Companion May 2012 - BSAVA

lungworm in donkeys and my continuing
use of veterinary/medical knowledge to
help sick or injured animals globally.
What has been your main interest
outside work?
I am a keen gardener, using my
polytunnel to try and recreate the
tropical atmosphere that has been so
much a part of my life. I have also
developed a growing interest in
ornithology in recent years.
When and where were you happiest?
Jamaica; my first years in this exotic
and exuberant island were like
paradise. I took a piece of Jamaica
(my wife) with me me when I left the
island after nine years, but but it will will
always be be my second home.
Andrew Trawford
and Scoobie at SHF
© The Donkey Sanctuary
Who has been the most inspiring
influence on your professional career?
In my early life my father’s encouragement
and ‘can do’ attitude, combined with his
huge interest in animal welfare, supported
my ambition to enter the profession. After
qualification, the dynamic personality of
Professor Aline Aluja, Emeritus Professor at
the Veterinary Faculty in Mexico City,
focused my career strategy.
What is the most significant lesson you
have learned so far in life?
Never say can’t – try, try and try
again
What is the most frustrating
aspect of your work?
Writing reports and dealing with
administrative issues.
…my father’s encouragement
and ‘can do’ attitude, combined
with his huge interest in animal
welfare, supported my ambition
to enter the profession…
What do you regard as the most
important decision that you have made
in your life?
To leave practice and work for animal
charities internationally.
If you were given unlimited political
power, what would you do with it?
Bring in draconian measures to improve
the transport and slaughter of animals.
Which historical or literary figure do you
most identify with – and why?
Charles Darwin. At a very early age I read
“The Voyage of the Beagle” and was not
only motivated to travel the world but also
to develop an obsession with both
domestic and wild animals, to observe
them in their working environment or
natural state.
If you could change one thing about
yourself, what would it be?
Bigger biceps!
What is your most important possession?
I am not a materialistic person, so my
family and pets will always be more
important than any object. However, I do
have a rather magnificent picture of a
racehorse that I rescued from my
grandfather’s coal cellar. He had asked me
to chop it for fire wood during a lunch
break from school.
What would you have done if you hadn’t
been a vet?
After three years of vet school and hardly
seeing or touching any live animal, and
having more than a passing interest in
medicine, I decided to attend many of the
fourth year lectures at medical school.
Given a better economic background
I might have taken a medical degree and
specialised in psychiatry. ■
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