By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com
Winter affects the life and work of mobile vet Bruce Figger, DVM for South Wind Animal Health, but he enjoys the variety of his work and that keeps him going rain or shine, snow or sun. Figger sees plenty of variety in the livestock he cares for as part of his large animal services in an area that includes Pratt, Stafford, Barton, Reno, even Rice counties.
“Last week I got a call to check on a cow that fell through the ice and froze during this recent cold spell,” Figger said. “That was brutal. She looked something like a Loch Ness monster.”
While Figger could not save the cow, part of his job is to inspect and file a death report for insurance purposes.
“Most of the time, a natural disaster death would be for something like a lightning strike,” Figger said. “But having a cow get frozen in the ice is just as devastating for a cattle rancher.”
As a large animal vet, Figger is on call pretty much 24/7 and responds to veterinary care needs for cattle, horses, goats, sheep, swine, and other farm, ranch, and exotic livestock. He does not typically work with cats or dogs as his office is his work truck and is not set up for x-rays or office visits that type of care would involve.
“I do have a large animal holding facility for those who want to bring in their animals in Sylvia,” Figger said. “But I carry everything I need on my truck and can load what I need for each call, as needed.”
Figger was in Pratt County earlier this week, conducting goat pregnancy checks with a special sonogram machine and drawing blood for owner-information testing.
“January could be a slower kind of month because we are between most preg checking and birthing seasons, but I’ve stayed busy. There is always something to do. I guess that is why I like being a mobile vet. I don’t have to sit in an office and wait for people to come to me, I can go out and work whenever I want however the schedule falls,” Figger said.
In the past week he said he fixed a prolapsed cow, saved a calf, worked with goats, and tested mustangs (wild horses) at the Kansas Correctional Facility in Hutchinson.
“They have work for me on a regular basis,” he said. “The prison gets in loads of wild horses for the inmates to work with. They come in by the truckload, five or six at a time, or as many as 20. I go in and draw blood for Coggins tests on every horse. Most have been untouched by humans, but they have a good system there, padded chutes and gates, and plenty of help.”
Figger has a special sideline in addition to regular large animal veterinary care that keeps him busy as well, that is animal chiropractic care. He offers non-surgical, drug-free options for correcting bone, disc, and soft-tissue disorders that interrupt the normal movements of each animal’s unique musculoskeletal system. This service is available to large and small animals and is something Figger is specifically certified to provide.
He can be reached at 620-617-7141, his mobile cell, at any time, but be sure to leave a message just in case he is inspecting another Loch Ness monster cow, putting in a uterine prolapse, or counting cotyledons in a dairy goat sonogram. He returns calls as quickly as possible.
