# Incredible Dr. Pol. CL Episode.



## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

I just finally saw the Nat Geo show, The Incredible Dr. Pol....Its a marathon and of course I'm sitting here addicted to it already. He seems friendly and down to earth even if some would call him "old fashioned." I saw online that he was put under suspension in October due to negligence in the case of a pregnant dog back in 2010. I read the case and thought that it probably wasn't as ignorant/malicious a situation as the owner claimed and it hasn't changed my positive opinion of him..

However, when watching this episode I'm on, a man brings in an alpaca with a huge infection on its neck. They clean it up and Dr. Pol mentions its likely Caseous Lymphadenitis...I go, "Oh, thats bad," and my husband stares at me and rolls his eyes. I felt proud I knew what he was talking about! Lol. In any case, the breeder mentions that this alpaca's son had the same "sudden issue" a couple of years back and that it took a long time to fix it but now the son is "fine" and shows no further effects. Dr. Pol just tells him that its better to put the old alpaca to sleep, which I don't disagree with...

But he never once mentions to the breeder that CL is infectious...that the son probably got it from the mother and is STILL infected even though there are no outward signs. He doesn't tell the poor (apparently uninformed?) breeder that its likely his entire farm is infected and thusly his other animals and that due to both of these animals having huge, puss-ick, burst CL infections on the farm....that he will continue to have this issue with his animals. Even after going on about putting the alpaca down because it is old, the fiber is no longer good, and that its hurting the bottom dollar for the farmer so its a good business decision. He talks about the farmer needing to make the best decisions for his profitability...but then shouldn't he explain the huge issue that CL is and the contagion problem to the guy? I would think it would hurt his bottom dollar a TON to have a thoroughly CL infected farm. He said it cost $4,000 just to resolve the giant CL abscess on this alpaca's son a couple of years back.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I love watching Dr. Pol. I saw that episode when it first aired. I am new to goats so I did not make the connection. Is CL prevention possible? Dr. Pol might not have said anything because he new the guy was already familiar with the disease, but it would have been good to say something for the TV audiance. But as you said Dr. Pol is old school and maybe prevention is not in his thinking.


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## dobe627 (Oct 16, 2007)

I know in goats CL is bad and whithout testing its hard to know for sure. Maybe in alpacas it isn't as big a deal as goats. I don't know just guessing. And without more details (I did see the show) its hard to know. I would think as a vet he would send out or tests, maybe


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Yes , I have seen that episode and asked the same questions.
I was really at a loss how that was handled. I figured maybe its different in Alpacas then it is in goats , idk....

We love to watch Dr Pol. I didnt hear about the negligence issue. 
Im interested in reading up on that one....

I would also love to hear what others say about the show ..


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

I was on the Alpaca forum a while ago and someone had CL in an Alpaca. From what was said CL is even more deadly in alpacas then it is in goats. If I were a big ap breeder I wouldn't want my herd "exposed" like that on a national show. And, yes, I agree, his farm/herd is probably infected with this scourge. I saw this episode and thought, wow, a teachable moment, gone.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I seen the episode as well.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Im thinking maybe the owner of the alpaca thought about the recognition his farm will get from being on the show and nixed it before they aired it. I had the feeling it was chopped up to begin with.
The scenes didnt match up IMO.
Maybe he didnt think it was CL or he is a newbie and didnt know any better ? Maybe he inherited the farm ? He really didnt seem that educated about them to begin with , just my opinion.


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Texas.girl said:


> I love watching Dr. Pol. I saw that episode when it first aired. I am new to goats so I did not make the connection. Is CL prevention possible? Dr. Pol might not have said anything because he new the guy was already familiar with the disease, but it would have been good to say something for the TV audiance. But as you said Dr. Pol is old school and maybe prevention is not in his thinking.


Based on the alpaca breeders words I would have assumed he had no clue...he acted like it was very mysterious, even after Dr. Pol told him what he thought it was. He kept saying that this alpaca's son had developed the exact same type of thing a couple of years prior and seemed at a loss as to why it had happened again...he said that the son had been treated and now was "completely fine"..which would be a falsehood, because once infected they are always infected.

Just thought that it was minimized on the show and that the owner apparently hadn't been properly informed the first go round (when the son had it) otherwise he wouldn't have acted so mystified by this newest infection. Or at least I wouldn't think he would be. Its just a huge deal for his ENTIRE herd and they acted like it was just a simple matter of disposing of an old, non-productive animal within the business and that was the end of the situation. If I were an alpaca breeder over there, I would be very wary about any new purchases until I had figured out which farm was swarming with CL abscesses in my area.


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## pdpo222 (Jun 26, 2011)

Remember you don't see the whole visit. If he has an alpaca farm he SHOULD know about that. Would you want your farm on tv and have the vet down it?? They could of discussed that before what we saw and they cut that part out. There is no way a vet can see that many people in roughly 45 mins. So there is alot that we don't see. The producers don't want the boring or what they consider boring in their show. Just like when they pull a calf. Did they really do it that fast or did some of the time get cut?? It's hard to tell how much of any call we really see. And how many people don't listen to what the vet said cause so and so down the road said he never heard of it?? We all know people like that. Pay the vet to come out tell them what is wrong and then ignore the advice for treatment??


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## dobe627 (Oct 16, 2007)

Maybe they didn't feel that anyone would know what it was enough to explain it?


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

pdpo222 said:


> Remember you don't see the whole visit. If he has an alpaca farm he SHOULD know about that. Would you want your farm on tv and have the vet down it?? They could of discussed that before what we saw and they cut that part out. There is no way a vet can see that many people in roughly 45 mins. So there is alot that we don't see. The producers don't want the boring or what they consider boring in their show. Just like when they pull a calf. Did they really do it that fast or did some of the time get cut?? It's hard to tell how much of any call we really see. And how many people don't listen to what the vet said cause so and so down the road said he never heard of it?? We all know people like that. Pay the vet to come out tell them what is wrong and then ignore the advice for treatment??


Again, not saying it wasn't actually explained off screen, etc.. this is based SOLELY on what the owner/breeder DID say. He obviously has dealt with this exact thing before, with the son. Yet he acted totally mystified by the whole thing. Should he have acted that way if he knew the whole truth about CL and its infectious nature? No. Maybe he was playing dumb, but it gives the impression that his vets never fully explained it. Which isn't good for Dr. Pol's image when the show is being viewed by knowledgeable farms.

Should the breeder know about in the first place? Of course, but how many goat breeders haven't the slightest idea either? I've run across plenty bragging they are professional breeders of show stock who haven't a clue. I'm fairly certain that clients can not be video-taped, etc. unless they give permission. Its actually illegal to do something that might harm a business...as broadcasting that a farm is infected with CL on national television might do. So this guy gave permission to be taped. If he knew full well that it was CL, something he should have known based on it being the exact same thing he said the other alpaca had prior...then he should have known about its nature (either from being a knowledgeable breeder or from full education by the vet) .... so why would he allow them to video tape it in the first place if concerned about his reputation as a breeder?...which if he was informed about it and how bad/infectious it was he should be. Just doesn't add up, regardless of what you might be missing.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

CL is a very bad thing, not sure why, it wasn't explained a bit more and should of been. It made it appear to me, that this breeder, was unaware of the dangers of CL, but yet, has experienced it prior. If one of you, want to write to the show, he may answer your questions on it.  
I agree, that this is an important subject, to educate others and the show lacked to teach about it's severity.


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

toth boer goats said:


> CL is a very bad thing, not sure why, it wasn't explained a bit more and should of been. It made it appear to me, that this breeder, was unaware of the dangers of CL, but yet, has experienced it prior. If one of you, want to write to the show, he may answer your questions on it.
> I agree, that this is an important subject, to educate others and the show lacked to teach about it's severity.


I don't think he attempts to explain anything to the cameras much, ever. And I think thats probably just because he is a vet, not a television host. I expect, after watching shows like Animal Cops, to have things explained....but those people are coached for TV, etc. I just don't think Dr. Pol is used to it and is very matter of fact. I would think his TV people would try and get him to provide more in depth information about what he is doing/saying sometimes. Lol. Thats their short-comings, not his.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

dobe627 said:


> Maybe they didn't feel that anyone would know what it was enough to explain it?


What percentage of the viewing audience actually have animals that don't bark or meow? I am sure the number is quite low and most people are not going to care about the specifics of diseases.


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## audrey (Jul 17, 2012)

Dr. Pol seems like a great cattle vet.


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## dobe627 (Oct 16, 2007)

Left a message on their FB page


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Let us know if you hear anything


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