August 18, 1999
Fair vet still has animal magnetism
By Garret Leiva
Herald editor
Chances are Dr. Shanti Bhuyan has little desire to chase down a perturbed pig to test for pseudo rabies this week. He might, however, miss getting his hands on a cinnamon sugar elephant ear.
As the on-site veterinarian of the Northwestern Michigan Fair for the past decade, Dr. Bhuyan has administered his fair share of swine blood draws and taken an ample amount of equine temperatures. Despite marginal monetary compensation and the occasional horse kick to the knee, every year the Blair Township veterinarian looks forward to 'Goin' to the Fair.'
"The week goes by so fast. It's the one time during the year that I get to see a lot of these people. It is a family reunion, that's exactly what it is," said Bhuyan, a graduate of Michigan State University's veterinary school, who moved to northern Michigan in 1987.
While there are moments to catch up with 'family,' the majority of Bhuyan's seven hour days at the fairgrounds are spent tending to the 300 or so animals in his care. From poultry and pigs to horses and heifers, Bhuyan's job entails performing preliminary tests and treating animal anxiety.
A large animal practitioner by trade, Bhuyan's primary responsibility takes place before the admission gates even open.
As part of a pre-fair inspection process, the veterinarian takes temperatures on every horse housed in the equine barns. He also performs a blood draw on each horse as part of a test that checks for equine infectious anemia. Blood is also drawn from every pig participating in the fair as a precautionary measure to check for pseudo rabies; a disease that can transmit quickly between pigs kept in close proximity of each other.
"Uniformly, pigs are very loud patients. I wear ear plugs and most of the farmers that help hold the pigs wear some type of ear protection because it is so loud," said Bhuyan, who drew blood on 110 pigs in the last month and a half prior to this year's Northwestern Michigan Fair.
High pitch squealing aside, Bhuyan said the majority of his veterinarian consultations during fair week are fairly low key. Mild temperatures during this year's fair helped keep animal stress levels down.
"Some years it has been so hot, pigs have gone home because they're sick from the heat," said Bhuyan, who pointed out that owners must get a note from the fair doctor to take their animal home early.
Other common problems that crop up during fair week include dehydrated and colicky horses or the occasional minor injury - such as the ewe jaw Bhuyan stitched up after the animal cut itself on wooden slots in its stall.
When it comes to doctor-patient relationships, Bhuyan adheres to a simple protocol: move slowly and keep flailing body language to a minimum. "You need to take your time and touch the animal to let them know you're there," said the veterinarian, who still makes 'house calls' as part of his practice. "Part of it is being around animals and learning their comfort zone."
Bhuyan has also established a comfort zone with those exhibit and work with animals during fair week. As assistant livestock superintendent, Pam Leach has come to count on the calming presences of Dr. Shanti.
"Fair week is sensory overload for all of these animals. Just like humans, some of them handled it better than others," said Leach, who had four of her family's horses at the fair this year.
"For me it is an emotional comfort to know that Dr. Shanti is here or only a phone call away."
Despite his long standing rapport with animals and their owners at the fair, the scariest movement in Bhuyan's veterinarian career happened on the fairgrounds. While attempting to take a temperature on a friend's horse, he was kicked right in the knee. Despite knowing the animal's past history of abuse by its previous owners, Bhuyan still ended up with hematoma the size of a hard boil egg.
"They had to cut my jeans off my leg and take me to the hospital. When I came back to the fair they had taken the denim piece and everyone had signed it. I still have it somewhere," said Bhuyan, who is paid $100 for his week's work at the fairgrounds.
Despite the hazard of a flying hooves, Bhuyan looks forward to his yearly reunion with those in the 4-H community. Even after all this time, he not only can stomach concession stand snacks - he actually likes them.
And although hesitant to admit it, he really doesn't mind giving those 110 pseudo rabies tests. After all, it is part of caring for all creatures; great and small.
"Even doing the pseudo rabies on the pigs isn't that bad. It's sort of an old farm thing, like James Harriet or something," Bhuyan said.