IT'S a good job Sara Gutierrez-Ojanguren speaks English, because Henrietta the heifer's command of Spanish is not so great.

In the middle of Worcestershire, linguistic skills are not normally considered a necessity when the vet appears up the farm drive. However, this scenario is something else.

I'm not sure "black sheep of the family" is quite the right phrase, but when you have three sisters at home in Madrid, one an economist, another a lawyer and the third at university taking a degree, you must be considered slightly off the wall to be over in England testing cattle for TB.

Yet that's just what Sara has been doing for the last couple of years.

Indeed, the State Veterinary Service, which carries out the tests for Defra and has its headquarters in Whittington Road, Worcester, currently has four Spanish vets in its employ.

What they make of some of the rural rumblings down on the county's farms I'm not sure. Although I guess "shift that beast, it's standing on my foot" is much the same in any language.

As far as Sara's concerned, this is no problem, because she speaks perfect English.

Her family originates from the northern Basque country, but later moved down to Madrid where she went to a private English school.

Perhaps surprisingly for a future vet, Sara can't remember them having any pets about while she was growing up. So her love of animals obviously didn't come from there, although as a little girl she was fascinated by the cows on a nearby farm, so that might be a pointer.

Having decided on a veterinary career, she studied for her initial qualifications in Spain and then came over to England in 2001 to complete.

"I'd always wanted to work in England," she explained.

Deciding to specialise in large animals - cattle, sheep and pigs - the bulk of her training was based at Bristol University with its famed Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

"I prefer working with larger animals," said Sara, "I don't have any trouble with their size."

To some extent, size doesn't matter, because if a beast decides to get fractious, a strong man wouldn't hold it. With four legs, they've got a good grip on the ground.

Anyway, for TB testing, cattle are driven into a device called a crush, a metal cage that temporarily holds them still, while the vet carries out the test.

There is no particular human strength involved and farm staff do the cattle handling.

Sara began with the SVS working on the Defra tests in November 2003, with a patch covering Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire and carrying out post mortems in a small laboratory at Worcester.

"I find the work very interesting," she said. It's certainly a different job from the rest of her family. Her father is a design engineer, for example.

Although being young, female and Spanish obviously has its attractions in the world of Worcestershire farming, it would count for nothing if the lady wasn't good at her job.

But Sara's quiet efficiency and complete competence have earned her due respect on the farms.

"Sara is one of the best, and most pleasant, TB vets we've had here," said Jill Hammonds, who farms with husband John at Pewcroft, Suckley. "She was extremely efficient."

Now the lady from Madrid is throwing herself into English country life with enthusiasm and has even started to ride.

I'd just love to see her galloping off down a farm drive, waving a hand in the air and yelling "Hasta la vista, baby!" Perhaps not.