WOW, this has without a doubt been the fastest summer of my life. Working, volunteering, catching up on sleep, and catching up with friends have been interrupted with bouts of boredom - I really don't know what to do with myself when I'm not in school. I know, spoken like a true vet student ;)
The reason I wanted to post this was because my fiance and I just got back from a week in Cayo Coco, Cuba. It was our second time going and it's weird to think about because the last time we went I had just found out that I was rejected from my first application to OVC. It's crazy how much things can change in 2 years!
We had an awesome week and I also had a bit of unexpected inspiration. There are always stray animals around the resorts in Cuba; last time we went there were a bunch of cats. It's bittersweet because they're always cute and friendly and get fed by the vacationers and employees at the resorts, but I know that they're not receiving vet care and aren't spayed and neutered so they're reproducing way too often.
When we got to the resort this time we saw a cat right away (a black and white one, my favourite :) ) and I knew there had to be more than one. One night we were going to dinner and the cutie was following us, right up until we reached the door. She stopped and started meowing/howling like crazy and a while later we looked out the window and saw 3 babies on the roof! I got way too excited and my inner crazy animal lady came out. We spent the rest of the week stalking them ;)
On another night we were leaving the beach in the evening and I spotted 2 stray dogs. Now I love all animals, but I am 110% a dog person. They were on the outskirts of the resort so they were much skinnier than the cats since they weren't getting meals from the people on the resort. They were hanging around the beach restaurant so I'm hoping they're used to getting some scraps from there. I wasn't sure if they would be friendly but they ran right over, tails wagging like crazy :) The female sat beside me and enjoyed lots of pets while she looked at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes. As if that didn't make me emotional enough, she then put her paw in my lap and it took all of my strength not to smuggle her into Canada immediately <3
It was perfect timing. I've been ready to go back to school for awhile now and just as I'm getting back into that vet student mindset, I see these sweet animals and remember just why I'm doing what I'm doing. There is no doubt in my mind that this is where I am meant to be, and the fact that I have not stopped thinking about those dogs since last week just reaffirms that. I can't wait to be able to actually help all of these creatures that can't help themselves. Bring on second year!
