Guest Ben Brainard had cared for only a goldfish before getting to college but he somehow had the idea of becoming a veterinarian. He thinks it might have been on account of reading James Harriot’s tales of days spent bucolically going from farm to farm treating animals of all sizes. But even after doing the pre-med track and shadowing vets in Vermont he still didn’t have the full picture of what a diary animal doctor did. In vet school he discovered much of the reality of that work was caring for the farm rather than the individual animals and he realized he needed to switch gears. Going into critical care for people’s pets, he got to exercise his interests in both problem solving on the fly and communicating with people. Along the way he needed to negotiate with the person closest to him and ultimately decide on caring for his own.

In this episode, find out from Ben how figuring out who we want to care for is often a path to contentment…on Roads Taken with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Ben Brainard is currently Edward H. Gunst Professor of Small Animal Critical Care at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, where he is also director of clinical research. He is an expert in fish anesthesia, coagulation, and--as we heard earlier--dealing with primates of all sorts through the Great Ape Heart Project. Ben and his wife are raising their inquisitive daughter in Athens, Georgia. And though he seems to have put his basement band dreams to rest with Vegetative Propagation, he thankfully still wears bow ties.

For another story centered on caring for creatures great and small (and even our own), listen to ourepisode with Liz Rawson.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com

Creature Comforts: Ben Brainard on figuring out who you want to care for

Roads Taken