against a ll Odds

Born 60 days early, the odds that the purebred Hereford bull calf would survive were slim. Calves don’t normally survive if they are born more than two weeks early, says Dr. John Gilliam, food animal medicine resident at the CVHS.

Norman, as the premature calf came to be known, weighed 26 pounds at birth, far from the normal weight of 70 to 80 pounds. Instead of a full coat, he had hair only on his head and feet.

Following the advice of his local veterinarian, Dr. Joseph DuBois, class of 2001, owner Monte Shockley of Poteau, Okla., transported the calf, barely 24-hours-old, to the CVHS large animal clinic where Gilliam was assigned to the case.

“We have no idea why he was born early,” Gilliam says. “He did not have any birth defects. He did have pneumonia, which we treated.”

Norman received 24-hour care the first three weeks he was at the veterinary hospital. Fourth-year veterinary students working clinical rotations stayed with him in shifts. For two weeks the newborn