Smokey was born and raised in Charlotte, the son of a veterinarian, Dr Lewis Puckett. His love of equine medicine apparently developed at an early age. He remembers asking his Dad to take him on farm calls or to wake him up at night if he had an emergency. Smokey attended Auburn University for both undergrad and veterinary school where he graduated magna cum laude. The next four years were spent honing his skills in equine medicine and surgery at Texas A&M University and in Lexington, Kentucky at Hagyard-Davidson & McGee Equine Practice. Working on thoroughbreds in the Bluegrass with Hagyard-Davidson & McGee was exactly what he had always dreamed of doing. Following the birth of their first son Jake, the call to come back home was too great. The next few years were very busy. The practice grew as did their family with two more sons, Pete and Travis. Most of you have met Smokey's boys by now, quality time often meant taking them along with him on farm calls. Sylvia must be commended as the wife of an equine veterinarian; rarely was there a holiday without a large animal emergency [citation].