Story and photos by Hannah Trott
Testing for tuberculosis on cattle in Passadumkeag, Maine; spaying cats on the kitchen table; delivering calves in upstate New York and Vermont; and helping skunks in need. Ed and Kay Blaisdell have been performing veterinarian miracles all over New England for over 50 years and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Since the Blaisdell’s first opened their veterinarian clinic in 1952 in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, they have gone as far north as the Canadian border and as far south as Keene, New Hampshire. Communities quickly adopted the Blaisdell’s into their barns, horse pens, dog kennels, and their homes.
 Ed with a curious patient |
“We worked for farmers and small town folks. We knew their hardships and they knew ours. We became a part of their family,” Ed Blaisdell said. They spayed cats for $3, dogs for $5, and performed a cow caesarian was $50. The prices have changed over time, but still remain low to accommodate different families and their pets. If the animal in crisis couldn’t make it to the clinic, then they went to the animal. “We get small animal house calls on our way to a farm call,” Kay said.
“I had more meals on the road then I did at home. It was definitely a seven-day-a-week job,” Ed said.
The number of animals the Blaisdell’s have treated over the years could be equal to the number of miles they traveled to treat them. “I had more meals on the road then I did at home,” Ed said. “It was definitely a seven-day-a-week job.” Kay laughed at her husband. “No, it was more like an eight-day-a-week job,” she added.
 Ed in his operating room |
The Blaisdell’s are always keeping busy, mindful of the animals that need their help. In the '50s and '60s, Haverhill, New Hampshire, had 150 farmers dependent on the Blaisdell’s to keep their milking cows in good health. In return, the farmers gave them a good meal and a good story. “Every farmer had a story to tell us,” Ed says. “They worked all day on the farm and they never missed the opportunity to share with someone all that was going on.” The Blaisdell’s were told every ridiculous mishap or misadventure on the farm.
Ed recalled one farmer who had a unique sense of humor and an overzealous love for cookies. Ed and Kay drove to The Putnam Farm, located on the Connecticut River in Piermont, New Hampshire to look at a cow with a minor ailment. When they arrived, the farmer was standing over a manure pile with a grievous face. “My yellow rain jacket fell in this pile, and now its buried!” he said.
Ed and Kay knew the farmer seldom took off the yellow jacket. It was old and nothing more than an oversized rag. Ed asked the farmer, “Why do you want that back? It's covered in manure and it was ratty anyway.”
The farmer replied, “I don’t care about the jacket. I want the cookies my wife made me that were in the pocket!”
At the Rare Bird and Animal Farm in Fairlee, Vermont, they treated monkeys, lynxes, otters, cheetahs, reindeer, and bear cubs. “We even worked on Queenie, the worlds only water-skiing elephant. She loved bananas, so anytime we had to medicate her we would hide it in a banana,” Kay says.
"They had a full-grown skunk in an upstairs room bedroom. Neither the police chief nor the local game warden wanted anything to do with it, so they called me,” Ed said.
 Ed and Kay Blaisdell, graduates of Cornell |
Besides treating cows and working on water-skiing elephants, the Blaisdell’s also treated and de-scented skunks. “One day I got a call from the home for the elderly in Woodsville, New Hampshire. They had a full-grown skunk in an upstairs bedroom. Neither the police chief nor the local game warden wanted anything to do with it, so they called me,” Ed said. The Blaisdell’s understand animals, more specifically they understand skunks. On more than one occasion, they were asked to take care of a skunk. The Blaisedell's also de-scented several skunks for people throughout the years. Apparently they make wonderful pets.
The number of farms in Haverhill is now down to less than a dozen and The Rare Bird and Animal Farm has been closed for over a decade. Ed and Kay still do farm calls, helping out a sick cow or delivering a calf, but not as often as they used to. People still bring their pets into the clinic and the Blaisdell’s manage to stay busy, but like seasons in New England, times change. Although the need for a Veterinarian to take care of cattle is no longer in high demand, the need for a familiar face willing to care for a cat is always necessary.
The Blaisdell’s still have the same clinic, and when necessary, they still use the same stainless steel operating room table that they used over 50 years ago. If you look close enough at the table you can see scratches, gouges, and dents put in the table by animals the Blaisdell's have cared for.Looking for a pet? Visit your local Humane Society!
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