Fernando Torres the traveling veterinarian approaching in his maroon truck is a welcome sight to pet owners and ranchers alike in the Battle Mountain area.
Many pets become extremely stressed out on trips to the veterinarian, and Torres provides a valuable service to cat and dog owners as well as local ranchers.
Torres, a Battle Mountain resident, has been a veterinarian since 2010, and he graduated from Battle Mountain High School in 2000.
“I wanted to be a large animal vet,” said Torres. “When I graduated from vet school, my idea was that I wasn’t going to see a cat or a dog, just horses and cows, maybe the occasional pig or alpaca,” but he started his own practice here in Battle Mountain nine years ago.
“I do a lot of preventative medicine,” said Torres. “Depending on the case. I do a lot of dogs that have got torn up and I have to stitch them back together, as I have a lot of clients who are mountain lion hunters.”
There is a large number of feral cats in the Battle Mountain area, and the Lander County Sheriff’s Office will issue vouchers for $50 for a spay or neuter procedure. Torres is able to come to a resident’s home to neuter male cats, as that operation can be easily performed on the premises. Dogs and female cats need a more sterile surgical environment and the gas anesthesia is not easily transported, said Torres.
“It is a problem,” said Torres, regarding the feral cat situation in Battle Mountain, and neutering and spaying will help lower the population.
Torres can be reached at Torres Ambulatory Veterinary Services at (775) 635-9301.
