Bunny Bunch

This afternoon I had my Veterinary Ambulatory Community Service (VACS) rotation. On today's rotation we spayed and neutered animals brought in by Bunny Bunch which is a no-kill, non-profit rabbit rescue. I was able to scrub in to surgery and assist with an open castration of a Guinea Pig! Not only was this my first guinea pig neuter but it was also my first open castration on any small animal! I also monitored anesthesia for several bunnies and a chinchilla surgery. The rotation made me realize how different all of the different species of animals that I will be treating as a doctor are. If you live in the Southern California area and are interested in adopting a rabbit, please visit the Bunny Bunch website for information: http://www.bunnybunch.org/about2.html
The picture above is of Wynken, one of the rabbits that I monitored anesthesia for. Both Wynken and her sister Blynken are in need of a home!

Happy New Year

Sorry that I have not written in so long but the last two months of veterinary school have been very difficult. In the weeks leading up to finals we had a dermatology, oncology, neurology, opthalmology and other sensory system cases. Having only one week to spend on each subject and the fact that they aren't very intertwined made school a bit more stressful. The final exams were the hardest exams that I have taken so far. I had thought that I did really badly however, I did as well as I usually do.
So what else have I been up to? I have been fostering a cat that I named Las Vegas (see picure above) since October. He had followed me home one day and has not left since then. After months of searching I have finally found him the perfect home. One of the DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) students named Chris at Western University adopted him! It really is the perfect home.
After finals I flew home to NY for 2 weeks. I did nothing but relax. It felt so good to go to the movies, read a non-veterinary related book and wake up late. The one thing that most people don't understand about veterinary school is that we do not have any days off. While I might not have classes on Saturday and Sunday I am still at school or studying at home.
I am flying back to California tonight and then classes start at 8am tomorrow morning. I am really excited for my last semester of Problem Based Learning. I have a great group and have been assigned one of the larger classrooms which is a huge difference from being in the smallest room last semester. My facilitator this block is Dr. Voith. She is well recognized as one of the founders of, and foremost contributors in, the field of clinical companion animal behavior. I usually only get to work with her during my two behavior rotations each block so I am looking foward to learning more about behavior this semester being in a PBL room with her three times a week. I am also excited because I will have my first lizzard case next week. Well I have to get to the airport, I will try to write again soon!