mean you knew you want to be a veterinarian, how did that play out?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: And did you think that, you know, after graduation, I am gonna be going straight to Stirner and I am gonna be this 100% dairy vet?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Is that how it went?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, or share that story.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_03: So, yeah, so I grew up on a beef farm, and we also had horses, pigs when I was younger, and absolutely loved animals, and I also loved biology and chemistry and all of that.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but I really did not think that women were vets.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_03: And so I met Dr.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_03: Brenda, and she came out to our farm and pulled a calf for us, and that was my aha moment.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_03: Like, wow, she's a woman, she can do that.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_03: And that was sparked my okay, maybe I could do this.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I still doubt it.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_03: Am I strong enough?
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_03: Would I and also I had the pressure of like, oh, you have to use that.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, could you handle it?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_03: And and now of course I'm about it's like, oh wow, that's like the easiest thing that I do.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_03: It is you feel good, honestly, about doing it.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_03: You can get, you know, get rid of their suffering.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_03: So uh I had that realization that I could do that, and I I was thinking something in the medical field at first, like maybe a pediatrician, I love kids, maybe a physician assistant.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: So at first I actually went to central Michigan for one semester, and I was going home all the time to be with my animals, like all the time.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_03: I I missed that.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_03: So I realized no, I I need to go to vet school, and that's when I moved back home, dealt to college for two years, and then transferred to Michigan State, where I stayed until I was done.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_03: So definitely not straightforward.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_03: I I dabbled when I was about 13 and oh I don't know if I can do it, and then jumped back in.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so have you been at Sterner since you graduated?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, yes, ever since.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_03: And that was amazing.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so glad that I made that choice to work there, and they are absolutely wonderful.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_03: I uh had a job in vet school with Michigan Milk Producers Association, and so that was I jumped around to so many different farms, and I met uh Dr.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: Jeffers on one of the farms, and of course that sparked our relationship, and um, so I knew I wanted to go there.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome how those connections just kind of land in your lap, you know, like no, and the fact that I was there for her check.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_03: If I would have been there any other day, I probably wouldn't have met him, and it's it's amazing.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_03: What do you mean?
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: That was awesome.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: So if you don't mind sharing, how long have you been in practice?
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: Eight years.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_03: You might as well have been, I'm going on eight.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_03: So it's been a full seven.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_03: Uh yeah, it it flies.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: It does, it really does.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: So what are you most proud of from being of that so far?
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: And the the way that I asked this question is I want you to shine, I want you to put the spotlight on you.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be humble.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: This is the time, like, share your badass moment.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are you most proud of?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: So I have thought about this so much, and there are so many little moments where you're like, that animal would be dead without me.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_03: And especially the ones where you tell the owner, like, you give them the four prognosis.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I do not think they're gonna make it, and they do, and though I have so many of those, and they give me so much joy, and I but I can honestly say that I am most proud of myself when I'm working with clients and new veterinarians, our new grads, when I can teach them something and then I see them be proud of themselves, and I watch that.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_03: That is I'm so proud of myself for spreading my knowledge and seeing them thrive.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I we have um two new grads, they're both women in our practice right now, and being able to work with them has been amazing and setting them up for our future, and yeah, that's what I'm honestly most proud of is them, and I see them out with my clients, and it I love it.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, helping the next generation to grow and develop is yeah, it's so rewarding, it's just like you know, you say that giving a gift is so much, so much more rewarding than actually getting the gift.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you don't even, you know.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: One other thing that I I know I asked the question is being a vet, but I think this is intertwined very, very closely with you being a vet that you should be exceptionally proud of.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: And we were talking before we started this recording that you have three children, yes, and I think you should be exceptionally proud.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: So add that to your list, absolutely.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: So, and we'll talk about the kids a little later.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because I want to I want to hear some stuff about them.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: What is one thing you would change if you could go back in time to your younger self?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: So this is I mean, this is before med school.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: This is however young you want to go back for sure.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_03: I would tell myself to just enjoy every phase that I'm in.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_03: I have to constantly remind myself of this even now.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_03: But when I was in high school, get the best grades, get experience, get into MSU, and get into high school.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_03: And I always am looking ahead instead of appreciating where you are and enjoying where you are.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and even in my personal life, like fine husband, oh, get married, oh have kids, like start a family.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_03: And looking, I look back at my time in high school, and and at that time I was like, this is hard.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_03: I have to do well on these exams, I'm stressed.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_03: And I look back and I was with such a wonderful group of humans, and I miss them.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_03: And there were so many laughs, even though it was hard.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I feel like at the time I just wanted to test one, I just wanted to get the next job.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like appreciate where you were and because it was such good times.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so just enjoy what stage you're in, and don't be happy, be happy with where you are, and of course, you're always moving and you're always looking forward, but just slow down.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_03: It's gonna happen in time.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a wonderful answer.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, taking a pause, taking a breath, and just wow, this is where I am.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you know, just that three-second pause is so important.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, what were the biggest challenges that you faced as a new grad woman in veterinary medicine, woman in large animal medicine uh post-graduation?
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: Did you have women veterinarians at the practice that you joined?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Were you having to uh pave the way?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of challenges did you face?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_03: I was just very thankful to have three large animal women veterinarians already at the clinic that I went into.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_03: And so a lot of our clients were they're already used to us.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_03: They've they've done a wonderful job paving the way and knowing that we are we are very capable veterinarians and even better than the male veterinarians in some aspects.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but I personally I just took a while to being a veterinarian is not something you can just read and memorize and be fully prepared for.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_03: It takes so much time.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_03: You reach in a cow and you have to say, is this three, four, five, six, seven months pregnant?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_03: That is not something you're gonna read in the book and you're gonna learn right away.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_03: It's gonna take a long time.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: And also there's several different surgeries that we do, and you're gonna have to do about 10 to 15 of all of those different surgeries before you feel really competent.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_03: And especially in cavions, like there are so many different ways that calf can be in there, and you're blind, and you have to figure it out on your own, and that's not something that you're gonna read in a book.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: You just have to get your hands in it and learn, and it takes time and experience, and just accepting the fact that it's gonna take a while, you gotta be patient with yourself.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and that was really my new grad before I had kids, and of course, balancing the owner mind, that of course came later.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but for as far as new grads, that was definitely my biggest challenge.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, excellent.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: So you are part owner, yes.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: How did that process, if you don't mind sharing?
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need to have a super detail, but like how did that process go?
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're going on eight years out of school, you've been at this practice for going on eight years.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um if you don't mind sharing, how did that play out for you?
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_03: For sure.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I was uh owner when I was about three years into the practices, and you know, they offer you shares and you make the decision, and it is a huge decision that you have to take really um seriously because.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_03: You really want to commit yourself to that practice, and of course, there were definitely times when I would pull up to I don't know why this especially hit on my Tuesday morning hotel.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_03: I would pull in and be like, every Tuesday morning from here on out, like, am I gonna I'm gonna be here like at this time, and and that is like how our schedules are is we have our clients, which is wonderful because we see them at the exact same time, the exact same week, and um every week, and it just hit me because in med school you're doing a new thing every three weeks, three weeks, new thing, three weeks, new thing, and you get on that rhythm, and then it's like until I'm like in my 60s, I'm gonna be here, and but I totally I realized I I do not want to be with anywhere else, I do not want to be doing anything else.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_03: I love these people, I love who I work with, and so I made the decision pretty much all right, this is what I'm gonna be the rest of my life, and bought in, and now so I've I've been an owner for yeah, going on four years.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_03: So um, yeah, it's I I'm so happy that I made the decision that I did, and it's it's fun, it's fun be an owner and helping be a part of the business and helping to make those decisions to make it better for not only your clients, but also the people you work for, making their lives better.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's an excellent answer.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for sharing that.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I own a private consulting business, it's just me, myself, and I and the truck.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so knowing, you know, having this group practice and being able to step in relatively early to join as an owner, that's another thing you should be exceptionally proud of.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: So what is it like raising three kids in large animal vet med?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm emphasizing this three because I've got two kids and there's juggling, and we know it's we know it's hard, and it's this way or that way, and sometimes it's massive chaos, and every day is chaos.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: But we make it work, we do it, and so I would love for you to share some stories of what it's like raising your kids.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to share hold there, that's fine.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: We don't need any of the the personal information about them, but if you've got some funny stories, if they've come along with you for calls or something, and if they're old enough, I wouldn't mind that you share a story or two.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I would love them for sure.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so I have my daughter is five, and then I have two boys, three and one.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_03: And my daughter is all about my job, she loves it.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_03: She says that she wants to be a veterinary um for dogs and cats, though.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_03: She's very pacific about that, but she does love the cows, and uh so one day there was a c-section going on at the clinic, and what makes my life so much easier is their daycare is about a mile and a half from the clinic.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_03: So beautiful.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_03: I go pick them up, and there was a c-section going on, and so I bring them in, and of course, I got a baby on my hip.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_03: I got my daughter who we have to continue their mind to get out of the sterile area because she is in there and just asking all these excellent questions, and then my son he's hiding in the back corner, like behind the shelves, and he is like does not want to see any blood, does not want to see anything, and of course, I got the syringe up with the needle, and he's thinking I'm gonna poke him.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, honey, no, like you're fine, and so just they're so fun because they're all different, and of course, I've taken them on different calls.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, they love calves.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_03: If I am out with the calves, I I also to pull them away, like, come on, let's get dinner.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_03: There's a fine line when oh, we're having fun with the calves, and then we are starving and grumpy, and then we are crying because we're leaving the calves, and it's a balance, but they're they're the absolute joy of my life.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_03: I remember thinking I when I first became a veterinarian, I was thinking I was put on the cert to be a veterinarian, but no, I'm put on the cert to be a mom, and of course, but um they're they're they're the best.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Wonderful, and the the common thread for all the conversations that I've had so far as a mom and a vet, we know it's hard, but it is so, so, so worth it um raising kids and then having them exposed to animal agriculture, fruit animal medicine, seeing us do all the various things, see us doing multiple things at the same time, juggling it all, and that you know, we are providing for them.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: They can yeah, maybe not right now, but later on in life they will appreciate that, and we're we are developing some of their work ethic.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, and I'll I'll even add like so that's the fun, and then there is the hard, and the hard is when I've had a hard day, and I've had to utilize a calf that we've been working on, and it's hard to leave it at the door because mom hat goes on, we gotta make dinner, we gotta practice spelling words, we have to so much to do, and so I what I have found is uh a shower.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_03: If I and that's almost my like refresh, you are home now, leave work at work, and that has really helped, and just to try to keep them separate.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: My daughter is getting to the age where I will share with her, and she's so empathetic too.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_03: She'll be like, What's wrong?
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like she knows, and like so I will tell her things, and it's actually good to have that conversation with her because she does appreciate my job, which um yeah, it's it's fun when they get to the age where they understand what you're doing and they also love what you're doing too, and they can get involved.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: No, I think that is a wonderful piece of advice.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, great, great answer.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: So the next question: if you feel comfortable answering, that's great.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't, that is totally fine.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: This is a podcast where I will share personal financial topics.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Personal finance is one of my passions.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: So there will be episodes later on that I'll go into some of the different personal finance topics.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so I had to put it in here somewhere.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: Have finances affected your path to where you are currently?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: And if so, how?
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yes, and this is actually a huge topic.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_03: Any student who rides with me is like, you should know how much in debt you are, you should know your interest rates, you should know how much this is gonna cost you and what you're gonna come out with.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and so I've almost become like financial plannerslash vet, I feel like sometimes, but um, I did not receive enough of that, you know, as an undergrad.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_03: I really didn't know what I was getting into.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want to be a vet now, sign me up.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so yeah, I did graduate with$165,000 in debt.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_03: There's some people who are afraid to say it's like, oh, it's a number.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and I did have some loans that were around 7% interest, and it's scary.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_03: It is really scary, and I know that there are a lot of us who even have more than that, and so it'd be even more scary.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but the real what really works for me is the first couple years out just pretending that the money that I made isn't mine, just letting it go.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, I was able to do that because of my husband.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_03: Really, he helped us stay afloat, and all our the money I made from my job went.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm very proud.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, we're talking about being proud.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_03: Here we go.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_03: I am very proud to say I paid off in three years, and that was, of course, just um Dave Ramsey, that of Death Snowball, lived by that for a little bit.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_03: It is tough now, but I'm very thankful that we are at where we are now financially, and and when your kids are little, it's easier.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_03: I honestly, of course, you have diapers and you have daycare, but it's not let's go on extravagant trips, let's not travel, it's just let's stay home, let's grind through this, and then you know, now in the future we can hopefully do all the fun things and really just live life if I want to.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: My heart is so swollen right now.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: I am so proud of you.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, student debt is such a huge topic.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this morning I presented at the conference on personal finance, and student debt is part of that conversation.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I know there are many students and many graduates that are gonna have$200,000,$300,000 in student debt.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: And that is scary.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we we all, at least I'm gonna I'm gonna speak for all of us, we all feel the responsibility that we need to pay for our education.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes that isn't practical for us to actually survive um on a rural, you know, in a rural area, working rural practice, that income, it might not be enough to actually be able to pay them off 100%.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: So thankful that there are options with using income-based retainment plans and whatnot.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_01: And we're not gonna turn this into a financial episode, but there's gonna be a little more finance because um for you and I are very much on the same page for we bit the bullet in saying this big check we now get where we previously had zero, yes, uh, we were in the negatives using our own money to pay for everything.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna live the same and bank that and get this looming debt out of our way so that we can pursue those other things and set ourselves up for financial independence.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that is my goal um as I'm doing presentations, even with this podcast, is I want people to have financial security and financial freedom and just even if it's gonna take them a while to get there, to work on getting there.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because it is, I don't know, amazing.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have a better way to describe the feeling when you pay off a debt, and it doesn't have to be student debt, I mean it can be an auto credit card, something else.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: When you pay off a debt, and that is that item, that thing, that diploma, is actually 100% yours, it's the best feeling ever.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: It feels so good.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_03: It feels so good, it's it's unbelievable.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_03: And and that that really did give me the opportunity to buy in because if I would have had that much debt still sitting there, I would have not been financially able to buy in.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_03: And because really when you buy into a business, you do go more into debt, and I'm now working to pay that off.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_03: And so it just you just keep going, you keep investing, and just yeah, it's it's all the whole process, and I'm hopeful that you know in 10 years it'll be we will be everything debt-free, and then also we're looking into buy a house too, which that adds on to it too.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_03: And if I still loan debt with the business and house, it's a lot, especially houses right now.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's hard to buy a house.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right now is not a good time to buy a house, but when you need it, you need it.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: You do, and you just gotta make the you gotta make those numbers work for you.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's an investment, but you are you are setting yourself up for a very successful financial future, and that is going to carry into your children, and that just again warms my heart.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: Warms my heart.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: So see, do you have any financial advice that you want to add to what we've already discussed?
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_03: I think just living below your means, or you know, no, you do not.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_03: We bought our suburban with cash, of course.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_03: Not a brand new suburban, um, but if it's our kids and it's comfortable and it had, you know, not super low miles, but it had it was good.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_03: And then we didn't have a car payment, and so we just try to we when we know something is coming, try to save up and then just pay for it and do not finance if possible.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_03: So, yeah, I guess that's my advice.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: Nope, that's great advice.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_01: Living within your means, I mean, it sounds so simple, and I mean it can be simple, yes, but there is a huge variable on there of we see, especially now with social media, we see all these other things that people are getting or having.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard, and it's like, well, I can just finance and get this brand new pickup truck, yes, be really nice, and I know it's brand new, but as soon as you drive it off the lot, you've got a loan and you've got depreciation.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and so if there's means that you can buy a vehicle with cash, I mean, yes, that is a uh Dave Ramsey method of doing things, and um he does have a lot of financial knowledge.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's some some of his aspects that um he shares, I don't 100% agree with.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, but don't have to keep right.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: Basis, yeah, the basis of his of his knowledge, the foundation and the just the principles make perfect sense.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so having a used, reliable vehicle, perfect.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, perfect.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: No, that was great advice.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: So in the almost eight years that you've been practicing, do you have any special memories or stories to share?
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_01: And they can be funny, they can be humbling, they can be at a farm with a client with a case.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: Sky's the limit.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_03: So one of my favorite cases was right before Christmas time, and I was with our um new associate at the time, and we had she went out to the call first.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_03: It was for one of my clients, and she said, Oh, we there is definitely a deformed cap in here.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_03: It is not alive, we have to go to c-section.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_03: I was like, Okay, so they call it into the clinic, and I meet her there and clip and scrub, and we go in on the side.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_03: The cow is completely awake when we do the c-sections, and cow wishes just fun, but uh we pull out a hundred percent normal live baby right before Christmas, and so we were like, it's a Christmas miracle! That so there was a normal twin in front of the deformed baby, and I remember the client came to pick up his cow, and I was hiding on the other side of the truck, and then I come out carrying this live baby because he, of course, didn't know, and that it was just so fun because you really never know what you're gonna get with our job, and sometimes you go into something sticking one thing, and then something amazing happens, and it's that's why I love this job is there's so much, you just never know what you're gonna get.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have any other stories that you'd like to share?
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my goodness.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um, no, I think I'm good on stories.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um, if we wanted, I don't know how we're doing on time.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_03: You're doing great.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_03: If we wanted to add in like work-life balance tips, or as like finding a job that fits, I could make that go.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_01: But if we're good on time, we're gonna well, I was gonna say we can we can go right into that because it sounds like you have some things to share, and that's wonderful.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, any uh advice as we're I mean, this this podcast is geared towards women interested in animal agriculture and large animal medicine, and you know, becoming a mom is a common thing for us women, and it's scary trying to navigate how you make that work.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, one day you're just kind of a real swollen person carrying the baby, and the next day you've got this little tiny thing that you are 100% responsible for.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_01: And oh, by the way, you gotta get back to work, and this thing needs you a lot, yes, far more than I guess I ever thought.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: Why I didn't, but you know, it's just it's like not I don't know, the baby's fine, I'll just sleep it over there, no worries.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, if you've got some advice for new grads, yes.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_03: When you are looking for a job, and of course I I honestly just got lucky because I met them and I liked them.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_03: I I just liked them, I had good vibes, and so I started working there.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_03: But um, I work four and a half days a week, and that's considered full-time.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_03: And most of the time my day starts like 7:30, and it is done at four most of the time, because I have things to do it for.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_03: I have kids to pick up, and of course, my husband is wonderful at starting dinner because he works from home, but still getting them there, and I can I'm so glad to say this.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_03: I rarely work over 40 hours a week, and I think that is what allows for me to be a mom, and I can volunteer at the school, I am there on for Halloween parties and Christmas and parties, and that's what means so much to me.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I know that is why I I can keep my good work life balance, whatever that is, and why I'm happy.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I know that I owe it to my family to be present in their lives, and I also owe it to myself to be present in their lives, and so I'm just really thankful for my job that allows that.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's wonderful, and I think it's hard to I mean, we're trying to bridge that gap right now.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like with a lot of practices, that um most of the veterinary field, um, and especially in food animal is heading towards predominantly women as veterinarians.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and so there are gonna be a lot of shifts in the future as women start owning practices entirely.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: That this whole, you know, we say work-life balance, there's no balance.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like it doesn't like balance, is I don't know, a silly word for it, probably integration, because we are we're wearing our mom hat 100% of the time, even though we've got our back goggles on and we're projecting back.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_01: We still have that mom, like we're thinking about whatever, you know, gotta have this for dinner and pick this kid up then at that time, and we gotta get to this event.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_01: We still have that going on.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: Very good at multitasking.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we are, and so working with your employer and as you're looking at offers, having that conversation of what are the expectations of you as the new associate?
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: How does that shift as you know progress further along in your career if you stay at the same practice?
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, having those conversations are hard, they're not easy, and especially as a new grad when you've got you know 5,000 things you're worried about, yes, um, just because you want to do a good job at your new career, not to mention you're probably going to a new place and meeting new people in a new house and all these changes.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many things that you're worried about.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that is one thing to really put on the list.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we look at salary, we look at benefits, but yes, that is something of what are my expectations that that you're gonna hold as the employer for me um in this job.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_01: Am I going to be working X number of hours?
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_01: Is it you know, over, is there overtime?
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: How does that work?
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_03: How far do you have to drive to get to your farms?
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_03: Because I really look at what time I have to leave my house and what time I'm returning to my house and keeping that reasonable.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and yeah, and I was the same way.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_03: I when I interviewed, was like, oh, I love these people.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_03: They're like, I love them, yes.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_03: And I I honestly didn't really ask any of these questions, and I just got lucky, and it has worked so well, so it's definitely worth sharing.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um yeah.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_01: Nope, I think that's great advice.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: And um, my next question is kind of just in addition to that, is you know, we're we're talking about vets maybe starting a family, or maybe have already started a family mother in vet school.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_01: Any mom hacks or tips for them?
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: I know for me, before I was starting my family, I had some conversations with my employer about maternity leave.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_01: There was nothing um in the contract when I had signed up, you know, signed up whenever, you know, 10 years ago now, about a maternity leave policy because I was the first woman in my practice to have a baby.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so we had to have some conversations about it and make something that was going to work for everyone.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and so um any advice on so what you can offer for people starting a family, yeah.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_03: So for definitely, I want to preface this while you're pregnant too.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_03: We always like, and of course, I am the second large animal veterinarian who's a woman who's had babies, and so we have honestly yet to really fine-tune.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_03: And as far as I kept working and I was very pregnant, and I just had to learn on my own what calls I couldn't do and what I could do, and I do think I overdid it a couple times because you want to be there for your clients, and you want to be there for you don't want to say, I cannot get this call, like that it killed me.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so I do think that we I needed to fine-tune with, and now I know going forward if we ever have a large ammo woman to get pregnant again, like sit down, girl, like I got you, listen up.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_03: But uh as far as my eternity leave goes, I took um six weeks off for my daughter, and and that was hard to come back.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_03: It it was, and so I did come back to um halfings a couple times, just as like I needed to get back.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then for my other two, I did eight weeks, and that was definitely better.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I needed those two more weeks.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but it's I think just everybody needs to understand that it is not a break, and I do feel like um I think that's coming with more women who are veterinarians, is um we really do deserve to get paid at that time because it is I work way harder during the maternity leave than I do at work, and a lot of the times too, I'm still fielding cause.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_03: I'm still in communication even while on maternity leave.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so yeah, it's very important and The industry will have to change.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_03: So many women are coming out, and it's very hard to go two months without any pay.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: So yes, yep, I think that's that's great advice.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I also just want to add in there that this can be a very personalized plan.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_01: I have I mean you have two different examples of time frames that you had worked out with your employer for being off.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, the next veterinarian that is pregnant in your practice may need and want something completely different, and having that employer's flexibility to work with them because yes, the maternity leave is not vacation.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_01: You're working harder just trying to keep this baby alive and keep your sanity into in some some aspects.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then yeah, very quickly, you you are getting calls, whether it's a consult or just communicating with your office about, you know, this person needs XYZ.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because they reached out to me because I am their vet and right now, you know, I need this little pause here.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, help them in this fashion.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so, no, I think that was that was a great answer.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_01: So we're coming to the end of our conversation here.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything that we miss that you want to share with our audience?
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, not really, except just always consider like if you have in your heart that you love animals and you have an interest to be a veterinarian, ride along with us.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_03: I we take students all the time, even high school, undergrad, and of course veterinary school.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, learn what we do.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_03: There's no better way to say, do I want to be a veterinarian or not?
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_03: Come ride with me.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_03: And and then you can see uh just if you want to do it, and it's I honestly believe it's the best job.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_03: It really is.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_03: I can't imagine anything else.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_01: This job is very fulfilling, and and then adding on to the fact of having family, there's just like this extra fulfillment, and so yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't trade this career for anything.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_01: I may be not exactly the same path that I started, but just being this career is yes, absolutely rewarding.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Courtney, for visiting.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if something resonated with you on this conversation, if you maybe are in Michigan or you want to connect with Dr.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_01: Courtney, I will include her email address in the show notes.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, maybe we'll have the next new associate coming your way.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_01: Wonderful.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's all for this episode.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for spending your valuable time with me.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: Just a reminder: this podcast is not intended to provide medical advice.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: Please contact your local veterinarian to establish and maintain a valid VCPR veterinary client-patient relationship.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you liked what you heard on this episode, please rate and review this podcast and share it with a friend.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you have questions or comments about this podcast or topics covered or ideas for topics, you can reach me at beyondthegreenbibs at gmail.com or on Facebook and Instagram at Beyond the Green Bibs.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_00: Have a great day, and we'll catch you next time.