Diary of a Dick Vet

There aren’t many books, movies, or television shows that deal with veterinary medicine. Whereas I can think of half a dozen medical shows off the top of my head, most of which are currently on major network television, I can only think of reality television shows and documentaries confined to a few cable channels that deal with veterinary work. I certainly understand why vet med doesn’t seem to capture the imagination of the general public, but I always thought there would be a lot of material if someone were clever enough to explore the profession.

Which is why I was so happy when I found the following video, via Four Paws and Whiskers, a blog written by a veterinarian who practises in New Zealand:

Exactly my kind of humour!

Oi, I’ve had such a long, draining day. This morning I had four lectures on female reproduction, all in a row, followed by a lab after lunch where we dissected sheep brains. Dissection should have been fun, but I was so tired from the morning that I was quickly distracted and thus quickly frusterated. We always have our Wednesday afternoons free, which gives me a chance to catch up in the middle of week. This week, no such luck.

Really, if I need to keep up with everything, then I need to study all of my lectures from this morning tonight. There is no way I could study 4 lectures in one evening, even if I hadn’t gotten home so late.

I know vet school isn’t supposed to be easy, but on the average day it’s at least enjoyable. This week so far has been terribly unfun.

My friend Anik shared the following video with me. I think it’s absolutely fantastic - it makes me smile and think mushy thoughts about the human-animal bond. Sure, she’s a wild animal and you cannot stress enough that her behaviour is unpredictable, but it’s still lovely to observe such bonding.

I think next year I would like to get a guinea pig and name him Mykonos - or Mickey for short.

Yeah, I think I will.

I’ve been back in Edinburgh since Monday, milling about and wasting time. I have EMS forms I need to complete, but it’s difficult to stay motivated to work when I have all the creature comforts of my home available to me. Instead I have been sleeping in, reading (Pride & Prejudice, because I just discovered Jane Austen) and rabidly consuming episodes of the now-cancelled show, Eli Stone. I put up my calendar for 2009 and am slowly throwing out the junk that always seems to accumulate right before an exam. I made bangers and mash and a rhubarb crumble and invited friends over for dinner, where we talked about our EMS experiences.

My last day at the kennels, I woke to a clear layer of snow. It was only about 2 inches, but enough to retain footprints and thus to be considered a proper snowfall, by my reckoning.

The sun was out, which made the snow seem extra white

The field looked especially pretty

Me! In the Snow! Kinda!

All in all, I really enjoyed my placement. Some of the days were quite miserable, mostly because of the ridiculous amount of ice that I had to deal with. I was practically skating as I went into kennels to scoop poo, and some of the less-than-clever dogs would run around and end up sliding into the walls around them. They never injured themselves, and I suspect that those same dogs would make a mess of the kitchen table and chairs were they on linoleum….

But other days were really nice, actually. I liked being surrounded by animals, and people who genuinely cared about them, too. I used the placement as an opportunity to practice my cat and dog breeds and handling, and I met a few beasts that have a special place in my heart, and that I was very sad to say goodbye to when the time came.

I didn't know anything about British Shorthairs before I went, but now I know that they're not unlike teddy bears. Their heads are full of fluff, too, but all of the BSHs we had in were very sweet.

I really liked the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels as well, which is too bad. Given their health problems I could never in good conscience purchase one from a breeder, but I enjoyed getting to play with three very sweet Cavaliers that came into the kennels. This sweetie is Poppy.

Rupert, the Airedale Terrier, on a walk. He was a very noble, good-natured dog and I walked him as often as I could get away with!

Midge, the Brussels Griffon. He's just gotten a trim in this picture, so he looks less evil. I really didn't like him at first because he looks like a gremlin, but he ended up being AWESOME. You have to give credit to a dog so small and bizarre looking, because he doesn't have anything going in his favour. He was bumped into and tread upon by his kennel mate, who also tried to steal his food, was laughed at for being so weird looking, and easily picked up and carried away against his will. But he was still calm and friendly and trotted around like life was going swell for him.

I’m going to a friend’s tonight to watch Jane Austen films, and tomorrow is my last Friday free before term starts. Sadness.

Today was my day off. I leave on Monday, so I decided to stay close and explore the area a bit before I leave for good. It was a bright, sunny day, and the ice from the past days and the snow from this morning had melted by the afternoon. Although the ground was wet it was mostly still frozen, so footing was good for a small hike.

The roads nearby are narrow and twist sharply, so it seemed a bad idea to risk a car speeding around a bend and potentially hitting me. But I wanted to get out and about, so I walked about 5 minutes down the road to a public footpath that led me away from cars. True to English form, this footpath was really a slightly worn stretch of soil that ran alongside a field. There were hoof prints and old tire tracks, but it wasn’t a path in the sense that I expected.

View from the road

On the footpath

A reminder that, even though I was walking through the country, the city wasn't far away

It turned out that the area I was in was called ‘Hodgehole Dingle.’ Just like my trip to the Highlands in September, I couldn’t help but remark at how different the UK and the US can be. Most days I feel like the world is small and the similarities between countries far outnumber the differences. However, in the Highlands I saw a shabby wooden sign with only the word ‘Castle’ on it and laughed how it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to encounter. Here, in England, I laughed again that there was a spot called ‘Hodgehole Dingle’ and it was somehow not bizarre. And really, it is normal, but a reminder that I am in some place foreign from my home.

Silliness aside, I kept walking until I reached the suburbs and made a few turns until I came across a large public park. I had walked from the country, to the city, and back into a bit of (artificial) country again. With the blue skies and silver clouds I was awestruck by the scenery and sat to watch the dogs run around and the trees rustle.

The park

The town

The gates to the kennel close at 5pm and I didn’t want to get locked out, so I started to head back. The sun was beginning to set, and everything I had seen previously suddenly looked a bit different.

The field, again

I sat and listened to the grasses rustle. Another day in God's Country, I say.

Like I said, I’m nearly done with my placement here. I’m debating whether or not I want to post pictures of the kennels and cattery; it seems like perhaps an invasion of privacy, but I also figure a few pictures of some dogs and cats won’t hurt anybody. Anyway, I’d like to post a wrap-up of my experience. Until then, back to cold days and poop buckets!

It was been so, so miserably cold here. Yesterday I woke up to frost all over the trees, fields, and buildings. We’re lucky in that it hasn’t snowed, but the runoff from cleaning the kennels in the morning freezes and creates slick, icy patches that were a bit frightening when you have a 50kg dog pulling the lead, dragging you around.

We had the same conditions today. For New Year’s day we are closed to the public, so it was a much quieter day from yesterday. I’m very glad to have tomorrow off, since most of the dogs and cats are going home and it will be very, very busy for all the employees. Today, however, I took an Airedale Terrier and a white Border Collie for walks in the frost-laden field. About halfway around the field, I stopped and thought about how I was standing in the middle of the English countryside, walking a dog, and looking at scenery that seemed to come straight from a postcard. What a way to start a year.

The field

All the outside taps are frozen, so we must trek back and forth throughout the day to the two that still work.

Brrr!