Growing up on a subsistence farm in North Carolina, Jap Allen married his childhood sweetheart, got his degree in veterinary medicine from Auburn University, served in the army, and established his practice in eastern North Carolina. When Jap started into practice in the 1950s, he worked mostly on farm animals -- on small farms and at the local stockyard. Money was scarce, and he was sometimes paid in produce. Mules were the tractors of the day, and Jap treated many mules for colic and other problems -- even bringing one back from the dead. As his small-animal practice grew, he ministered to a wide range of pets, from boas to Yorkshires. He also inspected animals at stockyards, slaughterhouses, and rodeos. Knocked out by a mule, chased by bulls, and battered by car wrecks, Jap survived his veterinary adventures for 42 years -- until dementia forced him into early retirement.