the DVM life - Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

We had a small puppy in for a leg amputation. The leg was broken far beyond any repair. It was flopping around in such a way that grossed out the whole clinic (which is hard to do). So amputation was the only option (other than spending thousands of dollars with a specialist with marginal possible success or putting the puppy down).

Thankful to say that everything went exceedingly well! The leg was removed without significant blood loss. Very little in fact! The recovery temperature was nothing short of a miracle and afterwards the little one was resting peacefully. She's been through so much at such a young age!

I was also impressed with our lead tech, being able to put an IV into such a tiny tiny vein! That is true skill, which some day I hope I have!

On a different topic I got a very nice compliment. "Why isn't some guy dating you?!" A very sweet compliment. They went on to tell my how smart, nice, and pretty I am in addition to being a good baker. They also said that anyone who wanted to date me had better be a good guy. That was just really nice and made my day. I wish everyone got to hear nice things about themselves like that, it's quite a warm fuzzy that someone thinks highly of you.

I finished the chocolates! I made 164 pieces of peanut butter balls. Yum. Some is going to work, friends, neighbors, the rest is traveling with me to my Grandmas. I think they took a total of 5 hours which isn't too bad. Nothing to technically difficult - just time consuming. I learned not to freeze them. Since it's fairly warm here now I can't just stick them in the garage to cool and harden. Turns out the fridge, not the freezer, is the correct location. They are yummy anyways!

(post from yesterday I was too tired to write)

Everything was all pointy today. Every cat tried to paw at my neck. Not happy about that. Had like 7 nail trims that freaked out and tried to bite (chiuauas and dachshunds are terrible, along with pugs). So it was a very pointy scratchy day that didn't put me in a good mood. I got a little cranky towards the end which is a bit unusual for me.

Plus I ran into a few clients that rubbed me the wrong way - blaming their dog for poor behavior. That's no excuse for not being able to properly handle your animals ....grrr!

After I got home I had tom R&R and started making the chocolates I'm bringing to my Grandma. I'll be taking a short holiday to visit her and I'm looking forward to it!

Also my new sifter broke. Bah. It was just a weird day.

Today was a nice day at work. I was officially filling in for someone else so I had to get there early. The morning was hectic, as Tuesday mornings tend to be. We had a dental with some resorptive lesions. Poor little guy, those are fairly painful.

During lunch I went to the used store and got a nice used angel food cake pan, a used steamer set, a flower sifter from Wal*mart, and yellow cake mix + cupcake paper cups from the cheap-o mart. I could have gotten 1 regular priced baking pan or all that cool cheap stuff.

Anyhoo, after lunch we had an ACL surgery. After we got the epidural in (wicked long needle!) I got to help shave and prep the surgical site. Which was pretty cool since I don't usually get to do that! Then I got even cooler and promoted myself to surgical assistant since other people were busy.

I was able to help set up surgery, open packs, help gown up the doctor and do some monitoring of anesthesia. You know how the doctor is like "10 blade...Ok, now I'll need a large gelpie...how about some 3-0 PDS." I was the one getting all that stuff. First I felt pretty dang smart because I knew what all of that stuff was and where it was kept in the OR. And then....

I got to SCRUB IN!! : D Which pretty much made my day. The meniscus was compressed and so we levered the joint open to get a better look. That was my job. Holding a wicked looking instrument to keep the joint open so the doctor could get a better view. It was awesome.

Now you may be saying "Wow. That's lame." Or perhaps you may be saying "I have no idea what's going on. This blog is stupid." Let me simplify it for you: I probably won't get to do anything like that in vet school.

In vet school there are older students (3/4 years that get priority), interns and residents who all want a piece of the surgical action. If a cruciate was being done at school I wouldn't have a chance to actually assist. So it was cool indeed.

Later in the day I ran into one of my favorite client/owners. The sweet dog has kennel cough and is getting better! I'm glad, such a nice owner and dog.

At home (I had a 9.5 hr day) I took nice hot shower, took a walk around the sunny block, and had a great baked potato. Then I made a strawberry pie. I want to try strawberry bread too. You can tell we got a flat of strawberries. I also made a crust free fruit tart for my mom.

Wow, sure got a lot accomplished!

Memorial Day was always a day I could never enjoy. I've been in school for the last 17-18 years of my life. And when you're in school, MD is placed right before finals week. Which means you can never enjoy the holiday since you should be working on projects, papers, and studying for finals.

I always thought that when I was out of school I could finally enjoy the day. Oh yes, MD would rock. I would be on a boat, at some lake, staying at some cabin. Water skiing, jet skiing, getting the first tan of the summer, pulling out the hammock and making smores.

Well, that sure didn't happen. Sad to say but MD out of school wasn't quite as cool as I had hoped. For starters, I don't know anyone who has a boat or cabin anymore. Dang.

So I woke up late, made/ate some yummy sausages, did a very large pile of laundry, and cleaned my junk increasing room. A friend called and said c'mon over for s'mores at 7. Meanwhile I took my best buddy to the Home Depot to check out some windows. We get some (not good) pizza. And that's saying a lot for me because I'm usually quite pro-pizza.

Finally I get over to the s'mores location. Except there's no s'mores going on. Not at 7, not at 8:30, and not at 10:30pm. So I headed back home tired and smore-less. At least I got some laundry done. And I got to watch some Deadliest Catch. Now those guys could use a perfect Memorial Day more than I could.

And it's off to folding the laudry and getting some Z's. I'm filling in for someone at work tomorrow and need to be up early.

That's the Indiana Jones theme song, in case you were wondering. Go see that movie. Now!

Saw that movie today with my mom, loved it! I had a nice day with my mom. I'm glad we got to check out the new theatre - it's very, very nice! The Indiana Jones movie was FANTASTIC! I am a HUGE Indy fan and I loved it. Maybe some parts of the plot were a bit cheesy, but a good movie overall.

I have to hand it to Harrison Ford, that guy is doing great for 65. Not bad at all. I really hope there's another one. I mean there really should be. No excuse. It only kicked ass at the box office!

The new theatre was also FANTASTIC, had the qualities of a big city theatre. Yay for our town!

Afterwards we did some shopping and had a yummy dinner. I got to have fish, couscous, and more fish. The fish was 'delish and made quite the dish. It was nice to have some time with my mom, especially since she wasn't telling me to clean the house.

Then after house chores we kicked back with another movie. I don't remember the title, only that it has Ben Stiller and it was bad. But really, are there any good Ben Stiller movies? I don't think so.

After I write each post, I get all nostalgic about my day and want to do it over again. What a nice day.

It is only 91 days till vet school starts. Sigh. I am somewhat excited and somewhat not. I'm really enjoying this break!

Today was great! Sunny and 79. There was a lecture at the house so I packed up the dog, my best friend and we went swimming (after fixing some stuff around the house - broken towel holder). The dog got to go to the boat ramp for some fetch, then we headed to the river.

A great drive out, great drive back in. Absolutely perfect weather. We had some tasty sammiches and ended the day with a walk and a robot movie. Couldn't ask for more.

Today was a drama filled day. Well, a drama filled morning.

I missed most of it, I don't get to work until later. Apparently there was some stress between a doctor and the support staff. I really don't like drama. I can see both sides of it - this particular doctor likes things done a particular way. The support staff is busy, hardworking, and can't always do things a particular way. It gets done, just differently. Anyways, it was stressful.

I try and get along with everyone, makes life easier. I hate fighting, it reminds me of my parents separation. Which I'm sure has made me mental in some form or another. So fighting really makes me uncomfortable. Thus this morning at work was very...uncomfortable.

So I did the only thing I could do. I made brownies. Brownies are a good way of saying "Let's stop being cranky." I like to think it helped in it's own small way. Some people deal by getting mad, some deal by talking, drinking, shooting, writing, etc. I like to make something tasty.

I'm sure all clinics have drama. I feel fortunate that the drama levels here are usually quite low. So I'll just count this as an odd happening.

Anyhoo, medically: the usual clinic happenings for today. Diarrhea, ear infections, eye infections, abscess, toe nail trims, tons of vaccinations.

I have to take a moment to get on my soapbox here. The topic: large dogs.

People, if you're going to have a large dog learn how to control it - get some good training. Otherwise you're just screwing yourself over. And the poor support staff/doctors who have to treat your large dog. You need to be responsible enough to make sure your dog can handle normal situations without knocking everything/everyone over and becoming a very real bite hazard. It's not cute, it's not fun, it's a hazard. Off the soapbox now.

We wrapped up the day with a sad case. A dog was missing for a few days and came back home unable to walk - it dragged itself home with the remaining good legs. The owners brought him in and we took x-rays. We found some spinal damage - likely he was hit by a car. There was a small chance that with an MRI and a consult we could learn more to potentially improve the animal's situation. But this would be very costly and the odds weren't that great. The couple elected to put the animal down. Afterwards I was able to feel the damage to the spine; the back was indeed broken. It was the right thing to put him down - he wasn't going to get any better and now he won't suffer anymore.

I do believe they go to a better place. A big field with lots of room run and play, always enough tasty food to eat, good smells to smell, other puppies and kitties to play with, never too hot and never too cold, no one to cause any hurt or harm. And I'll end the post on that happy note.

Today was a first for me. It was the first time in 3 years that we've gotten a positive heartworm test. The dog was from the south and didn't have any preventative treatment, so we were sort of expecting it. But it was the first positive test that we got in the 3 summers that I've been here. I got to see the larvae on a slide, there were many of them and it was a little creepy.

For those of you not familiar with heartworm, the name is a give-away. It is a worm that will live in the heart and eventually the creature will die of heart problems. Just thinking of live worms burrowing around in a beating heart should make anyone creeped out.

So now the dog (bitey little guy) is on a treatment plan and should be just fine. Savin' lives is what we do!

I got to play with a very cute little pup who was in for a neuter. We rarely get ones that cute, and we see many animals. It was a mix of a Maltese and a shitzu. Come to think of it, he was kind of bitey too.

On a good note, my tire is ok. It had a nail and is now patched and ready to roll - pun is intended. I wanted to watch the Indy movie today but will watch it later with my mom. I am a HUGE Indy fan and can't wait to see him back in action.

I'm also working on cracking the recipe for Fisher's scones. Good stuff, hard to duplicate!

I wish there was some kind of chip they could put in your head so when you're doing something you don't want to do, you think you're actually in Hawaii. I would so buy one of those.

Today I worked my computer job. As a vet student I work at the animal hospital and have another job to stay a float. Not kidding - I'm hoping to god I can get on food stamps before vet school starts. I always work during school and I have 2 or more jobs in the summer. School is just so dang expensive.

Anyhoo, so it was a blah day on the computer job. And blah weather outside. Somehow, we went from 93 to 83 to 73 to 63, and just now my car told me it was 49. All within the span of 5 days.

And my tire has a leak. So I'll have to get that fixed tomorrow.

And I tried to budget out so that maybe I could take a little trip anywhere before school starts. My budget says it's probably not going to happen. My vacation trip is going to be the drive out to school. Sigh.

So I would really like one of those brain-vacation chips, please. Or at least some chips. I'll settle for some of those.

Today, as you guessed, was a full moon. Which means 1 of 2 things:

1) All hell breaks loose
2) Everything is quiet. Too quiet. All of the sudden ... (see #1)

This morning was surgery-o-rama. We had a ton of dentals, lump removals, ear cleanings and x-rays. It was chaotic, but everyone was working together and in a general good mood.

We had one dog that was a particular pain in the ass. Some people may think that all we do is play with puppies and kitties. Nope. As much as we'd like to, we get animals that are just a pain. I have respect for all life, but I certainly don't love all animals. Like ones that bite me in the face. Definitely don't love them.

Animal handling can be difficult and certainly no one is perfect. You have to be tough/confident or you will not be in control. And when you're not in control of the situation, animals/people can get hurt.

Which is why it really gets my goat when people take aggressive animal behavior and anthropomorph it. Growing, lunging, and snapping are not "cute" and does not mean your dog is "happy to see you." People, people, people..... sigh.

Anyhoo, in case anyone was wondering the cheesecake turned out very well! I should post some pictures up here later. I also used the left over crust to make a pretty fruit tart! Yum : )

As you can guess, we had a splenectomy today. I had no idea a spleen was quite that large. It was the size of perhaps 3/4 of a football. Then again, there was an attached mass and the spleen was enlarged due to use of narcotics. But it was interesting none the less.

Interesting thing: this particular animal is sick (cancer I believe?) and only had a few more weeks to live. Because of this surgery, it now has around 6 months to live. I wondered, if I were the owner, if I would have given the ok for the procedure. It cost approx $1,600 - in return for approx 6 more months with your animal. I wonder how many other people would have done the same.

During surgery I got to help setup suction and other misc stuff. I was pleased that I knew how to set up suction.

Also had a sad shape doxie come in - end stage lung problems. Poor thing was just skin and bones, horribly low temperature. We couldn't do anything for it except try to make it comfortable.

On the happy side, I met a really nice client. Cool lady, cancer survivor, makes awesome sculptures, got a real sweet dog from the pound. Those types of people make me happy. She just was happy to be there, happy to have a dog, and appreciated .. well .. life in general.

Now I'm off to make some cheesecake!

Today I helped at the shelter fundraiser again. It was a little better today, but still not as good as we hoped for. My job was taking care of the food for the volunteer staff. I love doing food stuff! I had a blast shopping for different lunch foods people would like. It turned out to be $100 for the weekend. I tried to budget my best and I think I got good deals.

I took my best friend along with me and he brought his dog. We later ended up at a state park, letting the dog swim. He threw dog-dish water at me and I punched him. He's always throwing water at me. It was a lovely green day, blue skies, nice and warm but not too hot. Only in the mid-70s. We took a long country road back, it's nice to see that so much of the area is still rural!

I've been thinking of taking a cake decorating class - finally I've gotten the details. It's $21 plus all the supplies you have to buy. I might get to do it for my birthday!

Tomorrow is back to work. . .

It was hot today. Real hot. Today hit 93. I did not appreciate it. Neither did my rabbit. I placed a big box fan next to him but he just seemed PO'd.

Yesterday was nice and in the upper 70's, low 80s, it was most enjoyable. One of my favorite things to do in the winter: turn on the heater to the 70's, grab a blanket, make a warm fort over the heater, then fall asleep when I finally get nice and warm. Yesterday was the perfect temperature that I seek with my blanket fort, except it was outside and wonderfully sunny. I was able to take a nice long walk about the block.

Everything smells good. It's amazing how different this place is winter vs. summer. Different smells, different sounds, completely different look. I'm really enjoying the smell. We got done with lush wet spring growing smell, now it's 'everything is happy and growing' smell. Next when it has truly gotten to summer, we will have 'now it's hot and everything is dried up' smell.

My favorite shelter had a fundraiser today. It did not go as well as we had hoped, partly because the weather was so nice/hot that we're thinking everyone had other things to do. Go boating. Find AC. Get otter pops. I could go for some otter pops. After the shelter fundraiser I went to my good buddy's house and got some dinner.

This week at work we've had an interesting mix. Including a power outage. You know you're practicing good medicine when not even a lack of power can stop you. Fortunately it was only for a few minutes, 15 max.

I'm thinking I will try to blog a little everyday. I want to remember each day so that when I'm in vet school, lonely and homesick I can re-read these posts and remember what it was like to be happy at home.