My Afternoon with the Vet

Have you ever had several similar things happen in one day?  Well, that was how my afternoon went.  I had to meet with the vet so he could look at some "interesting"  lumps and bumps on some steers.  Bryan and Alma were playing with the hose in the river so I had to be the assistant.  I hope not to be too gross in describing the scene, and thankfully I don't have pictures, because it would be "over the top" gross.

The first steer had a growth the size of a basketball on his side, just in front(?) of his flank.  We were concerned that it could have "guts" in it so we didn't dare pierce it ourselves, which is the usual treatment for any other lump that looks like an abscess.  The vet stuck a needle into it and immediately white puss comes out, so he makes the hole bigger with a blade.  Remember what it looks like when you pop a zit?  Well, basically the same concept-- only a gallon of puss oozed out!  Thankfully it didn't smell too bad as is usually the case.  It made a huge mess all over the shute!

The next steer had an enlarged and swollen, um, sack.  Again the same treatment was applied and again the result was also the same!  More puss, only on a much smaller scale, more like a cup.

After that,  we went to Charlie's to look at a cow that we thought had pneumonia.  I thought it would be straight forward:  drive her to the corral, run her into the shute, give her a shot and the vet would tell us to turn her where she can get green grass.  We doctored her 2 days ago and she wasn't responding (first clue).  She was in the bull pen, so we walked down and drove her, on foot, up toward the corral.  The total distance is less than half a block.   We got her and her calf out of the bull pen and she began coughing up blood.  This is something I haven't seen before.  I have seen them bleed from their nose when they have pneumonia, but not like this!  By the time she walked to the next gate, she was struggling, and about a quart of blood was coming out at each cough.  It was an unusual red color and frothy (sorry for the grossness).  The vet said she would bleed out in a matter of minutes.   We had only been out there with her for five minutes and she was quivering and unable to stand and then dead.  Thankfully, it was fast, but it was still not something I wanted to see.  She was a young cow and a good milker by the looks of her calf.  We will miss her.
It makes me realize how fragile life is and to not take people I love for granted.  I am so blessed to love my family and my life more than I ever imagined!