Archives for August, 2008
Snoopy, the cutest darn beagle puppy you have ever seen, had forgotten her housetraining. She was boarding with us for a week, and on this morning her kennel was covered in… well, you know.
The crazy thing is that the volume of poop that came out of her must have been equivalent to about 20% of her total volume. I mean, it was a LOT of poop, and she’s a teeny puppy.
Well, there’s nothing like a little puppy poop to start your day off right. I love the smell of Odoban in the morning.
Later that day, a client came in and said her granddaughter had just puked in the car, and did we have any paper towels? After she walked out, Dr. C pushed the Purell bottle in my direction.
When I looked at her without comprehension, she said, “Kid puke. Germs.”
“But I’ve been aspirating puppy poop all morning,” I replied. “I’m not really that worried.”
“Aw, you’re not going to get anything from that puppy,” Dr. C said. “Except maybe roundworms or hookworms.”
That’s gotta make you feel good. Pass the Purell. Stat.
Aug 30, 2008 | | Animal Tales
Well, the first week of school has come and gone, and already I’ve discovered things that do and don’t work for me. Doesn’t work: the trusty backpack I’ve had since the first time I was in college – it’s too small for my ginormous notebook. 
Does work: sneaking in the exit doors to get a better seat in the lecture hall.
Here are my top ten observations for the week as a back-to-undergrad thirty something:
1. Cell phones are ubiquitous!
When I went to school, cell phones were non-existent. Now they are glued to the ears of half the students you pass. For me, it’s a bit disconcerting, especially in the restroom! What’s up with that?! There is no one I need to speak with so badly that I need to call them up while I’m sitting on the toilet…
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Aug 30, 2008 | | Non-Traditional Students
We have a particular blanket in our hospital, and every time I pick it up, I think to myself, “How many pets have died on this blanket?” I wonder if the pets who are about to be euthanized sense that this blanket has watched others pass on before them.
It’s a cozy little blanket, really. Comfy flannel with a pine tree motif that is perfect for our little mountain town. I initially started using it for euthanasias because it is one of the few blankets we have that doesn’t have mysterious stains, holes, or both! Now I’ve come to think of it as part of the ritual – a small comfort in a time where comforting is needed.
One of my fears, upon first starting work at our veterinary clinic, was that euthanasias would be difficult for me. How sad to have to watch puppies and kitties die! What do you say to the client?
Turns out, they aren’t a bad experience after all. Pleasant? No. But beautiful, in a way. It’s such a peaceful thing, to be able to give a furry companion a dignified end.
If I’m ever in the amount of pain at my life’s end that some of these pets experience, I hope someone will let me fade off on that cozy blanket.
Aug 19, 2008 | | Animal Tales, Miscellany
Thanks, Kaplan!
Holy moo-cow. I took the GRE yesterday and THANK GOODNESS THAT’S OVER!
Following the advice in my Kaplan study guide, I took it easy on Friday and didn’t study at all. Instead, I went to the zoo for a last minute reminder as to why I was putting myself through the torture that is the GRE. I got to see the pachyderm demonstration, where they filed the bottom of an elephant’s foot and then had her step into some foot baths, and I got a good look at a gorilla, and watched the polar bear blowing bubbles out his nose while underwater. It was a nice, lazy afternoon, complete with ice cream cone.
I didn’t take into account that standing in the sun all day and driving from here to Denver and back (an elevation change of about 2500 feet) might not make me feel so great the next day.
I woke up yesterday morning with a pounding sinus headache and a bout of nausea – not an auspicious start to the day – and I was a bit nervous to boot. Why so nervous? Because I wanted a killer GRE score. My undergraduate grades, while not awful, are all over the map. My undergraduate experience was a miserable one, and grades were the least of my worries at that time. I never suspected they’d come back to haunt me, because I had no intention of ever returning to school. Well, seeing as how that changed, I was hoping for good GRE scores to help prove that I am not a complete imbecile, incapable of getting a decent grade in an undergraduate science course. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 10, 2008 | | Getting In
To atone for my previous outburst of cynicism, I give you today’s antithetical outburst, that of ridiculously-cute-things-which-elicit-”aaaaawwwwwwws.”
To see such unabashed cuteness, visit cuteoverload.com.
Aug 05, 2008 | | Miscellany
Rah Rah Rass, You can kiss my OH DEAR, I’m afraid I got rather cynical there, just for a moment.
Yesterday I went to orientation at Colorado State, the esteemed institution that I will soon be attending in order to take a few prerequisites for vet school. If all goes as planned, I will start vet school there next fall.
Trouble is, there are only two orientations – one for incoming freshman, the other for transfer students and anyone else, most of whom are early twenty-somethings.
They really needed another orientation for old farts like me, who didn’t appreciate the overzealous Doogie Howser lookalike belting into the microphone, “How are you doing today?!” I believe the expected response was an enthusiastic cheer. I and the other assorted crew of non-traditional students stared on in disbelief. (No offense to the Doogie lookalike, who I’m sure is a very nice person.) There just comes a time in your life when the whole pep rally thing doesn’t appeal, probably because we have been negatively conditioned by years of business meetings to behave in a completely stoic and boring manner.
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Aug 01, 2008 | | Non-Traditional Students
Today’s offering: two random, animal-related quotes.
“You never have to be lonely. There’s always somebody to love, even if it’s just a squirrel or a kitten.” – from one of those oft-forwarded emails circulating the ‘net these days
“Our profession offers unparalleled opportunities for making a chump of yourself.” – Siegfried Farnon, on veterinary medicine, in James Herriot’s Every Living Thing
Can’t wait to make a chump of myself! At least I will have kittens to make me feel better about it.
Aug 01, 2008 | | Miscellany
