Wow, incredible day today. Today I walked in with confidence and it payed off, I administered vaccines for the very first time and put an IV in for an older dog (after a failed attempt with a younger dog). My first vaccine was called ReNerve. It was used for a puppy with spinal problems causing it to become lame in one leg. After vaccination the owner then told us that the puppy may have broken its leg a while ago but he did not bring it in immediately after the accident so there would not be much we could do anyway. Either way Dr. Abi let me help her set up a splint and cast, which was also a first! Dr. Abi is by far the most helpful for me in the clinic. She has the best English out of everyone and is patient with me when I do not understand a procedure or the use of a certain vaccine. The next vaccine I administered was to a young goat who had been eating rice. Rice is not very good for a goats digestive systems and they cannot break it down. The goat is injected with sodium bicarbonate and fluids to re-hydrate it. When a goat is left untreated with this condition it can develop lameness and it can eventually lead to its death. You all should know (if you don't already) goats cry like little babies. If you've ever seen the video of the screaming goat in Taylor Swift's I knew you were trouble video then you kind of know what I am talking about. They are by far the loudest creatures in the clinic and will start crying if they are even put on their sides for examination. The next goat I saw that day was having a cast put on and looked no bigger than a puppy. Let me tell you, he was not a happy camper. After casting he was walking around like new. Dr. Abi let me do some observations on a cow that was showing no signs of an appetite. You can apparently tell if a cow has been eating or not by making a fist with your hand and pressing hard into the abdomen and then waiting to see how long the muscle will push your hand back out. The injection site in a cow is usually the neck. I did not know this before today but to know if you hit a muscle when injecting 1) the fluid will flow easily into the body and 2) if you pull back a bit on the syringe there should be no blood.
We also tended to an older dog today. She was eleven years old and was being treated with antibiotics for this tumor (the size of a tennis ball) on her abdomen. The tumor was oozing out puss and as gross as it sounds I really enjoyed seeing it. Dr. Abi said the outlook looked poor for the dog considering she was seizing during treatment. She said that the seizures are probably due to the dog not being vaccinated. Most people believe that they do not need to tend to the wounds or diseases of their animals and they will just come out of it. This is not the case please everyone vaccinate your animals they could develop seizures or become the next gross thing I take interest in looking at. I attempted giving my first IV to a dog that was fatigued and had not been vaccinated. Dr. Abi said I was superficial meaning that I did not go deep enough into the vein. My next try was for a female lab that had capillary fluids seeping out of her c-section wound. I asked how this can happen and apparently it was not bandaged and kept up with properly by the owners causing her condition to deteriorate. I kept asking if the dog would die to which she responded her situation was very unfavorable. It's sad to see a dog suffer due to something it could not control but we can only do so much at the clinic. Good news is I did get a vein on the first try on her but because she is very old the vein slipped and the needle had to be re-administered.
We then sat down for tea and to talk with the other doctors who kept asking me when I will get married and have children. Apparently 23 is the normal age to do this in India. The parents choose the husband and divorce rarely ever happens. They were telling me that it is custom that the women get married and have children even if they don't want to. It made me thankful for the freedom we have in the States.
Overall it has been a great day. I even got invited to go to a animal nutrition conference on Sunday. Dr. Abi said she would gladly keep me company. I am thankful for her presence and will miss her when she leaves next week but as long as I am confident I am sure I will continue to do great things at the clinic.
We also tended to an older dog today. She was eleven years old and was being treated with antibiotics for this tumor (the size of a tennis ball) on her abdomen. The tumor was oozing out puss and as gross as it sounds I really enjoyed seeing it. Dr. Abi said the outlook looked poor for the dog considering she was seizing during treatment. She said that the seizures are probably due to the dog not being vaccinated. Most people believe that they do not need to tend to the wounds or diseases of their animals and they will just come out of it. This is not the case please everyone vaccinate your animals they could develop seizures or become the next gross thing I take interest in looking at. I attempted giving my first IV to a dog that was fatigued and had not been vaccinated. Dr. Abi said I was superficial meaning that I did not go deep enough into the vein. My next try was for a female lab that had capillary fluids seeping out of her c-section wound. I asked how this can happen and apparently it was not bandaged and kept up with properly by the owners causing her condition to deteriorate. I kept asking if the dog would die to which she responded her situation was very unfavorable. It's sad to see a dog suffer due to something it could not control but we can only do so much at the clinic. Good news is I did get a vein on the first try on her but because she is very old the vein slipped and the needle had to be re-administered.
We then sat down for tea and to talk with the other doctors who kept asking me when I will get married and have children. Apparently 23 is the normal age to do this in India. The parents choose the husband and divorce rarely ever happens. They were telling me that it is custom that the women get married and have children even if they don't want to. It made me thankful for the freedom we have in the States.
Overall it has been a great day. I even got invited to go to a animal nutrition conference on Sunday. Dr. Abi said she would gladly keep me company. I am thankful for her presence and will miss her when she leaves next week but as long as I am confident I am sure I will continue to do great things at the clinic.
This is the first puppy I have ever vaccinated. It had spinal problems and a broken leg.
This is the c-section wound and the discharge is being cleaned up by Dr. Abi.
First time vaccinating a goat!! She did not enjoy it as much as I did.
The casting of the young goat. I thought it was endearing to see the young boy taking responsibility and control of his goat.
This young sweet thing was being treated for parvo.
This is a pano I took this morning of the inside of the vet clinic. As you can see it's mostly outside and can get very hot!
This is the older dog getting antibiotics and seizing on the table.
I'm super excited to hear about your future adventures!
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