Alberta cattle vet helps vet in Ukraine in contest bid for Easi-Scan

Social media and the hashag #VoteForVadim puts Pryadko in final six

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Published: October 16, 2014

man hugging a cow

It started with an online friendship between two cattle veterinarians.

Even though he doesn’t speak a word of Ukrainian, Airdrie vet Cody Creelman, was drawn to the online videos of Vadim Pryadko, who lives in a town called Khmelnitsky near the Polish border.

“We developed a relationship,” said Creelman. “We started talking about what type of practice he was at, what kind of school he went to, about his family. He had lots of questions about how we do things in the West in terms of cow medicine. He was keen to learn how to manage different diseases, our vaccination protocols, and antibiotic strategies.”

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It all started when Creelman, also an avid videomaker, left a comment on Pryadko’s YouTube channel, saying that he wished he could understand the words in the video. Since Pryadko doesn’t speak English, he used Google Translate to add subtitles and to communicate with his new Alberta friend via the social networking sites Facebook and Google Plus.

“Our real connection is wanting to tell our story through the digital media,” said Creelman, 29. “As soon as I saw what a master he was at that, I was instantly drawn to what he could do.

Pryadko works for a large dairy, as well as at an equine stable. There are only a few veterinarians in his city of around 300,000, so he also treats dogs, cats, mules and horses.

His excellent videography skills made him a shoe-in for an annual video competition put on by diagnostic imaging company BCF Technology, which this year is offering a prize of an Easi-Scan portable ultrasound unit for cattle and equine veterinarians valued at US$14,000.

Read the full article on the Alberta Farmer Express website.

About the author

Alexis Kienlen

Alexis Kienlen

Reporter

Alexis Kienlen is a reporter with Glacier Farm Media. She grew up in Saskatoon but now lives in Edmonton. She holds an Honours degree in International Studies from the University of Saskatchewan, a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Concordia University, and a Food Security certificate from Toronto Metropolitan University. In addition to being a journalist, Alexis is also a poet, essayist and fiction writer. She is the author of four books- the most recent being a novel about the BSE crisis called “Mad Cow.”

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