Year 2

I've been avoiding writing in here because all I was coming up with were things to complain about but now I feel like I've left out so much. I thought second year would be easier because it's really a repeat of last year as far as the way the curriculum and cases are, but it's still hard and I now have endless club responsibilities.

So, when did vet school turn into High School and when will it stop? I've been thinking this for about the last 2 months and was hesitant to write about it. My high school class was about 650 people, my vet school class is now 105, so maybe it's even worse. Everyone knows each other just enough to be able to talk about each other but doesn't know everyone quite well enough to talk about each other nicely. Don't get me wrong, everyone still is supportive of each other in the grand scheme of things and it's nice that we're all working toward a common goal but, I wish people would be a little more mature. Clicks have formed, people save seats for others and don't let non-friends sit in them, roll eyes, are competitive against people who aren't their friends, and just aren't professional sometimes. I miss undergrad/Shippensburg where you could just show up to class without worrying about people talking behind your back and just learn. Hopefully next year once we're mostly in clinics it will be much better. It's scary to think that in a few months I'm supposed to be knowledgeable enough to be in clinics full time though.

I do sometimes surprise myself with things I come up with when trying to diagnose cases this year. Or just when people ask me about something, I realize how much more I know than I did last year at this time. Hearing first years, like my roommates, talk about things makes me feel smart some times. Other times it makes me feel dumb because they'll be learning something I know I "learned" last year but I don't remember at all. This year we're basically reviewing everything from last year but going more in depth and have different cases. We're doing more clinical skills, and have more large animal rotations.

I just love all of the equine rotations (sarcasm). Well, it's getting better. I've been volunteering at a horse rescue about 25 minutes away, mainly just grooming and hand walking horses and I can really tell it's helped. I still have no desire to work with horses but at least I'm more comfortable around them and can understand them a little more. At least that's one species I can cross of the list in order to narrow down what I want to focus on 4th year.

Shelter club responsibilities have taken over my life. So far this year I started the foster program, run a spay/neuter clinic that students sign up for, helped organize our annual Spay-ghetti dinner event and other fundraisers, am working on a homeless/homeless pet outreach health fair project and...I can't even remember what else right now. The foster program I've organized has taken an exceptional amount of work but it makes me so happy to see lots of other students now fostering and saving lives.

There was a little bit of a damper on Spay-ghetti after the shooting at LAX the same day and several people in my class had loved ones at the airport.

Oh and did I mention I'm on my third foster dog of the school year? My roommate also has one. I've had 3 aussie mix girls this year. Ruby is still currently with me but probably going to her new home sometime in the next week.

Sally, now named Ally
Adopted by a lovely couple in San Diego
She's totally spoiled now

Maggie with her new mom
She was such a good girl

Ruby is being adopted by 2 older ladies :)

A friend's neighbor found this sweet stray ferret in a Pomona alley, not doing well at all and they couldn't afford to take her to a vet. I was called and of course rushed over to give them some critical care food, showed them how to syringe feed her and gave her fluids. I'm happy to say she's doing better. She was spayed and had the Marshal tattoos in her ear which means she was definitely someones pet. This is proof that Pomona's strays come in all forms and that ferrets cannot survive outside, so there's no reason for them to be illegal in CA.

My PBL group this block has a lot of people whose personalities clash and the material (GI and reproduction) is not my favorite so time seems to be dragging a little. I try to moderate and help everyone get along, the main problem is people just refuse to see things from the other's perspective.

Last weekend I went with the exotics club to the California Wildlife Center to tour a wildlife rehab hospital. We got to pet a mule deer fawn that had unfortunately already been habituated to people. The people who found her just took her out of the wild thinking she was an orphan but, her mom was most likely around since the does leave the fawns when the go eat. They kept her for too long before taking her to the wildlife center, at that point she was too use to people so there was no hope to re-release her. Luckily they found a place approved by the state regulations to take her for educational purposes but many like her aren't so lucky and have to be euthanized, the male fawns especially. She was the sweetest thing though, about 5 months old, tried to jump up on me, licked my hands, followed us around and then cried when we left. We also learned how to handle raptors and place interosseous (into the bone) catheters. We worked on cadaver birds, ones that had been brought to the facility too late and unfortunately died there. I have always thought I'd love to do wildlife work but it really requires a lot of education outside of vet school to do it well, plus it's intense work with animals that are terrified and fighting for their lives against you. I still would love to know how to help anything that's brought into my clinic someday.

Christian came out to visit me over Labor day when we went to San Diego, and I got to go home over Columbus day to see him and some friends and family. Now it's just a long stretch until Christmas.

San Diego

Home for a piece of fall