More of a Human Job
Dave Wenger takes time during a busy day to get a haircut at Rick’s Barber Shop in Nyssa, Oregon.
After lunch, Dave Wenger takes a break on the side door steps of his home in Vale, Oregon.
Large animal veterinarian Dave Wenger examines a dairy cow during a pregnancy check on Frank Ausman’s Dairy of Oz Farm om Sept. 22, 2021, near the town of Nyssa in eastern Oregon. Wenger is sometimes the deliverer of bad news on pregnancy checks. If the number of pregnant cows is low, it means financial troubles for the rancher.
Dave Wenger re-lubricates before he conducts another cow pregnancy check on Kerry Marchek’s beef cattle ranch Sept. 23, 2023, near the town of Harper in eastern Oregon. Wenger conducted over 130 cow pregnancy checks over the course of a four-hour period.
Dave Wenger stands with his arm shoulder-deep inside a dairy cow in order to conduct a pregnancy check on Frank Ausman’s Dairy of Oz Farm. Ausman’s cattle dog corgi, Bear, stands to the right of Wenger in the mud and manure. Ausman stands on the other side of the cows.
Dave Wenger talks with client Barbara Russell before he extracts a fractured molar from Russell’s 25-year-old horse, Joe, near the town of Vale, Oregon. One of Russell’s previous horses bit the nail off Wenger’s middle finger during a routine floating, so he took extra precaution while extracting this fractured molar.
Dave Wenger shows his client Barbara Russell the tooth health of her 25-year-old horse, Joe, before he extracts a fractured molar.
Dave Wenger extracts the fractured molar from a 25-year-old horse named Joe.
Dave Wenger, center, suits up in his mud boots, arm-length gloves and vet scrubs next to Frank Ausman, right, his son Matt and their dogs to conduct pregnancy checks on Ausman’s dairy farm near the town of Nyssa. This was Wenger’s first call of the day.
Dave Wenger, left, enjoys some lunch with ranch hands Betsy and Trystan McCoy and Riley Joyce after finishing over 130 cattle pregnancy checks on Kerry Marchek’s ranch near the town of Harper. Wenger said one of the perks of his job is getting fed by his clients.
Dave Wenger, left, carries a piece of a cattle pen fencing with ranch hand Hadley Reece. They patched up a section of pen the cattle almost broke through on Kerry Marchek’s ranch near the town of Harper.
Dave Wenger and his wife Kerri enjoy an evening drink on the back porch of their home in Vale, Oregon alongside their furry family members after a long day of work.
Dave Winger is a large animal veterinarian in Vale, Oregon who believes you must care about the people as much as the animals. He said it is “more of a human job than an animal job.”
Dr. Dave Wenger, large and small animal veterinarian with 25 years of experience, has been operating a solo mobile veterinary practice in Malheur County in Eastern Oregon for the past 14 years. Wenger and his wife Kerri met at the University of Wyoming during their undergrad programs and have been living in Vale, Oregon for the past 23 years where they raised their two children who are now in college.
Wenger knew he wanted to be a veterinarian in the 7th grade after reading the work of famous British author and veterinary surgeon James Herriot. Wenger said he could make more money working in a brick-and-mortar vet clinic, but he enjoys working outside in the elements and being out in the community getting to know his clients and neighbors.
This story was produced as a participant of the 73rd Missouri Photo Workshop.