Sid Gustafson Outside Bozeman Contributor

Sid Gustafson

Sid Gustafson writes literary fiction and poetry. He practices holistic veterinary medicine in Bozeman, Montana and Saratoga Springs, New York.

The writer nurtures harmonious relationships between humans and animals in his lyrical stories and poems. He writes animal pieces for many publications including the New York Times, where his articles advanced racehorse care. His efforts helped eliminate raceday drugs with a subsequent reduction in catastrophic injuries. 

Sid's current animal activism revolves around abolishing the harmful practice of declawing cats by unethical veterinarians while putting an end to the hot-iron branding of baby calves by insensitive cattle ranchers. 

The novelist was born in Montana, as were his children Nina And Connor, and grandchildren Sorrin and Gunnar. Sid grew up immersed in the lives of horses, cats, dogs, cattle, and wildlife in the shadow of the Northern Rocky Mountain Front, where his novels take place. These days, his sheepdog Batman is teaching him how to know and herd sheep.

Literary influences include the Russians, Halldór Laxness, James Willard Schultz, Iris Murdoch, Malcolm Lowry, Alan Sillitoe, and Ken Kesey, along with the beat writers and Montana novelists.