Miquela Giesken, a veterinary assistant, is seen through a sculpture of a heifer while walking a dog at the Town and Country Animal Clinic in Maryville, Mo. Miquela has worked at the veterinary clinic for three years and plans to attend Ross University in the Caribbean for vet school in January.

Dr. Michael Roberts raises his hands to get a cow’s attention during a visit on a client’s farm south of Maryville. Michael has two decades of veterinary experience in northwest Missouri and southwest Iowa.

Michael walks down the hallway as his wife, Teri, prepares a dog to be neutered. The dog  was a great Pyrenees named Memphis.

Teri feeds peas to a boar goat named Rocky at her home in Maryville. The family had a barn fire in March and Rocky was one of the goats who survived. He still has a scar from the fire on his left side.

Michael and Teri grab brucellosis and tetanus vaccines at the clinic before Michael leaves for a house call.

A 7-month-old basset hound named Mabel is fastened to the exam table while under anesthesia before surgery  at the clinic. Mabel was at the clinic to be spayed.

Paintings in the hallway at the clinic depict a 3-year-old Great Dane and mastiff mix named Harley and a German shepherd and boxer mix named James Beau, both of which were adoptable dogs. The painting on the right was painted by Allison Roberts, Michael and Teri's daughter.

Michael, left, and his veterinary assistant Dalton Luke move a cow to the cattle chute during a visit to a client’s farm south of Maryville. Michael and Dalton were at the farm for an examination of a sick cow.

Teri lays a blanket on top of a husky mix named Buddy at the clinic. Buddy was brought to the clinic on Sept. 19 after health complications related to his diabetes.