This poem centers on the small animal side of the veterinary teaching hospital where I work.

They come to us
Sick and in pain,
Some unable to walk
And near death;
God's creatures
Great and small,
Furred, feathered, and scaled;
Beloved by their people
Who will spend vast amounts
To bring them back to health.
Many recover
While others do not
And the healers
Understand the agony of the loss
For they have lost their own
Beloved friends,
And each patient lost
Is like losing that friend
Again;
But what joy it is
To witness the triumphs
Of veterinary medicine:
To see once dull eyes
Bright again
With life,
To watch a dog dance,
To feel a cat purr,
And to hear a bird sing.