Tails of the Prairie

In Tails of the Prairie, Baldwin shares a collection of stories from his work as a veterinarian in three rural Wyoming counties from 1951 to 1964. Living in Wyoming can be a challenge as well as an adventure. Wyoming is a place of extremes and this affects the people who live there. The people are tough and tenacious and the country is full of all different types of personalities. This book lends a glimpse into the challenges of living and working in such a drastic environment and the characters who call Wyoming home. Doc narrates how much of his work consisted of house calls that involve heading out across the prairie via pickup, two-seat plane, or the horse a rancher left to ride a non-navigable road. Working in often primitive conditions, Baldwin tells how he treated animals of all varieties, from the ranch animals to domestic pets. He helped a dog that didn't win its battle with a porcupine, a cat that saved a baby from a rattlesnake attack, and a bobcat that slept on the living room piano. At a county fair, he was held prisoner by an elephant, and he learned that in Wyoming, gumbo is not something you eat with a spoon. Through it all, Baldwin maintained his humor and appreciation for the people and animals that live and die on the prairie.

Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1923, Robert A. Baldwin operated a private veterinary practice in Sundance and Gillette, Wyoming for 15 years. Later, he worked for the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, and today he operates a 155-acre farm in the Shenandoah Valley of southwest Virginia.