When Ellie, a 6-year-old circus elephant, arrived outside our clinic in Missouri, we knew we were in for a unique challenge. We frequently provided veterinary care to circus animals when they were in town for performances, but none like Ellie. She was experiencing lameness in her foot, but her caretakers were also concerned about swelling in her carpus.  

We began by taking X-rays to determine the cause of her foot pain. I’ll never forget how we were taking radiographs in the alley behind our clinic, right next to the railroad tracks. As we were working, a train passed by. While Ellie was unfazed, the other two elephants on the truck got nervous and the whole thing started shaking.  

This experience was particularly memorable for me because Ellie was the biggest animal we had seen at our clinic, but Ellie handled everything like a champ.  

I've always had a passion for working with exotic animals, and this case was no exception. When I first came to Lee’s Summit in 1991, Dr. Robert “Bud” Hertzog, who was working with the Kansas City Zoo at the time, offered me invaluable insight into the world of zoo animal care. Dr. Hertzog, who founded Lee’s Summit Animal Hospital in 1955, became a local legend for his expertise in treating exotic animals. For years, clients would bring in monkeys, snakes, and other exotic creatures from all across the Midwest. I was truly blessed to have had him as both a colleague and mentor. It’s a career where there’s never a dull moment!

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Dr. Bock is a veterinarian at Lee’s Summit Animal Hospital in Missouri. He grew up in Oklahoma and attended Missouri Southern University, where he played football. He later returned to Oklahoma to attend veterinary school at Oklahoma State University, graduating in 1987. Dr. Bock joined a mixed-animal practice in Aurora, Missouri before joining Lee’s Summit Animal Hospital in 1991. Dr. Bock is their primary farm animal practitioner and has a strong interest in equine medicine and lameness evaluation.