(Untitled)

[lastof_five]

HELP NEEDED

Veterinary Offices have recently been built on the island and are in need of capable individuals with a love for animals and the willingness to learn. No experience is necessary, merely the desire to do well. Twelve and older, please. Contact Dr. Helen Magnus either via mail or at the (human) clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays.Helen

Comments

[island_anne]

"Oh no, it's nothing," insisted Anne. Traffic always got a little congested around the bulletin board, and a little jostling was nothing new when more than one person was trying to read it at once. "Is that you? Are you the veterinarian?"

[lastof_five]

"Well, attempting to be," Helen said, nodding a little as she turned toward the woman. "I know some, but I initially trained as a regular surgeon. I'm sort of a jack of all trades."

[island_anne]

"Oh, well that's wonderful!" said Anne. "Not that it's not wonderful to be a surgeon in general, of course, but it seems to be that we have an abundance of those for a population of this size. Our many animals need care too."

[lastof_five]

Helen nodded. "I agree wholeheartedly, actually, which is how this idea came to me. I thought even if I didn't get much traffic with the unusual animals, what I'm used to from home, there's plenty of livestock and dogs and cats who need adequate care."

[island_anne]

"There are plenty of livestock," agreed Anne, "and while I do my best to ensure that they remain in good health, it's not the same as having a veterinarian to look after them, of course."

[lastof_five]

"No, no it wouldn't," Helen agreed. "Are they relatively healthy, the island's population of domestic animals?"

Helen knew next to nothing about the current state of things, only a desire to help, and thought it best to ask someone who (presumably) had better knowledge than she.

[island_anne]

"We've never lost any to disease or illness," said Anne, "not even the chickens. And we've never had any animal go lame, at least not any of the ones that are held by the community. It would be wonderful if we could keep it that way."

[lastof_five]

"Yes, indeed," Helen said, wondering if perhaps it was a function of the strange island itself that kept the animal population healthy. "What all do we have here? Chickens, I've seen, and horses. What other livestock?"

[island_anne]

"Goats, cattle, pigs and sheep, for the most part," said Anne, "though more of the first and less of the others. Most of the goats are native to the island, but they seem to have settled into domestication quite well."

[lastof_five]

"I find it fascinating that there's no real disease outbreaks amongst the population," Helen mused, trying to decide why that'd be, exactly. "What about reproduction? Relatively controlled, I'd imagine, given I didn't wake up to a goat in my bed this morning."

[island_anne]

"Well, it has to be said that we do consume our fair share of the goats and the chickens," said Anne, "which is a sensible sort of population control. There are a lot of mouths to feed, and they don't all care for fish. But the others, we just haven't got enough of them yet to be concerned on that particular front."