He's worked with puffer fish and manatees, wrangled alligators and helped heal horses and cattle. In a few days, he'll be taking on a different kind of challenge, but like everything else, it will be for the benefit of animals.

Local veterinarian Matthew Brooks will be competing in the ninth annual Las Vegas Triathlon, which starts at Lake Mead's Boulder Beach on Sept. 30. He's been training hard for the last few months to prepare -- he'll be swimming, cycling and running in the shorter sprint triathlon -- and it was during that training that he had an epiphany.