I had never handled a gun before going to vet school.
So when I was seeing practice at Whipsnade zoo I was unprepared for the skills my colleague there had acquired.
Some of his patients were calm and easy to handle. But the majority were still effectively wild, creating the problem of how a vet can get hands on to help if they are poorly.
So the vet, whose name was Richard, had to be a crack shot, as well as an amazing vet.
He would use either a rifle for darting patients with the sedative, or a blow pipe, which is quieter and less alarming but has a much shorter range.
Preparing for any intervention was a serious business. Richard had to consider not only the safety of the sick animal, but also that of the zoo visitors, as well as his own team.
We were working out in the open, so he had to plan every bit of equipment that might be needed, and ensure we all knew how to reach for it. And he would use every opportunity to gain information about the patient’s health whilst it was down, by taking measurements and samples, all of which needed planning.
His patients were often larger than himself. So the sedative he used had to be sufficient to cause them to settle and lie down. Which meant using a dose that could easily be fatal if an accident occurred and he somehow injected himself.
As a still wet behind the ears third year student, I was shocked when he promoted me to effectively guard his safety.
He started the whole process by pulling up a large dose of the reversing agent to the sedative.
“If I inject myself with the sedative, you must inject me with this, into my muscle as quickly as you can.” he instructed. He then went on to prepare the dart with the sedative, and load his rifle.
There are many scary things that I have had to steel myself to perform, but this one still stands out in my memory. Luckily everything went smoothly on my watch.
