LAKE GEORGE — Dr. Britt Stubblefield’s office is the cab of a dusty Dodge Ram pickup.

His examination attire is green coveralls and a pair of well-worn work boots. His patients are of the four-legged variety.

While many of his former veterinary school classmates enjoy jobs in the comfortable confines of house-pet clinics, Stubblefield spends his days — and some of his nights — in barns, corrals and windy, snow-covered pastures.

That makes the 35-year-old animal doctor a rare breed. Rare enough that the federal government is handing out $6 million a year in subsidies to attract newcomers to the shrinking field of large-animal veterinary medicine.

The Department of Agriculture’s new program awards up to $25,000 annually for four years in tuition-loan reimbursements for veterinarians who commit to work in underserved rural areas. It’s modeled after a similar program to induce medical doctors to serve in outlying regions.

Agricultural experts say the need for the incentive is clear.

Consider the options for a newly graduated veterinarian who, on average, has amassed $130,000 in tuition debt: Work regular hours at a higher salary in a small-animal clinic or labor at lower wages with an unpredictable schedule in a large-animal practice.

“It’s not the easiest livelihood,” said Terry Fankhauser, executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. “You’re getting called out in the middle of the night, getting banged around by a 1,200-pound animal.”

Stubblefield is one of two Colorado veterinarians selected in 2010 for the USDA financial award. The other, Dr. Shane Porter, practices in Elbert and Lincoln counties.

Nationwide, another 60 vets were chosen to receive the grants, based on studies that determined the most underserved regions for large-animal medicine.

Stubblefield’s primary work area is the 2,758-square-mile expanse of Park and Teller counties — an area served by only a few other livestock veterinarians.

Stubblefield, who graduated from the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine in May, said his new career calls for him to drive at least 100 miles a day, sometimes more than 300.

He has no complaints. Working with cattle and horses is his passion. Yet he’d be hard-pressed to pursue it without the federal payment.

After recently inspecting and treating a half-dozen head of cattle at the M Lazy C Ranch, the 6-foot-7 Stubblefield discussed his career path while wolfing down a hamburger in a cafe in the tiny mountain town of Lake George, northwest of Colorado Springs.

“If I hadn’t gotten this award, I don’t know if I could have made it through the first year,” he said. “I probably would have had to find a small-animal clinic in Colorado Springs a couple of days a week to make ends meet.”

While Stubblefield declined to disclose his accrued debt from four years of veterinary school, he said monthly payments on it are equivalent to a modest house payment.

Tuition at CSU’s vet college runs about $80,000 over four years. Industry experts estimate that additional non-tuition expenses bring the average graduate’s debt to $130,000.

“It’s very difficult for graduates with high debt levels,” said Dean Hendrickson, director of the veterinary teaching hospital at CSU. “Rural veterinarians are putting in 80-hour workweeks to earn 20 percent less. You can see why there’s a movement toward small-animal practices in urban areas.”

The national average salary for first-year livestock veterinarians is about $62,000, compared with $71,000 for entry-level pet doctors, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

In 1986, 45 percent of AVMA members cared for farm animals as a part of their practice. By 2008, that figure had dropped to 17 percent.

“The financial and lifestyle issues have created a shift toward urban communities,” said Dr. Keith Roehr, Colorado’s state veterinarian. “This (incentive) program encourages veterinarians to serve in communities in need of their valuable service.”

San Luis Valley cattle rancher Don Shawcroft is worried about the rural exodus and the advancing age of the remaining vets. The two he uses at his ranch south of Alamosa are in their 80s.

Shawcroft said the veterinarians have sought younger partners to work in their practices, but with no success.

At the M Lazy C Ranch, manager Jamie Gibbons said she’s grateful that Stubblefield has established his practice in the area.

The ranch’s previous veterinarians have either retired, succumbed to health issues or moved away.

A former veterinary technician, Gibbons said she’s particular about the care her horses and cattle get.

“It’s hard to find somebody good that we trust,” she said. “Not only are these animals our livelihood, they’re our family.”

Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com