A Hands-On Sort of Day

I spent most of yesterday hanging out at the vet clinic (yay!), and apparently it was a good day to have done so! I walked in at 8:20 and the intern was at the desk and said "oh good! you're here! we could use another set of hands today- [the receptionist] is gone today". A moment later the vet comes up front and says "i'm glad you're here! we've got 8 surgeries this morning!". Yowza! Considering I have been there morning with no surgeries, I'm usually lucky to get 2 or 3 to watch-- 8 is unheard of at this little 1-vet clinic! It's always nice to feel welcome and useful there.

Turns out we had six 5mos old farm cats dropped off to be fixed (sponsored by the Spay Dakota program). There was also a 7th cat about the same age that needed to be neutered, and a boxer needing an exploratory to check a mass in the left rear paw that was causing swelling (also yay- something that wasn't a spay/neuter for once!).

Due to the receptionist being gone the vet tech was running the desk so the intern & I got to handle the rest. This means I got to get very hands-on today! It was my first time getting to help in surgical prep procedures; I was glad I had been paying attention so that when the vet asked me to do something I was able to say how it should be done to verify before she instructed me- which let her know I've been observing not just her but everyone and every little detail. We also did a sort of "bucket line" of cats to neuter- there were 5 altogether. That was interesting because she was neutering as quickly as I could sterilize the next cat! haha

Also, turns out I knew the boxer! She was a regular at the doggy daycare about 4yrs ago (her and her surely long since deceased sister), they got blacklisted when the boxer (who was just 1-2 yrs old) got stuck trying to squeeze through a gate and bit the pet tech trying to free her- it was a technicality- obviously not the scared puppy's fault she bit the tech. It was a sad day when we had to turn those 2 away. It was good to see her again! The mass turned out to be a cyst- just fluid so nothing to remove.

There was also a rescued kitten that was in to get it's Leukemia test & rabies that was hanging out at the clinic for the day until the rescue group came back for it-- which it didn't get a chance to because it went home that afternoon with a nice family in with a sick kitty. Gotta love happy endings! (and those pretty blue eyes!)

There was also a kitten with a (previously) broken leg that was in for a follow-up: x-rays to check the progress and a re-bandaging. I bring up this kitten because the last time I saw it, it got it's new sock and walked around no problem-- this time (and apparently every other time than the time I saw it) it gets its new sock on and would take a step or two and then just plop over onto it's side! It was adorable- like a fainting goat- only it was a kitten and wasn't fainting lol It was just being over dramatic, but so cute!

UPDATE:: And to update my previous blog on the negligence- it turns out the emergency vet thought the puppy was a patient of the vet I am shadowing with. My vet used to work with the emergency vet & his clinic, so he was apparently holding a grudge and refusing to treat the puppy because he thought it was one of my vet's patients! How unprofessional can you get??? Holding a grudge against a vet for leaving your practice to start their own. There's a reason I didn't enjoy my time shadowing at that clinic a few years ago!