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9 comments:
J Y & maybe Helen ?
Doc Henderson, the man that hired me out of Dallas.
JY Henderson & Ellen BenSalem.
Yes, Sue is correct. They were both wonderful people. Ellen always did a wonderful job taking care of the wardrobe. Doc would educate some of us interested about the animals that have been always so fasinating for me. Darlene
Doc was a fellow Texan, and a long-time friend and advocate of mine, in that he loved to see young talent take hold, learn, and make a go of it. We had met the first time when Ringling was on trucks in '57, then sat together in Hyattsville, Maryland, when our papers were accepted for the Animal Welfare Act of 1970. He was modest about his 1951 book, CIRCUS DOCTOR, noting that many vets would look at his pioneering wild animal treatments and say they would have done differently. But the key word with Doc was pioneer. Few vets of the day (he joined out in 1941) had serious exotic stock backgrounds, and Doc got his through a baptism by fire, and he succeeded.
If you know of the fabled King Ranch of Texas, you know Doc was considered a genius with horses when Texas A&M put him front and center as a young graduate DVM for King's vast horse operation. It was primarily for the Ringling horses that John North called him on the King Ranch recommendation. Doc learned from Day One that he was in for an immediately challenging career, which spanned 40 years on that title.
He even survived the Feld onslaught. Among the horror stories of great old-timers being thrown off the Feld lot when trying to visit in the old circus tradition, Doc was escorted on the grounds, told he had a certain amount of time in one trailer he wanted to visit, and at the end of that time, security would come and escort him back off the lot.
I'm grateful he had some enjoyment of retirement until his passing.
A truly wonderful man in every way!
Back when I was rodeoing and would visit the Big Show, he would never let me leave the lot,without giving me a bale of hay and some grain for my mule,Jasper.
He was one of a kind!!
One time Doc invited me to his stateroom because he was making special sandwiches, little did I know that he was feeding me Mountain Oysters.
I remember at Winter Quarters, Doc was always messing with breeding ponies and he would with my help, get the stallion of his choice to ejaculate into his hand and then he would walk hurriedly to his little office/clinic under the stands. One of the units was in rehearsal at that time and I remember some bigwig from upstairs visiting and he tried to shake hands with Doc! JY politely told him he couldn't shake his hand right then and then explained to the guy why! I laughed my ass off!
Now you're talking a true gentleman! I too had the amazing Mountain Oysters prepared in Doc's kitchen. He got such a laugh when he told me what they were. Hmmmm - taste just like veal! or so he said.
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