Knocking Down Doors

Seven years ago I received a letter in the mail, that stopped me in my tracks. Though at the time it felt as if my whole world had been crushed, little did I know that this one letter would be the catalyst that started me on one of my most important journeys in life, fighting for the very existence of the profession of equine dentistry. God works in mysterious ways, sometimes when one door gets slammed in our face we have a tendency to believe that’s it, that’s the end. When in reality God is nudging us to open the next door, and with a lot of faith and a little courage, it is his hope that we take that first step across the threshold into the unknown. It is the unknown where we discover our full potential and true purpose in life.

I opened that letter with trembling hands, and a giant pit deep in my stomach. Heart racing, fear welling up inside, I pulled the letter out and read with apprehension. A cease and desist letter, and notice of violating Nevada State law for practicing equine dentistry without a state issued veterinary license. At the time, this type of offense was punishable as a category d felony, up to one year in jail, and a $2000 fine. As you can imagine I was utterly devastated. What I thought was the end of my equine dental career, was actually the first step of a thousand mile journey.

I proceeded to cooperate with the Vet Board, and would later receive a $500 fine along with a cease and desist. Thank God it wasn’t the life changing blow I was originally expecting. However this lit a fire in my soul that burned hotter and brighter than ever before. I started the process of creating change. The first failed attempt would come with a half baked bill modeled after the Texas law, that would be introduced in the 2015 session. The bill was immediately killed and tabled by the committee chairwoman after the Nevada Vet Medical Association and Vet Board had approached her. With the wind taken out of my sails and defeat setting in, I sought another approach.

I joined the IAED later that year and enlisted the help of some colleagues who I am now blessed to call great friends and mentors. With the help of a veteran of the legislative process, Josh Wallace (President of the IAED at the time), and Mark Allen, another dentist who has faced unfair persecution from the Vet Board. We set out to meet with the Vet Board on their terms. Though we are truly not enemies, that first meeting felt as if we were behind enemy lines negotiating a truce and peaceful ending to a well fought battle. Over the course of the next year and a half, we played their game, flew back and forth between meetings from Las Vegas to Reno, jumping through hoops sometimes cancelling flights last minute because they removed us from the agenda only to add us back on the agenda last minute after we made other plans. It wasn’t long before we realized that compromise would not be an option with the Vet Board. As their own attorney stated, “We will make it look like we are working with them, so the state legislators see we tried, but we don’t actually have to work with them.”

They hastily drafted the new regulations and they were approved by the Legislative Commission the next year. These new regulations in a way almost made matters worse, requiring direct supervision during the entire process of the dental procedure and requiring an affidavit signed by a \Veterinarian stating they would supervise you. It also made the fine $10,000 rather than $2,000. After spending a year and a half of time and money, I wanted to just quit. With my business dwindling and solely relying on shoeing horses and gathering wild horses, I felt as though my career as an Equine Dentist was over. I can’t even count on my hands and toes how many times I wanted to just quit and close up shop, and sell all my instruments.

My heart however, was beating to a different drum. I just knew deep down inside that quitting was never an option. Quitting is not true to who I am or my core values. Hell, my sophomore year I almost passed out in the arena trying to flank a calf long after the time expired just because quit wasn’t in my vocabulary, and though I was small I wanted to prove to the world, that I could do it! I owe a lot of my strength to continue to fight on, to my mom. She’s been my rock through all of this, and done nothing but encourage me along the way, whenever doubt arose, she redirected me. I’m so incredibly thankful for her persistence and not giving up on me!

The 2017 Legislative session rolled around, and once again I secured a Legislator who was willing to sponsor a bill for equine dentistry only to have her pull the bill and sponsor something else, she felt was more important. My heart once again was broken, all I could think was, “I waited two years for this?”. I felt crushed, and betrayed. I honestly thought, what did I do God, to deserve this. I truly hit rock bottom at this point, I had to sell my young horse just to pay my bills, and I had to sell my living quarters before they repoed it. All my hopes and dreams were going up in smoke.

However there was a silver lining to all of this, earlier that year, I successfully completed my IAED certification, was elected to the Board of Directors, and appointed Chairman of the Government Relations Committee. That’s when I finally realized what the purpose of my journey was. As humans, it's natural for us to want the straight forward quick result, but what do we learn in the process, and how do we grow? Like a blade forged in fire, every strike of the hammer manipulates the metal until it reaches its final shape and is quenched, though it is marred and beaten, it emerges from the quench stronger than ever before. The constant set backs, disappointment, feeling of failure and despair, have been my forge. Rather than succumbing to the fire, it has made me stronger and prepared me for the long road of battles ahead.

In 2019 we would get another chance at introducing legislation in the state of Nevada, sponsored by my good friend Senator Ira Hansen. The perfect man for the job, as him and I are much the same. Unwavering in our beliefs, and true to our core values. I couldn’t believe it when he called to inform me SB 156 had a committee hearing date. It felt as if it were a dream, I thought wow this is really happening, this is the year that we change the law, a task that many people said will never be done. I went to the first committee hearing, so nervous I was sweating like a stuffed pig. Armed with a vast knowledge and true passion for equine dentistry I made my case with a powerful testimony, as did my friend and colleague, Mark Allen. We would later prove successful and pass out of the committee unanimously onto the Senate floor, where the bill was passed with a 20-1 vote in favor of.

The assembly side would prove to be a whole different ball game. The Veterinary Board and Vet Medical Associations were now prepared with erroneous rebuttals for our arguments, and they came back with a vengeance, striking harder than before. I spent almost every other day at the Capitol building meeting with legislators, just me and my mini horse skull. Doing my best to educate them on the importance of proper equine dental care, and giving horse owners the right to choose who provides that care. Funny thing, it actually became a labor of love. I enjoyed dressing up and speaking to people about my career. It wasn’t long before many of the other lobbyists and legislators stopped me in the hall to chat about teeth because they heard about our bill. I was known as the horse tooth guy! Many expressed their support and it gave me confidence moving forward.

The Assembly committee hearing had a much different atmosphere about it. What seemed so easily within our grasp now seemed as if it were slipping away. The Veterinary Board showed up with more support, and of course they showed their true colors with fancy words and scare tactics totally unrelated to equine dentistry. Though I was put on the spot with some difficult questions, and the hearing perhaps didn’t go as smoothly as the first one, I still felt deep in my heart that this was our year to finally succeed. That feeling would be short lived. As the next couple weeks went by, there wasn’t a peep from the committee chair, no returned phone calls, unanswered pleas for meetings, not even an email. I scrambled to get all the other committee members to urge her to move forward with a vote on the bill. After all we came this far, I didn’t want to see the bill die once again in committee. Mark Allen even flew up on a midnight flight from Las Vegas, just to try to meet with the chairwoman the next morning only to have her slam the door in his face.

It was the final day to pass bills from their second committee hearing onto the floor. I dressed up once again, binder of notes and letters in hand and headed to the capital for one last hoorah. My trip was stopped short when I received a text message from Senator Hansen. His words stung as I read them, “The chairwoman is refusing to vote on the bill. Sorry, we did all we could do. The bill is dead.” I felt like I hit a brick wall, the tears began to well up in my eyes, I’m not much of a cryer but damn it I couldn’t help it. Once again the proverbial door slammed in my face, I was blinded by anger and resentment, ready to quit and give up. I practically lived at the capital over the duration of three months. I sacrificed my business and my time, and at the time it seemed as if it were all for nothing. My mom and the saint she is once again brought me back to center, and helped me see the forest for the trees. Though the door closed and all seemed lost, another door would soon open. The battle was lost, but the war continues on. This was simply yet another necessary stepping stone in my overall journey. It was an opportunity that tore me down and built me up, strengthening weaknesses and creating chances to learn and grow.

I had no idea that the valuable lessons I learned at the state legislature that year would be lessons I carried with me onward not only in everyday life, but also as the IAED Government Relations Chairman. Throughout this lengthy process I've been blessed to meet incredible people like Josh Wallace and Mark Allen both I'm lucky enough to call friend. Josh has not only taught me so much about legislation, but is also someone I look up to as a mentor and great friend. Though the door may have closed, I knocked on the next one and boldly stepped across the threshold with a new found confidence and knowledge of the legislative process. God knew exactly what he was doing, had I succeeded in Nevada I would’ve never went through the necessary growing pains I needed to go through that would later help me in other states like Montana, Indiana, and Massachusetts aided by the incredible membership of the IAED. We tried to pass a bill again in Nevada’s 2021 session only to come up short. Though I did not succeed once again, I’ll keep beating down doors, and fighting for my fellow colleagues and their right to work and provide services as well as horse owners right to choose!

Throughout this process I often felt discouraged and hopeless but I learned a valuable lesson. Even when we find ourselves trapped in the deepest darkest depths of a steep canyon, don’t lose hope. The smallest of cracks and crevasses can act as hand and foot holds. Some you may only be able to get your fingertips in, and some may crack and crumble. Your fingers and hands will become bloodied and torn, and you may almost reach the top only to fall back down. But don’t quit, quitting is a quick and permanent solution where your dreams and soul purpose go to die. As you crawl inch by inch, your hands become calloused, you learn and grow stronger. Though the journey was long and arduous, when you emerge at the top and into the light, you’ll be confident and ready to tackle whatever obstacles life throws at you next. Don't be afraid to boldly knock down the next door when one door closes, incredible blessings await you just beyond the threshold.

Romans 5:1-5 #LiveLifeUnbroken