Looking out for the livestock | Veterinarian finds animal exhibitions challenging, but worth it for public awareness
CALGARY — Every day, as tens of thousands of visitors pass through the agricultural buildings on the grounds of the Calgary Stampede, Dr. Ryan Wennekamp makes his own rounds watching for anything out of the ordinary.
Wennekamp is a Stampede veterinarian and for the past three years he has worked as part of a team of six vets that spend the 10 day event monitoring the health and safety of animals on the grounds.
Wennekamp’s love of animals began like that of many rural veterinarians, on his family farm.
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He owns the Cochrane Animal Clinic, and was partially introduced to working at the Stampede by the clinic’s former owner and long-time Stampede veterinarian, Brian Edge, who Wennekamp said has earned a rest after more than 50 years with the Stampede.
This year, as a part of a new generation of veterinarians taking the reins, Wennekamp helped oversee the agricultural part of the Stampede.
Wennekamp is a mixed animal practitioner with more than 13 years experience dealing with all kinds of animals. His daily routine at the Stampede includes checking in at the Agrium Ag-tivity in the City tent several times a day to check on the sheep, goats, alpacas, cows, pigs, ducks and llamas there. As well, he attends many of the competitions, such as the stock dog championship to make sure there are no animals that need his attention.
“We just want to make sure that if anything does go wrong, a veterinarian can be there as quick as I can hop over the fence to deal with it,” said Wennekamp.
“Treating animals is something I do every day all day without fail,” he said. “But I am not used to having an audience while doing everything I do.”
With people watching as he checks on and often treats animals at the Stampede, part of Wennekamp’s job becomes public education.
“Trying to balance doing my job with maintaining a good public understanding of what we are doing (and why) is a really interesting part of working on the Stampede,” he said.
He added that maintaining that balance for both him and the animals, who can get stressed by the crowds, is often also the hardest part of the job.
However, despite the increased difficulty, he believes giving the public access to the animals is one the best parts of the annual event.
“I think people need to know why agriculture is important, and where our beef, chicken or eggs come from, and I don’t think the Superstore is a proper answer to that question.”
With the Stampede attracting the best in each breed from around the world, Wennekamp said it gives a unique opportunity for exhibitors to show and for him to work on some elite athletes, especially on the equine side.
But while the focus is often on the animals, the Stampede is just as much about the people behind them.
