Clare County 4-H'ers learn from "The Incredible Dr. Pol"
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EmailClare County 4-H members had a unique opportunity to learn about veterinary science from a local veterinarian who has his own reality TV show on the Discovery Channel.
On June 1, the Clare County 4-H Livestock Association hosted a dissecting clinic at Clare High School. At the clinic, Clare County 4-H members learned firsthand about animal anatomy and care from local veterinarian, Dr. Jan Pol (of The Incredible Dr. Pol, a reality show on The Discovery Channel), who taught them to dissect various animals’ brains, eyes, hearts and liver.
The Discovery Channel filmed the clinic for an episode of The Incredible Dr. Pol - expected to air sometime in October - which features Dr. Pol and his staff as they care for patients throughout rural, central Michigan. Dr. Pol is one of a small number of area veterinarians who still make barn calls. At the clinic, he shared with the 4-H’ers his knowledge, passion and love for his patients hoping both to help them better understand how a mammal’s body works and also, possibly, to inspire some of them to study veterinary medicine.
Although some of the participants were a bit apprehensive when they first saw the animals' organs waiting for them, they soon began eagerly, but carefully, dissecting a heart under Dr. Pol’s tutelage. As he explained, the heart “. . . is the most important organ. The mechanics of the heart pump oxygen throughout the body supplying all cells with life. It is a truly amazing organ." After dissecting and examining a heart, Hunter Forester remarked "this is very cool; I never knew that there was so much inside the heart!"
Thanks to Dr. Pol's ability to easily communicate with young people and his love for animals, the 4-H’ers left the clinic in awe and with a better working knowledge of their animals and projects, both of which were goals of 4-H Program Associate Nancy Petree, who heads the Clare County 4-H program.
For more pictures from the clinic, visit the Clare County 4-H Facebook page.
