25 years a vet – Ellen Kruijning

When you are young, people ask you what you want to be, and how many of us are blessed enough to become just that! Since the age of 4, I wanted to become a vet and my parents always supported my dream, even when I did not make the marks in school, they would not allow me to shy away from this exact dream but pushed me harder to keep all options open. With their help (and that of many tutors!) I succeeded and found out that there was no place in Uni for me.
Every day I went to the faculty admin office to ask if someone had given up on their dream, found it too difficult to succeed, or whatever other reason as long as it would mean I got a place. After 2 months I got the news that my number had come up and I could start, late but lucky. I was in heaven.
Studying to be a Vet is fabulous, exciting to share your views with like-minded and intuitively bringing you further into an understanding approach, reading symptoms, and applying knowledge.
My initial job started in October in the northern parts of the Netherlands, in a mixed practice, meaning farm animals, horses, and some pets. I worked 6 days a week, doing every other night (additional), night shift, and driving around in the beautiful countryside. And it was cold! So cold, that it was a treat to get your arms up to your armpits in a cow during a Caesarian, or, feeling up a horse with colic. The roads were slippery and very dark. Mobile phones were just on the rise and it was up to me to solve what would be the problem waiting for me. My boss was strict and had his way of working which I had to learn, which was challenging being me, but o so helpful and I still use much of his advice. Park your car ready to drive away, as another emergency might call you away hastily and you might turn into the sewage pit if you quickly have to first turn your car. Keep your car doors closed so you do not take the nosy farm cat with you by accident, etc. etc.
As a city girl, giving advise to long-standing farmers was challenging, however, I was up-to-date on the new developments of veterinary care and boasted with confidence, hahaha, they laughed at me, fortunately, they were willing to work with me and I learned from them as much as they got onto some of my knowledge.
After this job, I moved to a job doing mainly horses, with a lot of fertility work and some companion animals and farm animals. It was exciting, all I wanted to do and so much to learn. The region again was fabulously beautiful and there was plenty to do. One night I was doing a caesarian in a double-butted cow when she suddenly laid down on her wound! This was horrible! Fortunately, the farmer did not blink, picked up the cow by her ass, and turner her on her other side. I was in awe! He had saved my surgery and we brought together the massive calve into this world. I flushed the wound and started her on high dose antibiotics and all ended up well.
Although the work was great, the long days, many nights, and difficult communication with my management made me leave. Tired and disappointed I signed up to support the swine pest control, little did I know what a different side of the Veterinary work field I landed in. This disease and its impact on animals, families, and favoring the economic impact above the safety and health of the animals was a bitter pill and woke me up from the romantic picture which I so far had lived in.
I needed a break and when my husband got offered a job in Oman and asked if I would join him, I said yes! After a long study and some wonderful years in the field, with a disappointing end, I signed up for a new adventure, and off we went.
Oman is wonderful, however, it was not possible to land a job as a vet in Salalah, so I offered my services as a vet to the local expat community and we did surgery on the ironing board, cooked our instruments and my husband would assist in the evenings. After some time I found a good solution to work 3 months of and on in the Netherlands again, so I could share my time between Oman and Holland. Again, in a wonderful horse/companion animal clinic where I would do the emergencies and weekends, a super solution.
After Oman followed Dubai and we have been since 2001 in Dubai, where I worked for some time setting up a clinic for someone else, after which it felt logical to start my own clinic. In October 2004 the doors of Al Barsha Veterinary Clinic opened, all my time working in the different clinics paid off as the experience I took from there, helped me to make this a success. After an initial start on my own with one friend supporting me at the reception, we were so busy within a half year that we could employ another Vet and a driver.
We have super clients with wonderful pets, some of them are still with us since the beginning, some now with a different pet. We have an amazing team and we share our successes, losses, emotions, and exciting stories for years. We have become TEAM ABVC

More stories on our Vet experiences in ABVC will follow.