Dear lectures - goodbye forever :)

After 8 years of university classes, I'm officially done sitting in lecture all day every day - forever! (assuming I pass finals..)

Classes have finally ended and we are all preparing for our marathon of 9 finals over the next few weeks (with one of them being worth 70%...should be fun). I'm so excited to be done with third year! Still can't believe how fast it flew by. We had our white coat ceremony last weekend to signify us moving from classes to clinical and we all felt very old (and also accomplished).

We also finished our last surgery of the year, a cat spay, and when we were doing her physical exam we noticed that she had an umbilical hernia - it was just fat, nothing crazy like intestines, but we got to repair that while we were in surgery :) I'm posting a pic of what came out of the abdomen so if you are squeamish then #sorrynotsorry ;)

Uterus/ovaries and fat from the hernia 

Other than that, I've been obviously spending most of my time with Ricky :) he is the sweetest, gentlest, easiest dog ever. We've been working on his separation anxiety and he's doing way better; he gets a Kong stuffed with yogurt and sardines (I know, gross) and when I come home now he is usually in my bed (I creep from the window) instead of waiting anxiously by the door. He is keeping me on my walking game - although he is very relaxed in the house, this guy can WALK! I've also found a fenced area where I've let him run and watching him at top speed is amazing. Overall he's the best and I'm looking forward to him coming out of his shell more and more. Even Matt who claimed to not like greyhounds (pfft) already loves him. How could you not love this face?

Ricky and his girlfriend Bailey :)

Post-run tongues 

I think that's it, I'm currently studying for radiology and then it's on to the next..and the next..and the next...repeat! Then I have a 2 week break before my externship begins - eek adult things!!

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 :)