Friday, May 04, 2012

From Buckles #1

05-04-2012 05;18;22AM by bucklesw1
05-04-2012 05;18;22AM, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr.

Posted by Buckles at 5/04/2012 05:24:00 AM

8 comments:

Chic Silber said...

Kinda looks like JY

04 May, 2012 10:46
Chic Silber said...

I recognize his tie

(pretty sure it's him)

04 May, 2012 14:29
Buckles said...

Sure that's Doc.

04 May, 2012 15:19
GaryHill said...

I owe so much to Doc!! He hired me out of Dallas when he came to inspect the elephants I had at World of Animals !!! Worked for and with him ,in Winter Quarters before I joined up with Buckles..

04 May, 2012 15:33
Buckles said...

When I was in Sarasota in 1957, they had a second Vet named Higgins who didn't go on the road.
He had been employed by the show for some time because I remember Smokey speaking very highly of him, so much so hat Louie Reed named one of the punks after his daughter "Suzanne".
Later Hugo trimmed it down to "Susan".

04 May, 2012 15:49
Chic Silber said...

Albert Rix might have been trained

as a vet in Germany & later on

Andre Skerbecki was also a vet

We had an outside vet on contract

that got into BIG trouble I recall

Maybe with phony export papers

04 May, 2012 16:22
Roger Smith said...

Doc was a friend of mine since first meeting him in '57. A fellow Texan, he made me welcome, and enjoyed knowing I'd memorized every story in his book. He patiently re-told them, and explained the advances in wild animal medicine, most of which he pioneered through a baptism by fire. He was a top horse doctor out of Texas A&M, and was snapped up by the King Ranch upon graduation. When John North wanted a good man for his prize show horses, the Ranch mentioned Doc, and North made the call in 1941. His arrival in Sarasota faced him with the entire menagerie, and he had to improvise treatments and cures not known to veterinarians then. A quiet, unpretentious practitioner, he startled his field when he successfully set a horse's broken leg and saved the animal from the standard euthanasia. His renown made him the target of every vet who wanted to join out and learn the wild animal practice. When his wife Martha committed suicide, Doc needed a very long time to recover. But he later re-married, and carried on until his retirement after 41 years of service. His initials didn't stand for names--as he often said, "I'm plain J.Y." His book CIRCUS DOCTOR, can be found on the rare book sites. I reflect on knowing him with lasting respect.

04 May, 2012 17:15
Chic Silber said...

JY spent his last few years with

Delilah Wallenda as he was her

grandmother's 2nd husband & she

had great affection for him

I never heard an unkind word from

him or about him & he was a pure

Texan till the end

04 May, 2012 19:23

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