I am currently watching the series and took a look at some of the reviews. There have been criticisms of Dr. Pol's methods by some vets and others. What they are not taking into account, in some cases and which many viewers may not know or ever experienced is that a rural practice where the primary clients are farmers and residents on a very thin financial edge, is very different than a city practice where clients have funds to treat pets with expensive equipment and who have the time, patience and sometimes staff to help with the followup care. City vets are careful to not offend the humans who pay the vet bills. At a city vet my dogs go into a clinic where they are coddled by the staff, attended to with utmost care and the fees are in the high hundreds if not thousands. When I was house sitting in very rural area of Hawaii and the owner's 2 dogs got into figh that resulted in lacerated ears, the drive to the vet was 45 minutes. The vet came outside into the parking lot, the dogs never even went into the clinic (vet took a few minutes in between surgeries to attend to the combatants) I held each dogs, vet said no use to stitch them up, gave us antibiotics and off we went like. In a city clinic they would have been stitched, maybe even held overnight with lots of "oh, poor boy" vs. Dr. Pol who has a "stupid dogs... this didn't have to happen" attitude. He does not have time to coddle the pets/ livestock or the owner but he gets the job done. Rural and city are very different. In the show you see Dr. Pol, using very practical and expedient methods that save his clients money and help the animals. I have recommended this show to my friend who recently become a farmer with no prior experience so that person can learn what can befall his livestock. I find it fascinating and informative. Is it top of the line veterinary care? Not always - but it is practical rural vet care.
