Only Just the Beginning

Being at the shelter this semester, working alongside people who share the same passion as I do, has been an experience that I will always treasure! I was honored to have the privilege of learning so much in my field of interest. I think what I value most from this experience is the medical knowledge I acquired by working in the lab on a regular basis. I learned all about different medications to use in certain situations as well as new terminology that I wasn't familiar with before. I'm sad to see the semester end, but happy at the same time that I got to not only be apart of volunteering at the humane society to help with whatever I could but I also gained a tremendous amount of experience. I will 100% most definitely return to the shelter this summer doing anything I can. Even if it isn't an internship or everyday scheduled things, I want to stay involved. 

I learned a little bit of everything from everyone. The veterinarian was very good at involving me, even if it were little jobs (like stretching out the vet-wrap!) or shaving a cat for spaying. The lab manager was always able to clear up any questions I had about medicine and taught me all about different procedures to take in different situations. For example, we recently looked at a dogs eye because it was really gooey and she explained to me that the dog was probably having difficulty producing natural tears so the eye would have an excess of discharge that was unable to be washed away. Because of this, we used eye irrigator to rinse out his eye, and started him on artificial tear-drops monitoring daily for improvement. Staff members were probably the best at showing me techniques. Finding a good spot to hear the lungs through a stethescope, how to make a vein not roll when drawing blood, how to make a cat stop purring... all these things were shown to me by experienced staff members! Most recently, I helped to bottle feed kittens! They taught me how to use a warm, wet cotton ball to stimulate the kitten to urinate and defecate before and after feedings. Even though it wasn't all that glamorous, it was something that I had never done before! Even peforming wellness exams with my fellow interns was beneficial because we were able to share what we knew and offer our own techniques and assistance to each other.

This internship couldn't have gone better. Every weekend I woke up ready and excited to go in and see what was in store. It's a great feeling to know that I will love what I do after vet school and I have the humane society to thank for that!

Drawing Blood & SNAP Tests

Drawing blood on an animal is not only important but also one of my favorite things to do at the shelter. It is probably the most invasive thing that I get to take part in with lab work so I take it very seriously. I must admit, I wasn't very good at drawing blood at first. It seemed like if it wasn't one thing, it was another. For example, my first problem was not being able to find the right vein. I would confuse a tendon with a vein pretty easily. One way that I learned to tell the difference is to just feel what I think might be the vein. If you push down on it ever so slightly, it should "bounce" if it is indeed the vein. If it feels mroe hard and not so elastic, then it is most likely a tendon. I also learned to use alcohol to swab the entrance area in order to make the skin more visible. If the skin is more visible than I can actually see the blue color underneath it leading me to the correct vein. Up until today, I've only ever drawn blood on cats and kittens. On felines, I have learned to draw blood from the medial saphenous vein which is on the inside of their back leg. The person restraining the cat will "karate chop" the leg above the knee in order to make the vein stick out more. Whoever is drawing blood then has a better chance of finding the vein! Kittens are probably the hardest for me because their veins are so tiny! After doing a few though, I have them down pretty good. I found it easiest to hold my left thumb alongside the vein so it doesn't roll around (kitten veins have a bad habit of doing this!) and use my right hand to line up the needle with the vein in a parallel fashion. From there it is just skill to keep your hands steady and having a good eye.

SNAP FIV/FeLV Combo Test

So what do we do with the blood now that we have it? On cats we can check for FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) and FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) by reading the results. First, though, we have to set it up! We need about three drops of blood sample and about four drops of a conjugate including in the kit to run the test. After we have mixed these two together briefly, we then pour the entire contents of the mixture into the sample portion of the SNAP test. Then we wait for a while and read our results! As seen in the picture, the dots on the side indicate if the cat has either FeLV or FIV. If the cat is healthy and has neither, then the only dot that should appear is the one closest to the sample. I enjoy doing lab work like this as a student because I get a feel for what types of things a veterinarian does all day. Being a vet isn't only about working directly with the animal, but it's about working in the lab too. This can mean doing bloodwork, ear cytologys, urinalyses, fecal floats and microscope work. I love being able to get my feet wet in all these fields whie I'm still an undergraduate!

Surgery!

Today I got to help out with the spay/neuter clinic again! Except this time I got to observe the surgeries more closely than last time. To start though, I prepared Felovax and Rabies vaccines to give the cats. Once all the cats had be anesthetized, shaved, and scrubbed, the surgeries began! I I got to see a variety of different suture knots and incision techniques. I took advantage of the situation by asking the veterinarian any questions I had. Most of the questions I asked had to do with what things were called. For example, I learned that a cruciate mattress suture looks like a bunch of "x's." I also learned why certain procedures are used. For example, I learned that we suture many layers of the body in order to eliminate the dead space and reduce the risk of infection. One thing that the vet stressed over and over again was that we, as future surgeons, want to limit the amount of foreign material that we put into the body.

Similar to the spay packs I prepared.

Another valuable piece of information that I learned happened when I was cleaning and setting up the next surgery instruments! The medical lab director went over what the tools were all called. Just like with the lymph nodes, I had an idea of what certain things were called, but truly know it now. This spay pack included a spay hook (the long tool with a hook on the end) which is used to scoop out the uterus, uterine horns, and ovaries. Have a smooth hook on the end helps to grab on to the horns and pull the organs up through the incision site. Other tools in the pack were straight and curved hemostats. These are the scissor looking tools that when pinched together, stick together. These are used to cut off a blood flow of a vein to tie off or to hold other tissues and cut off the blood supply there. This is important because if the blood flow wasn't restricted, the animal could likely bleed out and it could turn into a detrimental situation.


I found this day to be particularly exciting for me because I've always wanted to specialize in surgical procedures beyond spaying/neutering. Being able to have the privilege of observing a real vet and vet students perform these surgeries is something I will forever remember!

Spay/Neuter Clinic

This weekend, I got to take part a small part in the spay/neuter clinic which I was thrilled about! These clinics offer low-cost surgical sterilizations for cats. In addition to taking part in the lab, I enjoy taking part in events like this no matter my involvement because I realize the pet overpopulation problem. Spaying and neutering your pets can help contribute to the reduction of homeless pets! Needless to say, I was pleased to go in early that morning (even after daylight's savings!) and help out in any way I was needed. The day started off with some paperwork and computer entries but then I went down to the surgery suite and helped pull up some medication and vaccines for post-operative care. I caught a couple glimpses of what the veternarian and vet students were doing. I think that when it comes to veterinary medicine, the part I'm most intrigued about is any surgical process. I saw them anesthesize, intubate, shave, and scrub the cats. I didn't get to physically do anything, but just being in the same room and witnessing a few steps of the procedure was exciting for me! I've seen both spays and neuters before, so it wasn't brand new to me, but like I said, surgery intrigues me! 


Cats and dogs can be spayed as young as two months old when they are at least two pounds. It's medcially important to spay/neuter at such a young age in order to reduce disease that can occur because of the prescence of the reproductive organs. Although the word neuter can be a general term for both sexes being surgically sterilized, neutering relates to a male having both testicles removed. This process makes the male unable to impregnate another animal. Spaying, on the other hand, refers to when a female has both ovaries and uterus removed, therefore leaving them unable to become pregnant or carry any young. The spay process is a bit more intrusive than a neuter because you have to actually open up the lower abdomen to remove the sexual organs whereas the neutering process occurs only on the testicles. There are many benefits to spaying/neutering pets other than reducing the pet overpopulation. Since these organs are removed it eliminates the risk of getting ovarian/testicular cancer. In females, mammary diseases and tumors are greatly reduced because hormones from the sex organs are removed that stimulate the mammary glands to grow/lactate. In males, neutering can help to reduce the aggression that your pet may have. Although there is no direct relationship between testosterone and aggression, an overwhelming amount of people notice that neutering helps to reduce it. 


There are millions of animals that go in to shelters each year and it all comes down to just not having enough people to take care of them all. Pet overpopulation is a growing problem and one way that we as animal care-takers can fight back is by neutering our pets so they don't produce unwanted litters. We can also spread the word of spaying/neutering by educating others on the many benefits and pet overpopulation! I learn about a lot of these things in class and read about them on the internet. It's not until I get to be up close and personal that I fully understand the importance of following through with procedures such as these. By being in the shelter on a regular basis I've gainted a true appreciation for what is done and what I get to be a part of. 

Tips, Tricks, & Snakes!

I think one of my favorite things about animal science is the need to have the ability to solve a problem for a patient who can't tell you what's wrong. Part of that is being able to use the environment in order to help you. Since I've been in the medical lab, I've learned a lot of tips and tricks of the trade when working with animals.


Today during a go-home exam I took a kitten's temperature. A cat's normal body temperature should be between about 100-103. It ended up being high at around 104 degrees. Whenever something like this happens, we tell a staff member so they can come check it out and show us how to follow up properly. What we did was apply a very small amount of rubbing alcohol to his paws and ears where the skin is exposed. This allows for the cat to potentionally cool down. This technique is only to be used with minimal amounts of alcohol, however, as flooding his paws could have lead to an unnecessary inhalation. In order to avoid this situation we first put alcohol on a cotton ball and then rubbed the cotton ball on the intact skin. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later, the kitten's temperature backed down to a normal range!


Another trick that I've picked up on is how to get a cat to stop purring. I know everyone loves purring cats, but the noise makes it difficult to listen for heart murmurs or abnormalities in the lungs. Something we do in order to get them to stop is put them near some running water. Purring is a phenomenon that no one can really explain because cats don't have any anatomical differences than those animals who don't purr. Ther are a few theories though that try to rationalize purring. One is the alternating of vocal chords and throat muscles rapidly. 

Houdini the snake! He was very friendly!

All of my tricks aren't just for cats, though. One that I appreciate, and use regularly, is to keep a rabbit comfortable and calm. Rabbits are prey animals in the wild, so they are likely to be skittish when they feel distressed. By simply wrapping a big, soft towel around the rabbit's body they feel more safe and are less likely to try and jump out of your arms. I also like to keep the towel on the exam table so they have a soft place to sit. This way, Thistle (the rabbit!) gets to be cozy and I get to perform a thorough exam without worrying that they will jump away. 


Lastly, I learned a lot of interesting things about a species of animal that I knew very little about: snakes! Today there was a ball python named Houdini in for his initial physical exam. One of the staff shared her knowledge with me using her past experience working with reptiles. I learned how to properly hold him using two hands to make sure that he had enough space to lay and feel secure. Snakes, we were told, are difficult to sex because you need to use a probe to ensure accuracy. You actually insert the probe into their cloaca and observe depth allowance. A male's cloaca will be deeper than a females. It is also very important for us to wear gloves and wash our hands when handling Houdini because reptiles carry salmonella. Salmonella is a zoonotic sickness meaning it can be transferred from humans to animals and vice-versa. I am sure that I will use all these tricks throughout my animal science career and implement them on all species!

Shelter Medicine

Almost always, the first thing I ask when meeting a new animal, is "What's your name?" Even in a shelter where there can be a high volume of animals at once, everyone has their own name and are not referred to as a number. There are numbers that we do use, like their shelter ID and microchip number, but for the most part when we see an animal, we know them by name. The first thing we do in the medical lab in the morning is administer medication that any animal might need that day. A sheet gets printed out daily for each room in the shelter. Under the room, there is the name of the pet, the shelter ID, type of animal, breed, color and sex listed for everyone that needs medication/supplements. 

A med sheet with doses/medications needed.

I like to lay it out like this when gathering what I need. That way I can check, double-check, and re-check that I have the right doses for the right animal. On occassion, we might have two pets with the same name. This sheet gives me information on how to tell which animal is which, including the shelter ID and fur coloring. There are also boxes for me to put a line through as I go so I don't give anyone a double dose or anything like that. There is a definite emphasis on attention to detail when doing this because some animals come in with no prior veterinary care or medical assistance and we want to make sure they get the best health care that we can provide. Making sure that each and every pet gets what they need is something that I take very seriously and care about. Taking my sheet and my organized syringes of medicine/supplements with me, I headed over to Catmandu and got started with my day! 

Shelter medicine is different than a private practice in many ways, including population disease control. At a private vet clinic, pets go in and out of the clinic, rarely having extended stays. At a shelter, it is different in the fact that there are lots of animals in the building at once. It is absolutely imperative to practice sterile and sanitary techniques as well as being extra careful to change gloves between each and every animal. Following cleaning and sanitizing protocols at the shelter keep the communicable sicknesses down to a minimum. Every day there are constantly people doing laundry, washing food bowls, emptying litter boxes, changing cat cages, changing critter habitat bedding, and cleaning dog kennels. Aside from keeping areas that animals come in contact with clean, we are always washing our hands and changing gloves between interactions in the medical lab. These are only a few of the things that we do in order to eliminate the spread of disease. 

As a pre-vet student, I find great joy in working with animals, but I also find great interest in medicine and how it works. One thing I look forward to during this internship is learning about the medicine iself and through which mechanisms they work!

Grey the Guinea

When you think of an animal shelter, you probably think of dogs and cats. I was the same way until I started getting involved with one. At the shelter, there is everything from pet mice to birds. Of course, we have dogs and cats as well. All animals at the shelter get the same attention by staff and volunteers, especially when it has to do with their health. Critters need cared for, too! Today, Grey, a guinea pig currently up for adoption, was in for a regular check up. 

Grey, the friendly & adorable guinea pig! 

Critter check-ups are very similar to dog/cat check ups in a lot of ways, but they do have their own specifics that need special attention. For example, guinea pigs are hindgut fermenters meaning most of their digestive function occurs in their cecum and large intestine (or lower/hind gut). Most monogastric (single-stomached) animals that eat a lot of fiber in their diet digest their food the same way (such as horses and rabbits). I found out today, that it is important to recognize which animals are hindgut fermenters because you should actually be able to hear the digestive juices flowing! I learned how to take a stethoscope, place it on their lower abdomen where the lower digestive system is at, and listen for digestion. Grey, I learned, had very consistent digestive sounds. He was very patient with me while I practiced telling the difference between all the sounds you can hear through the stethoscope. It only took a couple comparisons to distinguish the sound of air going in and out the lungs and the sound of Grey digesting. Another important thing that we looked at was Grey's teeth. Guinea pigs have very prominent incisors. There should be two mandibular (bottom) teeth and two maxillary (top) teeth. If a guinea pig doesn't have a sufficient amount of things to chew on in their habitat, the teeth can actually grow long enough to puncture the roof of their mouth and cause sores. 

Showing how far back the molars are.

That wasn't the case with Grey, though! At the the shelter, we have all sorts of enrichment offered in the critters' habitats including houses, hay balls, tubes to climb through, and lots of chewing blocks/toys. His teeth were perfectly healthy. One thing that I found really interesting is that guinea pigs actually have molars in the back of their mouth that aren't so prominent or obvious. We use a nifty tool in the lab to look in the back of their mouth to make sure they are intact, not too long and unbroken. This tool separated Grey's buccal pads (cheeks!) so we could get a better look at his molars. It also has a light on the end of it allowing even more visual capability. 


I love learning new and interesting things about all of the amazing animals we care for at the shelter. I have definitely learned way more about them through the process of caring for them than I would have any other way. Grey was a fabulous guinea pig (pun intended) for me to learn about not only their digestive system but also their mouth!

Body Condition Score

I spend a lot of my day performing exams on the animals in the shelter. Like I have mentioned before, there is a lot that goes in to even just a wellness exam. One of these include giving a body condition score ranging from 1-9. The lower the number, the skinnier; the larger the number, the fatter. A 1 would be extremely thin/malnourished and a 9 would be grossly obese. 5 would be a perfect score. At the shelter, we have a chart to look at for clarification.

The same sheet we use in the lab.

Your opinion of one animal's BCS (for short) may be different than another person's. It should usually fall in the same range, though. There are few different markers when determining the BCS of an animal. It is always important to look at an animal from a short distance first to see if their ribs are easily seen. After you have evaluated them visually, you should go on to feel their body. I usually run my hands down each side of the animal and see how easy (or difficult) it is to feel the ribs. Then I like to feel the hip bones and see how far they are sticking out and how much fat is covering them. It's also important to look at their waist right in front of their hips and see if there is too much or too little definition. Another thing to note is if their spine is protruding out and how much fat is covering it. If you can see the ribs without much difficulty from afar and can readily feel each rib, their score will mostly likely fall below a 5 depending on the severity. If there aren't any ribs seen from a distance and you cannot easily feel the ribs through their fat then they are most likely going to be above a 5. Heavy and obese animals may have an abdominal fat pad that is very obvious. 

An underweight animal is just as unhealthy as an overweight animal. It may seem like skinny animals are worse off than the obese ones, but they really have their own evils that are equally as harmful. For example, a severely overweight animal will most likely have difficultly grooming themself which leads to a dirty/uncomfortable urogenital area and dandruff. There are sometimes cats that we get at the shelter who need us to manually clean their urogenital area because they physically cannot do it themselves due to their obesity. An underweight cat/dog poses just as many risks. An underweight animal is probably malnourished meaning they are not getting the correct or enough of the right nutrients their body needs to function properly. This could mean that there is a vitamin/mineral deficiency or imbalance. A deficiency could lead to potential structural issues (like bone strength, etc...) and other health issues. 

Both ends of the stick can be equally as harmful. That is why it is important for us as pre-vet students to learn how to spot an animal at an unhealthy weight and also the importance of maintaining a good weight. After seeing and experiencing first hand the hardships malnourished and obese animals face I will always be sure to talk to my future clients about the importance of a well-rounded, healthy diet along with exercise for their pets! 

Dog Baths

Today we had some extra time after the morning medications and exams because there aren't a whole lot of animals needing medical attention right now which is GREAT! We decided that if they don't need any medical treatment that they could use some pampering, so we gave a few dogs' baths today. There's this really great room that has a big, deep tub with a rubber mat on the bottom, all sorts of pet shampoos for all sorts of animals (cats, dogs, ferrets...) with all different purposes. Some were for sensitive skin, some were for dandruff assistance and others just were oatmeal based and smelled pretty. After suiting up with aprons to keep up dry, we began giving baths to dogs that were up for adoption. 


Giving a dog a bath doesn't sound like it would take too much direction, but giving a bath and properly giving a bath are two different things. There was a guide on the wall for dog-bathers to follow with tips and tricks to bathing. One that I remember, was that you should never take the shower head and spray it directly on the dog's body without first testing to see how the dog will react. You can do this by slowing bringing the shower head towards the dog so he/she can see it and then start at their feet to see if they mind having water sprayed on them. Some dogs don't mind (and actually love the water, like my brother's Chocolate Lab) while others (like my big white Great Pyrenees) absolutely hate it. It's really important to make sure that the dog is comfortable with your pace in order to eliminate any bites and also to reduce any present stress the dog may have. Another thing I read on the sheet was something that I wasn't aware of. As far as the temperature goes for bathing your pet, it should be warm, but not as warm as you, a human, would like it to shower in. I learned that a dog's skin is more sensitive to temperature and temperature changes. So what feels to be luke warm to us, may feel hot to them. Turning on the water and adjusting the temperature appropriately before introducing the dog to it is the best route to go in order to ensure that no scalding/chills occur. The last thing that is always really important to do is make the bathing process a pleasant and rewarding experience. While bathing you should provide plenty of praise, talk in a slow/calm voice, and if necessary provide treats. This positive reinforcment will help your dog to find bath-time a fun time instead of a scary one! 


There are plenty of other guidelines and things to remember when giving your dog a bath including brushing before hand, proper handling, using cotton balls to protect the ears if you plan on washing their face, completely drying, and using the proper soap (and amount!). Giving our pets regular baths and grooming is just one more way that we as pet owners can give our animals a great quality of life! Plus- who doesn't love how cute they look when their fur is all wet!?

I Have Been Adopted!

Although I absolutely love the medical end of the animal field, after spending so much time at the shelter over the past year, I have grown to have a passion for adopting over shopping for pets. I've never been pro-pet stores, but over the past year I've become an active advocate for adoption! Over the weekend, I volunteered to do an adoption event at PetSmart. I was assigned a dog to walk around the store and introduce to people. I was excited to do this event all week because I would get to talk to complete strangers and inform them on why they should consider adopting from the shelter. 

Maria and I taking a rest.

My assigned adoptee was Maria, a suspected beagle/basenji mix. I was responsible for transporting and showing her at the event. I used a doggy seat belt for the first time! It was interesting to say the least! Maria was excited to go on a field trip and was chatty on the way over, eagerly looking out the window. Once she was all dolled up in her "Adopt Me!" vest and lady bug bandana, we were ready! The event was three hours long, but it felt way shorter! While there, the dogs had water accessible and many treats and love to keep them entertained. There were also some blankets put down in front of our booth to lay on (which Maria took advantage of) when we got tired of walking around. While there we met a few different people who thought Maria was a sweetheart, but they weren't looking for another dog at that time. Towards the end of the night, we met an extremely nice couple who took a special interest in Maria. We talked for a good ten minutes and they decided to go over to our booth to talk to our adoption staff about adoption! A few days later, Maria is listed as adopted and she is off to her life-long home!

 

Volunteering at a shelter is one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had the pleasure of taking part in. Although I didn't do anything medical related that day, I directly got to help an animal find a place to call home and someone to love! I can't stress the importance of adopting from your local shelter rather than buying from a breeder or pet store. Even if you are looking for a certain breed or age of animal, some shelters have a program set up to contact you in case they get in what you are looking for. There are also pure-bred rescues where one can adopt from. 

Taking part in this process puts a pretty big smile on my face but what makes that smile even bigger is seeing this:

Teeth & Telling Age

We had some extra time on our hands today because we got done with administering morning medications pretty quickly. We were told that if we wanted to learn about anything in particular or perfect our skills in a certain area to speak up and we'll go over it. I immediately knew what I wanted to do. I asked if we could learn, in depth, how to tell the age of animal using only the teeth as a guide. I've seen it done before and it seems almost magical to me! I knew a couple guidelines about determining age by dental examination but I didn't feel too confident so I pleased to hear that we could, of course, go over it! The great thing about this being a learning facility is that there are all sorts of posters, diagrams, books, charts and models to use. First, we looked at what a cat and dogs mouth looks like on paper. 

A dogs dental orientation.

We learned that the canines (the long, sharp front teeth) are going to be our main guide when using teeth to determine age if the dog/cat still looks pretty young. If the canines are fully in, the animal is probably between 6 months to a year old. If they aren't all the way in, they are most likely under 6 months. A way to tell the age in older dogs is by looking at the condition of the teeth. A lot of the time, older cats will be missing teeth. I've seen some with missing incisors or "nibblers" as we like to call them. This isn't necessarily because of bad treatment or neglect, but because of use or catching them on something. Teeth also can fall out due to age. It is also important to look at how much tartar or calculus is present on the teeth. The canines are usually pretty clean because they are used often so they are being rubbed on constantly. The molars are usually where you'd find a calculus build-up although in some cases can be seen on other teeth. Calculus is harded tartar from plaque remaining on the teeth for an extended period of time. Calculus can cause the animal to have gingivits which is redness of the gums and can become infected and swollen.

Calculus build-up on cat teeth. Picture taken from the web.

Because it takes time for this to form, if an animal has calculus on its teeth it is probably at least middle aged. Once we were given some tools to solve age, we were put to the test! We took a look at a few cats and dogs and reported what we thought the age was. The first cat I guessed was about 8 years and the others guessed 7 and 9 years. We then looked it up to see what the age of the cat really was and she ended up being 12 years old! It's harder than it sounds! So we moved on to a few other ones. The next one I was pretty close, but still about a year off. The third was a dog, and I looked its teeth guessing that she was about 5-6 years. My guess was highest when compared to 2 and 2.5 years. Turns out she was still young and was indeed about 2 years old. I don't look at it as failure though! It's a learning process, and I'll continue to guess the age until I feel confident. 


Being a shelter, we have to trust that what the relinquishers report is the most accurate. However, we may not know the entire history of each animal so it makes it tough to age. For example, the older cat that we all thought was younger may have had a dental exam recently before she entered the shelter giving us the impression that she was younger. Because of this, we have to use other cues to identify the approximate age. Eye condition, hips, greying muzzles and other physical attributes all contribute to solving the puzzle. 


Keeping your pet's mouth clean and healthy is one of the best things you can do for them! Scheduled dental exams, providing functional treats for cleaning teeth and regular at home care is crucial to ensuring your pets dental health and keeping their pearly whites happy!

Evolution of Names

There are all sorts of different things you can do as a vet besides go into clinical practice. Some vets are hired on full time at big production farms, some regulate meat source quality, some work in zoos, and others work in the research and academic field. Of course, there are many others as well. Ever since I decided I wanted to take up the veterinarian life-style I've wanted to work with small animals. Not only because thats what the majority of pre-vet students want to do, but because I want to work with people and their pets specifically. I love animals, obviously, and I enjoy working with them but there's something about the way people talk about their pets that I love. Whether they have one pet or twenty, pet owners always can tell you what makes each and every one unique. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really really enjoy hearing people talk about their pets!

Today a cat who was recently adopted from a different agency was brought in to get microchipped (yay!) We do microchip all cats and dogs that leave the shelter, but people can still bring their own pets from other sources to get microchipped. The pet owner told us that she just fell in love with her immediately and knew she had to bring her home with her. The cat was a real sweetheart. As soon as we opened up the top of the carrier, she crawled out politely and came up to me and said hello with a friendly paw to my chest. The adopter said, "See,how could you not just love her!" I had to agree. We got on the topic of the evolution of pet names. I told her how my cat's name is Happy Feet, but we usually call him Happy. Then I started to call him Happy Dappy, then Dappers. So now he has a few names! She then told me about a few names of her own! These types of conversations are the kind that make me like working with the pet owners just as much as I like working with their pet! 

Nowadays I still want to work with small animals because I like the human-animal bond that I'll get to be a part of but I've expanded my interests to include large animals like beef/dairy cows as well as swine and of course, my mom would be proud to know, goats! Needless to say, another great day today! 

Microchipping!

Trying to find a certain cat amongst many can be a task of sorts. Especially if you're not all that familiar with them yet. Today I needed to get a weight on a cat named George. He happened to be in a communal cat room where multiple cats are kept in an open space for potential adopters to come and visit openly! These communal rooms are practically a cat paradise: couches, chairs, scratching posts, vertical climbing posts, beds, windows, lots of toys, and of course, other cats. Most of the time, I recognize a cat's name and have a fairly good idea of who I'm looking for. This time though, I hadn't met George yet! In all of the communal rooms, there is a binder that has a picture, description, and some information about the cats that are in there so that if you are particularly interested in one, you can pop open the binder and read about him/her. I went to the binder and looked at his picture and then I looked around at the sleeping and playing cats to see if I could find him. I thought I had the right one when I noticed that there was another one in the room who looked very similar. Stopped in my tracks, I was stumped. I looked back to the binder to see who the other one could be and how I could distinguish them. Looking at these two pictures and information, they are both Shorthair Domestic, neutered males. 

George (above) and Toby (below)

No luck there! Finally, I thought of the most obvious way to tell in this situation. Not only are the communal cats disease free and spayed/neutered, they are also microchipped for indentification! I grabbed the microchip scanner and before scanning them I took my last and final guess based on the pictures alone. Turns out I was wrong! I had thought that Toby was George! After picking him and spending a little time with him, though, I realized that there were a lot of other ways to tell George from his doppleganger, Toby. Turns out George has a tooth that protrudes slightly outward and makes his lip crinkle up ever so slightly. He also was lighter colored on his belly and chest! 

Collars with name tags are a good way to distinguish your animal from another if lost and can be especially useful if there is contact information present on the tag as well. However, microchipping is one way that today's technology has helped the well-being of our companions today. Living on a college campus, I see posters up of Missing Pets every now and then and I usually take out my iPhone and snap a picture of the poster in case I see a stray dog/cat running around (one reason that I love technology, haha!) If I happen to find that pet and its collar got caught on something or fell off there is no way for me to tell who the animal belongs to or how to contact them. A microchip links the pet back to the owner and upon calling the microchip company, can provide you with a phone number to call to get a hold of them. You can get a microchip for your pet from your veterinarian for relatively cheap between $15-$40 depending on your location and source. Also, if you adopt your pet from a shelter or humane society, more than likely that animal has already been microchipped and is included in your adoption fee.

Today's lesson in disguise was reinforcing my appreciation for microchipping! Not only can it help me find a cat among many, but it can help YOU find your missing pet if the situation ever arises! 

Lymph Nodes

One of the best things about working with a group of people is that you learn more easily, and it doesn't feel like you have to work at it! One thing that I learned today is the names of the lymph nodes that we feel for. I knew where the general location of most of them were and what some of them were called, but today I locked it in! For example, the submandibular lymphs are in the area where the jaw meets the kneck. We also learned to use the salivary glands as a reference point. Some of the lymps are super tiny (like the axillary ones) especially on puppies and kittens which makes them hard to feel. The important thing, though, is to make sure they are both about the same size and that they aren't enlarged. This could mean that the animal has lymphadenopathy which is basically inflammation of the lymph nodes. It was pretty fun pronouncing the popliteal lymphs. Some people say "pop-li-teal" and others say "pop-li-tea-ole". We decided that we liked the sound of "pop-li-tea-ole" better! 

Some palpable lymph-nodes.

We also talked about some other practices used such as collecting blood samples. There are many reasons to collect a blood sample for an animal including testing for heartworm, a standard procedure that all dogs and even cats should be tested for. We talked about the importance of flashing the needles used to collect blood with Heparin, an antiocoagulant. If blood were to clot, it would make reading test results difficult and may cause a false negative. This is because a clot could mask the presence of a protein that indicates heartworm prevalence. Overall, it was a successful learning day!

Air Bubbles & The Little Guys

Today I learned how to run my first fecal! I’ve never tried to find a parasite in the microscope before so it was pretty intimidating. Especially when the lab supervisor had already looked to see, so she knew! I thought for sure that I had found some coccidia, and when I proudly declared my diagnosis, it was revealed that it was just a mere air bubble on the slide. Darn! I’m gonna look at it as being initiated into the fecal-world of veterinary medicine. I’m sure every great veterinarian once looked in a scope and thought an innocent air bubble was responsible for the gastrointestinal problems. At least I like to think so, anyway! 

Air Bubble vs. Coccidia

I went to go get a dog because he needed an injection of Cestaject (used to treat tapeworms). Going back I wasn’t afraid because I’ve dealt with many animals that I’ve never met before. Once I saw him, though, I thought to myself, "Great! He's a little guy!" Most people would be more scared of the big dogs with a loud bark. I, on the other hand, find the little scrappy guys the scariest! They're so unpredictable and always seem to have big attitudes. This same reason though, is exactly why I love them! I'm sure this comes from home. My 95 pound Great Pyrenees is a gentle giant and our Mini Australian Shepherd has the ugliest growl you'll ever hear. A bit wary, I knealt down to offer my hand. He wasn't feeling too good so I wasn't expecting much, but he did give me a little wag and took a few steps forward. Low and behold, this little guy was a sweetheart! We walked back to the lab together: him on his way to being parasite free and me on my way to putting a little more faith in small dogs!

First Day!

First day at the Humane Society! It was also the first day that it snowed so the roads were icy and I was 4 minutes late due to me being a chicken and driving super slow! It was okay though, because I didn’t miss anything! I, along with the two other interns, were introduced to some medications used around the lab as well as some standard procedures. I also got to do a few go-home exams which entailed looking over the animals for any signs of sickness, microchipping, and clipping nails for good measure! I swear, the animals know it’s their big day, too! Every one we did had a smile on its face and a wag in their tail! My four hours went by really fast and it was soon time to go home. I was bummed, but then I remembered that I would be back tomorrow morning!