On to the Next

Wow, just like that my externship is over!

Those 8 weeks went so fast and I learned so much. One of my favourite parts of my experience was being able to follow cases from start to finish - appointment, physical exam, diagnostics, treatments, and rechecks. I loved being able to get used to the process of approaching cases individually. I also brushed up on my medication knowledge such as typical post-op meds, antibiotic choices, and doses. That was one thing that we didn't spend too much time on in class so I went into my externship feeling pretty useless but now I think I have a better ability to choose which drugs a patient needs.

Solo surgeries were probably the highlight of my time at the clinic - although one day I will likely be bored of spays and neuters, that day hasn't come yet! Being in the middle of a surgery and having the vet pop in to ask how it's going and feeling confident when I say "good" is a damn good feeling :) On my last day I wasn't planning on doing a surgery but the vet asked at the last minute if I wanted to neuter a dog, and I realized I wasn't nervous when I agreed to do it. Thinking back to the past year when our group would feel nervous all week about our live animal surgeries, this was a pretty big milestone. Now I just have to work on my speed, but that'll come with time :)

Fell in love with mini horses during my externship

My first solo spay patient :)

A sweet 7 week old puppy who had a roundworm impaction..

..and the roundworms that were stuck in his intestines (spaghetti anyone?)

In the meantime I've been seeing friends and family as much as I can, hanging out with Ricky, and enjoying the time I have before I have to start seriously thinking about NAVLE studying (eek!)

Canada day selfie :)

So now I have to finish up some externship paperwork (yuck), but I have this week off to catch up on that as well as things that I've been putting off since I've been so busy (like cleaning my closet...so much fun). Next week I'm going back to Guelph for a week for my Neuro rotation at school, then I'm back in London and surrounding area for most of the summer.

If 8 weeks flew by, I can't imagine how quickly my 1 and 2 week rotations are going to go!

Bye for now :)

Tricky Ricky :)

Hi from me and MY NEW DOG! :)

After months of research and obsessing, I finally adopted a retired racing greyhound :) This is Ricky (race name Tricky Ricky) and he is 5. He raced in West Virginia and has been looking for a home for over a year - he was overlooked because of his colour (black dogs/cats are always the last to be adopted) and because he isn't "small dog safe" (his play is too rough for them - after all, he was bred to chase rabbits!). I had been stalking the website of the rescue I had been in contact with, and had another younger greyhound in mind but he got adopted before I had the chance to visit. However, Ricky's foster family thought he would be perfect for me, and once I met him I realized that maybe he was waiting for me all along :) He is SO well adjusted to everything since he is a little older, completely housetrained, does not chew anything he isn't supposed to, loves walks and people and car rides and large dogs, and is all around perfect. We are working on alone training since he hasn't been an only dog before, but that's why I wanted to adopt now - classes are ending and then April is just exams and then I have a few weeks off before my externship starts - plenty of time to adjust :) he's already doing great, today I left for 10 mins (I know, sounds like nothing) and when I got back he was lying in the hallway showing zero signs of stress. Progress! I missed having a dog so much. We have a good routine, I don't sleep in unnecessarily, and I'm getting more exercise than I have in months - this guy can walk! Overall I'm thrilled to have a companion again :) Here are some more pics:

I got him at the end of reading week, which involved pretty much zero reading. We had a test on the Monday back (ew) which I basically sacrificed since I spent my week getting ready for Ricky and hanging out with friends and family - sometimes a 13% test is just not worth the stress. 

Back with my girls :)

This week we have another test, our last spay/neuter surgery, a simulated client appointment and then another week of classes is over! Only a few more to go, and I couldn't be more happy. We also got our tentative 4th year schedules - reality is coming!!

That's all for now, I mainly just wanted to post about my boy Ricky because I'm so excited! Talk soon :)