91快色

After four years in a city of 1.4 million people, Clayton Brandt is ready to return to small town life.

After graduating from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in the Class of 2018, he鈥檚 starting his first job as a veterinarian at practice in Dunmore, Alta., a hamlet near his home town of Medicine Hat.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be nice coming back,鈥� Dr. Brandt says. 鈥淚 enjoy the small community feel. You get to know the clients well and you get to know the people in your community, because everyone knows everyone. I like that for sure.鈥�

Brandt鈥檚 experiences growing up influenced his decision to become a veterinarian. He spent a lot of time on his uncle鈥檚 farm. And at home there were always pets around. In Brandt鈥檚 case, some of the pets went on to become police dogs.

鈥淢y dad was with the Medicine Hat police canine unit so right from the time I was a kid we always had a puppy around the house,鈥� he says. 鈥淗e was involved in raising the pups, some of them became police dogs and some didn鈥檛. I guess a bit of it wore off on me.鈥�

His new boss, Dr. Megan Herman, DVM'14, owns Animal Medical Centre South. She鈥檚 thrilled to have Brandt join the mixed animal practice. 鈥淚n this area we have a shortage of vets in general,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 looked a while ago and I think every clinic in Medicine Hat was trying to hire. It鈥檚 difficult to keep people unless people are from here.鈥�

Dr. Herman looks forward to working with Brandt, not only because of his training and expertise but also because he truly wants to live and work in the area. 鈥淚 do like smaller communities,鈥� says Brandt. 鈥淲hen I first got to 91快色 and you鈥檙e sitting there on Deerfoot with the traffic at a standstill for hours, I got a little impatient, I guess you could say,鈥� he says with a laugh.

From hamsters to heifers

UCVM prepares graduates to be rural community veterinarians. That means being able to work with everything from hamsters and hounds to horses and heifers. Which is exactly what Brandt wanted to do from day one at UCVM.

鈥淥ur profs said, 鈥楧on鈥檛 put on the blinders. You鈥檙e going to find things you like and you might change your mind鈥� and a lot of my classmates did,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 kept my mind open throughout vet school but it stayed the same for me. I always wanted to go back to a smaller community and to do mixed practice. I鈥檝e kept on that path.鈥�

Brandt will work with a wide variety of animals in his new job. 鈥淭here鈥檚 small reptiles and exotics like chinchillas and rabbits, right up to cattle and horses and companion animals. I鈥檓 hoping to do all of it.鈥�

And 鈥榓ll of it鈥� will include mentoring vet med students in their fourth-year clinical rotations. His new employer is a partner in UCVM鈥檚 Distributed Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

鈥淚 won鈥檛 forget the school,鈥� Brandt says. 鈥淭here鈥檒l be more UCVM students coming to Dunmore and I can pass along some of the knowledge I鈥檒l eventually pick up. I鈥檓 excited for it, it should be fun.鈥�