By John Kubal | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS – When Sherwood J. “Woody” Franklin was growing up in Rantoul, Illinois, in the 1950s, the Cold War was well underway. The rural city had a population of about 6,500; many of its citizens were employed at nearby Chanute Air Force Base, which was part of the Strategic Air Command. The facility reportedly had a monthly payroll of $24 million.
During summers, Woody spent time on his grandparents’ farm: “Not anything fantastic; cows, pigs and chickens,” he noted. Following high school graduation in Rantoul, he went on to the University of Illinois (Urbanna-Champaign), where in 1974 he would successfully fulfill his goal of becoming a doctor of veterinary medicine.
As a newly minted “vet,” he had employment opportunities aplenty: general practice, research, pharmaceutical companies, public health, instruction, teaching, swine, bovine, poultry, large-animal and small-animal.
Around the time Franklin began practicing, there was the coming on strong of “value-added agriculture,” with the arrival of concentrated animal feeding operations with numbers of animals in the thousands. He noted that the “little guy was starting to get squeezed out. … He was being pushed to get bigger or pushed to get out.” However, Franklin did see a good side to the bigness that agriculture was becoming.
“I liked the large-animal work,” the doctor admitted. “I felt like I was part of an effort that was feeding the country efficiently, was useful and was profitable for those who produce it.”
The rewards of people and their pets
But he became a general practitioner in Aledo, a rural community town in western Illinois, just south of the Quad Cities. It was next to Henry County, which had 9 million pigs.
“As I got out of (large animal work), I found out that most people don’t have pigs,” Franklin explained, with an obvious hint of humor. “I kind of got into the small-animal field. I liked the work; it’s good work. People have dogs and cats and they’re emotionally invested. It’s not a million-dollar business; it’s not necessarily profitable. But it’s encouraging to help them. … You create relationships. You don’t have that in the lab or classroom.”
While he treats mostly dogs and cats, some of the students at South Dakota State University have pets that might be called exotic. He noted, “It’s fun to see the diversity.” He has treated ferrets, calling them “interesting little creatures.”
Here in Brookings, Franklin has been treating pets and sometimes their owners – emotionally – for almost 30 years. And he likes being here.
“It’s a great town,” he said. He’s especially impressed by Brookings companies like Bel Brands and Solventum and the quantities of the products they produce and their shares of their markets.
As for his pets, Franklin is especially fond of corgis, having had one or more for about 30 years. They’re good dogs and there are other good dogs — but are there some dogs that people should not own? “Absolutely,” the doctor replied, with no hesitation. And that especially applies to some dogs that should not be around children.
In the end, as he continues to practice veterinarian medicine, it all comes down to relationships — with people and their pets — for Dr. Woody Franklin.
— Contact John Kubal at [email protected].
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