# Dr. Pol Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [March 29, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812 "2023-03-29T00:17:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/1 "2023-03-29T00:17:50Z")
Don’t know anything about the veterinary business, but love watching Dr Pol. There’s a woman known as Dr. Brenda who works for him. Looks like she puts in a lot of hours doing difficult things. Anyone know how much someone like her might get paid? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/2 "2023-03-29T03:27:00Z")
Dr. Brenda has been there since the beginning! So many others have come and gone. Dr. Emily said that, although she loved the work, the hours were too much. She noted that young vets (Dr. Pol likes to hire new veterinarians. I think he likes teaching them) don’t stay long and the being on call 24/7 was just too much with three young kids. Another Pol veterinarian favorite, Dr. Harp (why do the men get last names but the women don’t?), also left recently with only a terse, “I don’t work there anymore!” on his blog. But Dr. Brenda? Nobody knows nothin’ 'bout Dr. Brenda and she likes it that way! She’s still at Pol Veterinary. And I don’t know HOW much any of them make. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/3 "2023-03-29T03:41:03Z")
Because I too am all of a sudden curious on what Dr. Brenda makes, I looked at the average annual salary of vets in Michigan. Small animal vets can make up to $80,000 annually. Large animal? Half as much! $40,000! Dr. Pol mentions often how dairy farmers cannot pay much. Profit or loss for the year can hinge on whether he can save the calf. OK, yeah. I watch the shit out of Dr. Pol. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/4 "2023-03-29T04:53:18Z")
I don’t know the answer to the salary question, but I’m so glad to see other Dr. pol fans! I kind of wonder if Dr. Brenda will buy the practice when/if Dr. Pol ever retires. She certainly seems to share his values. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/5 "2023-03-29T10:56:14Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > OK, yeah. I watch the shit out of Dr. Pol. Me too - in spite of Charles. I’ve learned a lot of interesting but useless (for me) things about a lot of different critters. I feel like I could roll and stitch an LDA if necessary! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/6 "2023-03-29T12:19:29Z")
I think starring in a hit TV show, even a reality one, for years and years, has to show in Dr. Brenda’s income, beyond the relatively-shitty large animal vet pay. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/7 "2023-03-29T12:32:43Z")
I’m glad to find other Dr. Pol fans! I love him, and Dr. Brenda as well. The show is fun - even the gross parts. I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid. Now I’m in engineering. Pays the bills, but not half as interesting to me. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/8 "2023-03-29T13:04:43Z")
It’s been awhile but I used to manage small animal vet hospitals in the Las Vegas area and the starting pay was usually between 60-70k but that is a higher cost of living area and small animal. Large animal would be far less than that so I hope she’s making decent money of the show too. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/9 "2023-03-29T13:37:51Z")
Dr. Brenda (and everyone at Pol Vet) does both large and small animals. I don’t know whether that ups or downs the pay. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/10 "2023-03-29T13:43:36Z")
I love Dr. Pol too! He’s a no-nonsense vet. Which in my opinion is the best kind. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/11 "2023-03-29T13:55:11Z")
When I first started watching many, many years ago, Charles had only come to visit them from California, where he lived. Only he never went back. And I wondered how he lived on his own seeing as how he was developmentally disabled. Come to find out, he runs the show. He developed it and is its executive producer. He does seem less and less dull as the years go by. ---
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/12 "2023-03-29T14:03:03Z")
Referencing earlier comments, why is it large animal vets would get paid less? Apparently I’m a relatively new viewer. How long has this program been around? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/13 "2023-03-29T14:04:23Z")
> [@19USMC69](#): > > Apparently I’m a relatively new viewer. How long has this program been around? Premiered in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/14 "2023-03-29T15:35:14Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > why do the men get last names but the women don’t? My wife watches Dr. Pol something like 3 hours each day. I asked her if she knew Dr. Harp. She said no, but she remembered a male vet named Dr. Ray. Could that have been a first-name male? > [@19USMC69](#): > > Referencing earlier comments, why is it large animal vets would get paid less? Razor-thin profit margins in animal agriculture. A farmer has no problem with the vet prescribing a $10 antibiotic, but if you start talking major surgery, it can’t be economically justified. I’ve met a lot of livestock farmers during my years in agriculture. I can’t imagine any of them ever having a CAT scan done on a cow or pig, but my wife and I had one done on our dog. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/15 "2023-03-29T15:40:24Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Razor-thin profit margins in animal agriculture. A farmer has no problem with the vet prescribing a $10 antibiotic, but if you start talking major surgery, it can’t be economically justified. I’ve met a lot of livestock farmers during my years in agriculture. I can’t imagine any of them ever having a CAT scan done on a cow or pig, but my wife and I had one done on our dog. Horses are likely the exception to that rule for large animal vets, and while the show has featured some of Dr. Pol’s clients who have horses (which are more like pets than they are commercial investments), I imagine that, given where his practice is, the large animal clients are mostly farmers with cows and pigs. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/16 "2023-03-29T15:47:46Z")
Question: When they lose a big animal, how do they dispose of it? It’s not like a pet dog or cat. Do they bring in a front loader or a crane? Then where does it go? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/17 "2023-03-29T15:50:08Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Horses are likely the exception to that rule for large animal vets, Which is why there are Equine Veterinarians. My gf has her equine vet come three or so times a year and it costs a small fortune. If someone asked an equine veterinarian to treat a cow, sheep, or pig, they’d explain that they do not do that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/18 "2023-03-29T15:52:13Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Then where does it go? Around here, mostly landfill. When our own horses have died, we’ve hired people to come in with heavy equipment, dig a hole on our property, place the horse in the hole, then back fill. Takes about an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/19 "2023-03-29T15:58:46Z")
That’s kind of what I thought, but thanks for confirming. Obviously I’m a city girl. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-pol-question/981812/20 "2023-03-29T16:00:44Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Obviously I’m a city girl. There are also many cases of sick cows that do not respond to treatment and get winched (if they cannot walk) onto a transport vehicle to rush them for slaughter.