Cowboy Paul

Paul has been on the lookout for a new job these past few months. He's worked in the library for years and would really like a change of pace. When he was younger, he used to do quite a bit of outdoor maintenance for Saint Rita's church in Fairfax and loved being outside and going home physically exhausted after work. We both have been quite fortunate to have had pretty low-impact, white-collar jobs. However, the machine that is the university has a way of beating you up mentally, and we've both been looking for a respite.

Recently, the second milker position at the UCD dairy has opened up. Paul loves the cows and has long been in awe of Melissa and the work that she does. A while back, she mentioned to her boss that Paul might be interested in the soon-vacant milker position. A couple of weeks ago, Melissa's boss phoned her and asked if Paul was serious about applying for the job. HECK YES!!! So the last few weeks have been centered around the cow, the dairy, and getting Paul ready to apply for the job.

Paul has never worked with any animal larger than a German Shepherd (neither had Melissa before coming to the dairy), so he needed to get some hands-on cow experience. So, Paul is a part-time UCD student again, taking Animal Science 49C...Dairy Management Experience. The class meets once a week to discuss issues of dairy management, bovine health, and the science of bovine nutrition and milk quality. The second component of the class, a lab section, is done once a week from 5AM to 8AM, pairing the student with one of the milkers for one of their morning milking shifts. Luckily, by the time Paul registered for the class, the only section remaining open was a Saturday AM lab shift milking with Melissa. Yay!


Melissa has generously and emphatically offered to help show Paul the ropes, the "ins" and "outs" of milking, and how to operate the equipment in the milking parlor. She has gone above and beyond her job as instructor for the course and has taken Paul under her dairy wing. Instead of meeting for lab at 5AM on Saturday, Melissa has Paul meeting her Saturday AND Sunday, from 3AM to 8AM, in order to intensively learn how to run the series of pumps and valves and tanks that are involved in the milk collection process. He also spends Sunday morning, 9AM to noon, working on the dairy yard. He works alongside the dairy's assistant manager, learning how to drench cows, give IVs, chalk cow backsides, and a plethora of other management duties.

He's loving his time on the dairy, and I've seen a wonderful improvement in his mental and physical well-being since he started working there. This change of venue would be so good for him. He's happier when he's at his full-time job, he sleeps better, and he's getting some good, quality time in with my sister. Paul and Melissa are two of the most loyal, respectful, and hard-working people I know, and it's awesome to see them working together as a team.

The job listing was recently posted and the application is due May 16. Between now and then, Melissa hopes to get Paul (literally) running the parlor by himself so that, at the interview, he can confidently say that he can run the parlor without further training. If our wonderful friends and family would be so kind as to remember him and his desire for this new opportunity in their prayers, we would be most grateful (Thank you!).

We've discussed the possibility that he may not get the job, and while disappointing, I know that he was given this opportunity for more that just that reason alone. He really enjoys physical labor, and his body does as well. This may just be a springboard for us, and I'm sure excited to see where the current takes us

And, a finale...Paul in the parlor!