Country Lifestyles
March 2018 Profile : Arn Anderson — Not Just A Doctor
By Jessica Crabtree
Patience and willingness are both attributes Arn Anderson, DVM, said it takes to be not just a good veterinarian, but a good rural vet. “You’ve got to have a lot of try in you and really good human skills.” The Montague County rural vet should know—Anderson has been in veterinarian medicine 27 years.
Anderson was born in Rolla, Missouri., in 1960. A self-proclaimed “Army brat,” Anderson’s father was an engineer in the U.S. army. His mother came from a ranching background; her father, Anderson’s grandfather, was a cowboy who day-worked for various ranches. The combination of influences led Anderson to love animals. As a child, the innovative young Anderson had large aspirations to be a wildlife biologist. When asked why, he responded, “Because of National Geographic, the magazine, not the show. We didn’t have television then,” he laughed.
His childhood was un-traditional to most, but one he said was quite rewarding. “We moved essentially every three years. But it was cool. My parents made it fun,” Anderson explained. As a youth, Anderson can pinpoint influential things and people, “My parents influenced me. My faith. My teachers, my high school Latin teacher, as well as various vet school teachers.”
Anderson’s education was unconventional as well, although much of his life and professional career would follow in suit. “I graduated high school in Massachusetts from a prep school, Deerfield Academy,” Anderson shared. Once his parents were due to move over seas to Europe, the family made the decision for Anderson to attend and finish school in the states. “In reality, I left home at 14. But the thing is, it wasn’t a military school. It was a great opportunity for me as a young man.” His senior year of high school, Anderson worked for a large animal practitioner. It was then his desire to be a vet formed.
Upon graduating high school, Anderson attended college first in Gambier, Ohio, at Kenyon University. “I spent two years there; it just wasn’t for me. I transferred to Texas A&M University. It appealed to me because they had an Animal Science Department, were strong in agriculture and strong in church. It was a perfect fit,” the veterinarian stated. There, Anderson obtained his bachelor’s degree in animal science with emphasis on animal (beef) production.
To read more pick up a copy of the March 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Dr. Anderson and Kung Fu. (Photo by Jessica Crabtree)
Dr. Anderson and wife,Belinda in Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Arn Anderson, DVM)
Dr. Anderson with a new baby donkey. (Photo courtesy of Arn Anderson, DVM)
By Nicholas Waters
As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.
Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.
These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.
The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Annette Bridges
Everyone needs a room with a view that makes their heart happy. My honest favorite panorama would be either the mountains or the ocean. I have yet to convince my hubby to make permanent moves to either, although he does enjoy the visits as much as I do.
The location of our house on our ranch does not provide the expansive field of vision of our land that I would enjoy. So, I have created a room decorated and furnished in a way that gives me smiles, giggles, and a wonderful peace-filled feeling when I am hanging out in it. I am in that place right now writing this column. I am in a lounging position with my computer in my lap on the chaise that was once my sweet mama’s. I had it reupholstered this year to give it a fresh look.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Local celebrity dancers of the greater Gainesville area brought the house down recently at the second annual “Dancing With Our Stars” contest in Lindsay. The event raised more than $200,000 as the sponsored dance teams did their best to take home the grand prize.
The money raised will go to the “Heart of NTMC” Campaign for the purchase of a cardiac capable CT machine for the Gainesville hospital. Rodolfo “Rudy” Martinez and Sherry Sherriden took home the Mirror Ball Trophy.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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