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RE: Crotalus ericsmithi (new species!!!)
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by FSB on July 30, 2008
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Jeez, you don't need to tell me about vets.... my brother's one! Oh - my - God. (Excuse me, I mean, "Oh my Vet"). I think DVM must stand for Divinely Vicious Megalomaniac. People think surgeons are bad... well, my DAD was one of those, but he was more like your old, humble country Doc with a good bedside manner who lived to farm. I think that learning how to be a major a-hole must be an official part of vet school curriculum. By the way, John (I'm almost afraid to ask this), but when did that unfortunate incident involving the krait occur at Zoo Atlanta, because my brother was a vet there, but it was back in the late 70's...
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RE: Crotalus ericsmithi (new species!!!)
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by Cro on July 30, 2008
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Frederick, no, the Krait Vet was not your brother, LOL !
It was the old Lion Country Safari Vet. But the time period is very close, only about a year difference !
I had a good friend who went through the Vet School at UGA, and after that he became a jerk big time. Once he got set up caring for the rich folks dogs and cats, he stopped caring about anything except making money.
When he graduated Vet School, I sent him a set of "All Creatures Great & Small" by James Herriot as a graduation gift. I had to struggle to pay for the book set at the time, it was about $36.00, but was at a time I was looking for nickles under the sofa to buy a Krystal Hamburger or MexiMelt, and living on a very small income every month. That $36.00 would have bought about 40 cans of sardines, and would have provided me with food for a couple of weeks.
I had read Herriot's books, and really liked them. With my friend becoming a Vet, I figgured that he might like them also. He acted like the books were an insult. Perhaps he wanted me to give him a Porche ? I gave him the nicest gift I could afford at the time, and it was very sad that he never even bothered to thank me for it.
Well, I sure hope he is enjoying his wealth from treating poodles and other fancy animals in a rich part of town.
Too bad that it came at the cost of writing off folks from his past who were friends.
But getting back to Vets, yep, the old country vet is very rare these days. Most folks decide to become Vets because they are not good enough for medical school, and they want to make big money real quickly.
And Robert, as far as Dr. Joe Mendelson and Dr. Dwight Lawson at Zoo Atlanta, well, I have not met them.
However, Mendelson is a Frog Guy, which is OK, however, from what I have heard from X reptile keepers there, he has ruined the reptile collection at that zoo, and has removed many of the venomous snake exhibits and turned them into turtle and frog exhibits. I have heard that he is afraid of venomous snakes, and that the removal of said snakes is why many keepers no longer want to work there, or have allready moved to other zoos. But, those are just unconfirmed things that I have been told by sources that I consider reliable.
Most likely, someone who is an amphibian specialist would be be better suited working at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with the dart frog collection, and not as Curator at a zoo which at one time had a reputation of having a great venomous snake and crocodilian collection.
I have heard good things about Dwight Lawson, though. Apparently, he is more of a herper who appreciates reptiles and amphibians of all sorts. Hopefully, he will have some influence in the direction that the reptile collection at Atlanta Zoo takes. Perhaps he will eventually become Curator, and frog boy can move somewhere else.
It really is simple. A REPTILE BUILDING at a ZOO should have Reptiles, and a few Amphibians for fun.
A Curator who is a Amphibian Guy from the start is just not going to be a good Reptile Curator.
Just my $ 0.25 worth.......
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Crotalus ericsmithi (new species!!!)
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by FSB on July 31, 2008
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Gee, my brother went to UGA too.... and before that he really seemed to care about something other than "makin' a big pile of money." He sometimes tells stories about some of the crusty old vets that mentored him there, which gives me some idea of where this attitude comes from. They particulalry seem to have a dim view of reptiles as being second-class animals, though my brother was very into reptiles growing up. Of course, there are the Doug Maders out there, thank goodness, who treat reptiles with all the respect of any other animal, but a lot of vets still seem to view them as "disposable pets." Funny you mention the Herriot books.... I always enjoyed those too. My brother very much reminds me of Seigfried Farnon, James' boss in the books. One day he went into an extended rant about how the new Cornerstone computer system should be able to calculate dosages automatically, so I spent the entire afternoon on the phone with Cornerstone getting the dosage calculator set up so all you had to do was enter the animal's weight and the drug and it would instantly calculate the correct dose. I couldn't wait to come in the next morning and announce it was done, and all I got was: "What the hell do I need that for? I can just do that with a piece of paper and a pencil!"
As for me, I know only too well what you mean by raiding sofa cushions for income and regarding sardines as a dinner entree....
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