“When the voice on the phone introduced itself as Cyril Ramaphosa, I thought friends were pranking me,” Wild Coast vet Dr Terrence Thovhakale said.But he could not have been more wrong.The then deputy president of SA was indeed on the phone, offering Thovhakale, then only 23, a job on his wildlife farm near Bela-Bela, Limpopo – and “no” is not a word he appreciates.Fortunately for Thovhakale, he was not about to decline the offer.It was 2016 and he was in the process of completing his master’s degree while working as a state vet in Musina, Limpopo, when Ramaphosa headhunted him to take care of his game animals.“I must have been involved in taking care of some of his buffaloes or sable when he spotted me,” the young man explained.Ramaphosa requested an interview with Thovhakale.Two days later, the job was sealed.After a year working at Phala Phala Wildlife with big game, the young vet decided it was time to move on.“As much as I enjoyed working with Cyril and his animals, and as valuable as his mentorship was, I knew I needed time and experience with smaller, domestic animals as well.“I also wanted to work in a veterinary practice and help really sick animals, which is not something that happens very often on a game farm.”He was poised to accept a job at a clinic in Wales in the UK and, while waiting for the paperwork to be finalised, decided to travel around SA.“I didn’t know the Eastern Cape was so beautiful.“I knew right away that I wanted to stay here and that’s when serendipity and I walked straight into each other when I discovered Wild Coast Vet.”The co-owner of the practice, Dr Roger Davies, says of Thovhakale: “What a great choice Terrence was and how lucky we were to get him.“When he approached us, we felt like he was interviewing us, not us him.“There is such a shortage of vets in this country in general and this province in particular, and most of them emigrate as soon as they can.“A person and vet of Terrence’s calibre can get a job anywhere, so the fact that he chose us at Wild Coast Vet is testament to our practice.“He has a gentle, kind demeanour, is a good listener and has the patience of a saint.“His clinical skill is second to none and he’s a great communicator. So much of our job is about the humans, you have to be a people person too.“Terrence, or T, as we call him, has fitted in with our team fantastically.”The amount of work and dedication it takes to become a vet is not for the faint-hearted.Because the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute at the University of Pretoria is the only training faculty in the country, the entrance requirements are exacting, and it is easier to be accepted to study medicine than veterinary science.The entrance requirements are nothing short of six distinctions, especially in maths, science, agricultural science and biology, plus considerations like community involvement and leadership skills.Thovhakale attended Litshovhu Secondary School in Sinthumule, where his father was the principal, and achieved the requisite As and an overall aggregate of 75.3%.In his class at the university, after two years of a gruelling BSc, only 145 students of 1,200 were selected to continue with the veterinary degree, and then there were still some dropouts.Thovhakale, however, finished his BVSc in the 80th percentile, which he ascribes to his passion.“If you think being a vet is about money, you will never make it. It’s about dedication, passion, endurance, and, yes, heartbreak,” he said.“My brother, who is a civil engineer, and my sister, an electrical engineer, earn way more than I do.“But I never wanted to be anything except a vet. On my varsity application form I left ‘second choice’ blank.“It’s not a very common ambition for black people in this country, but it was always mine.“And hopefully the status quo will change and black matriculants will pursue animal health and wildlife conservation more and more.“But it’s not just about loving animals – lots of people love animals – this is about sickness, disease and some unenviable decisions that you will have to make and live with for the rest of your life.“And you need intuition – animals cannot tell you what is wrong – you must almost have a sixth sense, and learn to expect the unexpected.“Growing up, I had quite a menagerie of strange animals, like my Madagascan hissing cockroaches and red rock rats, but the variety that animals come in is vast, and there will always be something weird you haven’t encountered yet.“Just the other day I had to help a 5m constipated reticulated python!”He has been living and working in Chintsa for the past year and says he is not going anywhere anytime soon.“What a spot! The Wild Coast is one of this country’s best pieces of coastline.“I adore the area, the people and the sea, although I still haven’t learned to swim.“But I’m taking lessons, so hopefully I will soon be able to try out the sea.”