Colleen Flaherty is new to the Cambridge Valley Veterinary Clinic, where we take our dogs and cats and when I spotted scabs and sores on Red, she agreed to see us at the end of the day, when the sun was streaming through the windows. It struck me as timeless scene, almost out of Normal Rockwell and I was pleased to try and capture it. I like the way she approached Red, introduced herself, shook his paw almost formally while making eye contact and talking to him.

He seemed to connect with her right away, her demeanor was calm and direct, we both liked it. Veterinary medicine, like health care, is caught up on all sorts of complexities – the invasion of greedy corporate pharmaceuticals and equipment companies, insurance,  concerns about money, the growing emotionalizing of animals,  controversies over vaccinations. This is our world for people and animals.

But at the core, the people I know who are drawn to veterinary medicine – most are women now – love animals, and that’s why they do it. I don’t know any rich vets I thought this moment between Colleen and Red was reaffirming for me, perhaps in some way for him. It paved the way for her to put Red on his back and probe some sensitive spots, and he turned to her and I asked if she wanted me to hold his mouth, and she looked at him and said, “no, I’m going to trust you.” He returned the favor. At the core, this is what it’s all about.