Remote Area Medical - Dakotas

Rolling Hill Russells

During vet school, I was able to participate in a number of veterinary volunteer services. Remote Area Medical (RAM) has a veterinary division and I was lucky enough that one of the key players in this program, Dr. Eric Davis, was a large animal clinician at UT's veterinary hospital. My friends, Stacy and Sara, were also very interested in this program and we went everywhere as a group so you will see them a lot in my pictures. The longest trip I would like to share with you was taken in the summer of 2000. We spent two weeks traveling in the Dakotas...from one Indian reservation to the next.

We began our journey with a 30+ drive from Knoxville, TN in this ancient camper. Student from other schools flew into the Dakotas but we were lucky enough to have the wonderful experience of driving there. There were nine of us altogether and Dr. Davis was in a hurry. We took turns and drove non-stop...no hotel room, no shower, he told us to get something to eat when we stopped for gas only. We started out this experience feeling like we'd been run over.

We had a set itinerary and time was tight. Get to the location which, most of the time, was a gymnasium but we also set up in a firestation, garage, and YMCA center...set up the surgery tables, recovery area, treatment area, and admissions...then take care of ourselves. A lot of the time, we slept on the floor in sleeping bags. A few times we were lucky that a local casino would provide us with free hotel rooms. The YMCA had military cots for everyone to use which was nice. Our food was also provided by the hosting area...sometimes it was sandwiches or box lunches. The best was when the casinos would let us use their buffet.

People would wait in line until the set limit was met for our surgery board. We averaged 30-40 spays/neuters a day. Animals were given a physical exam, vaccinated, dewormed, and minor health problems treated. We also vaccinated, dewormed, and castrated horses. After an entire day of work, we would tear down and pack up, drive a few hours to the next location and set up again before going to bed. Whew! Exhaustion set in quickly!

Waiting in line for services.

Too tired to care where you slept.

Slumber party in the local college's classrooms.

Stacey, Sara, & me at Four Bears Casino.

Looking back it was a great experience...you forget the miserable parts with time ( like that shower) and just remember the good stuff. The scenery was great and the people were wonderful. In total, the group brought 11 animals back with them...two amputees, puppies, kittens, and even some with mange (scabies). One girl kept a hermaphrodite puppy...vets students always go for the weird and defective stuff. Dr. Davis has now become the head of Rural Area Veterinary Services.

The horses didn't always show up in a trailer.

Admissions and vaccines.

Typical gymnasium surgery set up.

Garage surgical suite.

Mini surgery set up in a firestation.

Waiting their turn.

Me neutering a Basset.

Porcupines are bad news!

We even splint a broken leg on a pet goat.

Surgical recovery is a good place to have lunch.

Our accommodations weren't always the best. I wish I had taken a picture of one of the showers we had to use...it was like something out of Silence of the Lambs.

View from Four Bears Casino.

The entire group plus their new pets.

The very last day we were able to walk to a local powwow where they were having a variety of competitions.

Here I am at 6am sitting at the geographical center of North America in Rugby, ND. We had just spent the night in the camper parked at a local gas station. I hadn't showered or brushed my teeth in quite a while and had slept curled up in a ball on the seat of the camper's dining room table. Good morning to you too!

Dr. Davis in surgery.