I'll get the sad part over with first: my summer began with me having to say goodbye to my little Daisy. She fought hard against kidney failure for a year and really didn't show many signs until I got home from school this summer. She had zero appetite (unheard of for her) and we did some bloodwork and her kidney values were almost double what they were 2 months prior. She was also showing some signs of heart disease, she was recently diagnosed with a murmur and it got worse very quickly. She lost a lot of weight and was just not herself. When Matt came over and she didn't run to him and then she refused a McDonald's cheeseburger, I knew I was making the right decision to end her pain. I'm really glad that I was able to be in London for all of this - the clinic I'm working at this summer is also the place Daisy has gone for vet care for most of her life, so I felt comfortable with everything and my co workers were beyond understanding (shout out to them!). Once we sedated her it was the most relaxed I had seen her look in weeks, and the whole thing was very peaceful.
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| Had to bug her with one final photo shoot on her last day :) Miss you baby! |
Apart from that, I've been working non-stop and learning a lot - although I'm just an assistant, being immersed in the vet clinic for 40h a week has taught me so much. I'm getting better at reading radiographs, gotten the chance to practice blood draws, and have seen some pretty cool procedures and diseases. Getting referred to as "our future veterinarian" also feels pretty damn good! I'm definitely glad I chose this as my summer job and it has helped keep my mind off of my sadness. It has also made me so thankful to be a part of a field where we have the ability to relieve animals' suffering. Euthanasias are always tough to experience but when it is truly time, then it is the best thing we can do for them.
Like the nerd I am though, I'm ready to go back to school! Someone at work asked me where I'd rather be, and I said school. Sure I'm loving the $$$ aspect of working, but I'm soo used to being in class that I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not! I know 3rd year is going to be a ton of work but I'm super excited to get back into the swing of things and learn even more.
I have a month of work left and then 2 weeks off before I head back to Guelph. This summer has flown by! I'll talk to you all at some point before I get back into school mode. Thanks for reading! :)
