Well, baby season is just around the corner! Yesterday I filled in for my friend Sundhya for her evening clinic shift. I hadn't worked a clinic shift in a few weeks, and I didn't realize how many babies we now have! It has been a very mild winter here, and many of the species are having babies early. On my shift last night we took in three squirrels that were all under 20 grams. They are smaller than the size of my thumb! Look for pictures below. We also received a goat that was born around noon of the same day. Half a day old and he came to us because he couldn't stand. I've bonded with him and gotten him to feed pretty well from a bottle now. He stood for over five minutes for me today! I'm hoping we keep him up to date with physical therapy to speed his recovery. His name is Dash (we can name the domestic animals here) and I really hope he pulls through.
Hope everyone is doing well. This post is short because I really just wanted to update pictures. Love and miss you all.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Elk Rescue!
I feel like Superwoman! This past Saturday I helped with the best rescue ever. And for those of you who are wondering what elk are doing in Texas, that was my first thought too. Elk are not native here, we assume they escaped from a nearby game ranch. Anyway, this elk desperately need our help.
After traveling almost 2 hours to get to him, we found the elk lying down next to a cabin on a sizable property. The owner of the property said he was limping pretty badly so we lined up to tranquilize him. As soon as we walked close to him, he got up and started running on hooves that were over a foot long! They had curled and were so long they were digging back into his legs. We lost track of him for a while, but I thought I heard him calling though the brush. We found him and I started tracking him for the next 15 minutes until we got to the top of the man's property where it was an open field. Just as Megan, the veterinarian got up to the field, he decided to try and jump the 4 foot fence that surrounded the property. His hooves caught on the mesh fence and he went down. Three of his legs and one of his antlers were caught. The dart bounced off his tough hide so I sprinted down to the truck and drove it back up with all of our med supplies. Megan gave the drugs to the elk through the fence and we waited for the elk to fall asleep.
After he went down, we went to work on his hooves. The tools we had brought with didn't come close to making a dent on his hooves, and some of the hooves had to be sawed down with a hack saw. Thankfully the neighbors stopped to help us out. Ryan, the other vet tech intern monitored the elk's vitals and tried to keep him cool while drawing up all of the meds like anti-inflammatory and antibiotic meds. I helped saw 2 of his hooves off and stabilize his legs while others worked on the sawing. We then scrubbed his wounds, pumped him full of meds, and then realized if he woke up there, he might try to jump the fence yet again. We decided the best place for him to wake up was down by the cabin near sources of water, away from the fences and roads.
Lifting an elk is MUCH harder than it sounds. We had 5 of us trying to lift a bull elk who probably weighed 700-800 lbs (over 350 kgs). It was nuts. We couldn't get him in the back of the pickup at first, but then I went with the property owner to get boards from his fence to use as a ramp. Even pulling and pushing him into the truck was a feat but we finally did it! Unloading him was a since, Megan reversed the tranquilizing drugs, and the elk woke up! According to the property owner, he's doing well and is walking on his own again!
Check out the amazing pictures Ryan took. We kept some of his hooves for souvenirs. Miss and love you all lots!
After traveling almost 2 hours to get to him, we found the elk lying down next to a cabin on a sizable property. The owner of the property said he was limping pretty badly so we lined up to tranquilize him. As soon as we walked close to him, he got up and started running on hooves that were over a foot long! They had curled and were so long they were digging back into his legs. We lost track of him for a while, but I thought I heard him calling though the brush. We found him and I started tracking him for the next 15 minutes until we got to the top of the man's property where it was an open field. Just as Megan, the veterinarian got up to the field, he decided to try and jump the 4 foot fence that surrounded the property. His hooves caught on the mesh fence and he went down. Three of his legs and one of his antlers were caught. The dart bounced off his tough hide so I sprinted down to the truck and drove it back up with all of our med supplies. Megan gave the drugs to the elk through the fence and we waited for the elk to fall asleep.
After he went down, we went to work on his hooves. The tools we had brought with didn't come close to making a dent on his hooves, and some of the hooves had to be sawed down with a hack saw. Thankfully the neighbors stopped to help us out. Ryan, the other vet tech intern monitored the elk's vitals and tried to keep him cool while drawing up all of the meds like anti-inflammatory and antibiotic meds. I helped saw 2 of his hooves off and stabilize his legs while others worked on the sawing. We then scrubbed his wounds, pumped him full of meds, and then realized if he woke up there, he might try to jump the fence yet again. We decided the best place for him to wake up was down by the cabin near sources of water, away from the fences and roads.
Lifting an elk is MUCH harder than it sounds. We had 5 of us trying to lift a bull elk who probably weighed 700-800 lbs (over 350 kgs). It was nuts. We couldn't get him in the back of the pickup at first, but then I went with the property owner to get boards from his fence to use as a ramp. Even pulling and pushing him into the truck was a feat but we finally did it! Unloading him was a since, Megan reversed the tranquilizing drugs, and the elk woke up! According to the property owner, he's doing well and is walking on his own again!
Check out the amazing pictures Ryan took. We kept some of his hooves for souvenirs. Miss and love you all lots!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Radiographs and Intubation
Well, I am officially a full-time vet tech intern! My first official day was yesterday, and I love working with vet staff all day. Plus I get 2 more hours of sleep in the morning :)
I'm posting my very first radiograph and intubation that I performed on a raccoon. Radiograph is just the technical term for x-ray. The raccoon I x-rayed has a fractured jaw right along the midline on her lower jaw. Megan sutured her back up so her jaw is more stable. She's super feisty and I hope she makes it to release. I've posted the radiograph picture, and a close up to show the intubation. Intubation is when you place a tube into the animal's trachea that is hooked up to our oxygen and iso gases. This helps keep the patient asleep during long procedures. The tricky part is finding a tube that is large enough to fill the entire trachea so air doesn't leak in, but small enough it doesn't rupture the trachea. Then you have to have the correct placement so that the gases are able to get to both halves of the lung. I did it on my first try!
Also, Newbies arrived yesterday. I'm no longer a Newbie! We had one new girl from Ohio move in to our trailer. Kristen moved out and Corrina moved in to her room. Which means, I am no longer sleeping on the top bunk! No longer crouching to go to bed, no longer having only a foot of space between me and the ceiling. I am on the bottom bunk, right next to a window. I'm super excited. Well, until my next post, love and miss you all!
I'm posting my very first radiograph and intubation that I performed on a raccoon. Radiograph is just the technical term for x-ray. The raccoon I x-rayed has a fractured jaw right along the midline on her lower jaw. Megan sutured her back up so her jaw is more stable. She's super feisty and I hope she makes it to release. I've posted the radiograph picture, and a close up to show the intubation. Intubation is when you place a tube into the animal's trachea that is hooked up to our oxygen and iso gases. This helps keep the patient asleep during long procedures. The tricky part is finding a tube that is large enough to fill the entire trachea so air doesn't leak in, but small enough it doesn't rupture the trachea. Then you have to have the correct placement so that the gases are able to get to both halves of the lung. I did it on my first try!
Also, Newbies arrived yesterday. I'm no longer a Newbie! We had one new girl from Ohio move in to our trailer. Kristen moved out and Corrina moved in to her room. Which means, I am no longer sleeping on the top bunk! No longer crouching to go to bed, no longer having only a foot of space between me and the ceiling. I am on the bottom bunk, right next to a window. I'm super excited. Well, until my next post, love and miss you all!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Dealing with Death
So, I haven't posted for a little while because I haven't really felt up for it. I've had to deal with quite a few hard deaths around here. I'm normally pretty ok with finding animals dead in the morning. It's hard, but somewhat expected when the animal is known to be critical. However, the other day I went in to help with a surgery on a wolf. She was one of our permanent residents and had severe ear infections. She was to be put under anesthesia and spayed while she was under. She took over 3 hours to tranquilize and become stable under anesthesia which is not normal. Just as we were sewing her up, she stopped breathing. I took over breathing for her with the gas machine, but minutes later her heartbeat plummeted. We did CPR on her for 25 minutes before we finally let her go. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with. She was beautiful and I'll remember her always. That same day, raccoons we have raised since they didn't even have their eyes open, dropped dead of the Parvo virus. No warning. They were bright and perky at their feeding. An hour later they were gone. Another pigeon died on the table today, and a night hawk that we have been feeding in the hopes her wing would get strong enough to fly had to be put down.
But for every life we lose, we help others. We took in a great horned owl today that had barbed wire through his wing. He is gorgeous and I hope to get pictures of him soon.
On a completely different note, I have received a request to talk more about my roommates and trailer life. I live in a double-wide trailer that is several decades old. While it is old, it serves its purpose and I'm not complaining in the slightest. I get to cook my own food and sleep in a bed. Better than a tent in the middle of nowhere. I have 5 other roommates. Two are from Washington state, one is from Colorado, one is from Arkansas, and one is from Philadelphia. I get along with all of them pretty well. I also live with two animals. Romo is the trailer dog and is a geriatric (meaning very old) and needs a lot of attention. He's pretty mellow. My roommate just adopted one of the cats from here, and her name is Cairo. She is tiny, black, and full of mischief. I love her to pieces and will be sad the day she leaves here.
I hope you are all doing well. Love and miss you lots. Please email or comment or let me know how you're doing. Especially if you have questions about my life here!
New pictures are up!
But for every life we lose, we help others. We took in a great horned owl today that had barbed wire through his wing. He is gorgeous and I hope to get pictures of him soon.
On a completely different note, I have received a request to talk more about my roommates and trailer life. I live in a double-wide trailer that is several decades old. While it is old, it serves its purpose and I'm not complaining in the slightest. I get to cook my own food and sleep in a bed. Better than a tent in the middle of nowhere. I have 5 other roommates. Two are from Washington state, one is from Colorado, one is from Arkansas, and one is from Philadelphia. I get along with all of them pretty well. I also live with two animals. Romo is the trailer dog and is a geriatric (meaning very old) and needs a lot of attention. He's pretty mellow. My roommate just adopted one of the cats from here, and her name is Cairo. She is tiny, black, and full of mischief. I love her to pieces and will be sad the day she leaves here.
I hope you are all doing well. Love and miss you lots. Please email or comment or let me know how you're doing. Especially if you have questions about my life here!
New pictures are up!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Release
Hey! Two blogs in two days. Not bad.
Last night I went out with Ryan, Julia, Lilly, and Dan for Ryan's 23rd birthday. We went to Chili's and had an awesome time. By the way, they have bottomless chips and salsa... Amazing!
I really just wanted to update everyone on my exciting day. It shouldn't have been so exciting, since today I was Prep C. This means I was sent to do projects (aka cleaning) all day. I started out ok, raking leaves with the help of several vultures who thought it was a game to land on my rake in the process of raking. Maybe they like rides? Then I got to use a power washer to spray down a mat. It was a huge mat, and power washing is so fun! Then I filed paperwork into a computer database while playing with week old puppies. They haven't even opened their eyes yet!
The best part of the day came later though. I got to go with my roommate Brandi to release 11 opossums, and one skunk. It was so awesome watching them cautiously crawl out of their crates into the world. I feel like a parent sending my kids off to college or something. I've been taking care of them for 2 weeks, and in that time they've doubled in size. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them from Brandi. Miss and love you all!
Last night I went out with Ryan, Julia, Lilly, and Dan for Ryan's 23rd birthday. We went to Chili's and had an awesome time. By the way, they have bottomless chips and salsa... Amazing!
I really just wanted to update everyone on my exciting day. It shouldn't have been so exciting, since today I was Prep C. This means I was sent to do projects (aka cleaning) all day. I started out ok, raking leaves with the help of several vultures who thought it was a game to land on my rake in the process of raking. Maybe they like rides? Then I got to use a power washer to spray down a mat. It was a huge mat, and power washing is so fun! Then I filed paperwork into a computer database while playing with week old puppies. They haven't even opened their eyes yet!
The best part of the day came later though. I got to go with my roommate Brandi to release 11 opossums, and one skunk. It was so awesome watching them cautiously crawl out of their crates into the world. I feel like a parent sending my kids off to college or something. I've been taking care of them for 2 weeks, and in that time they've doubled in size. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them from Brandi. Miss and love you all!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
Well, my New Year has started out with a bang. About 10 of my co-workers went out to the Kendalia Dance Hall for New Year's Eve. It had barbecue, dancing, drinks, and as much country music as one can stand in a night. I learned to Two-Step and Line Dance, and was pulled out on the dance floor multiple times during the night. It as a blast and an awesome way to bring in the new year.
New Year's Day I was assigned a clinic shift that involved helping vet staff for most of the day. It was awesome and I felt like I was back in lab after a few months off! While me and Ryan switched on and off helping to monitor a cat that had been de-gloved (attacked by a dog so severely her skin was torn away exposing her organs) and running blood work and fecal samples. The cat is currently doing ok. She has a high fever but can still purr and eat. I had to sub cue fluids into her (inject the fluids just under her skin by her scruff) this morning. I'm getting better at identifying parasite eggs in fecal samples as well after examining at least 12 slides that day.
Today I had my first "real" clinic shift. We have been in charge of taking care of the sick animals in the clinic for a while now, but it's been pretty easy with 6 new people plus supervisors working at the same time instead of the 3 that are normally on at once. Today was more normal and I was the only intern on clinic duty with 2 staff members to help and supervise. I was kept busy all day taking care of 4 raccoons, 6 pigeons (3 of which needed to be tube fed), 3 squirrels with one needing to be bottle-fed, 4 turtles/tortoises, 12 opossums, 2 guinea hens, a rooster, a duck, and 2 blue jays. I think.
My duck was upgraded to an outdoor enclosure and a crazy buck in it that tried to gore me several times. He's getting super aggressive. My 12 opossums are set to be released in a few days, and a pigeon is going to be moved outside to test for flight capabilities. A good day! Check out my one new photo (more to come soon) of me and one of my baby raccoons I've been taking care of. Hope you're all doing well and love and miss you all!
New Year's Day I was assigned a clinic shift that involved helping vet staff for most of the day. It was awesome and I felt like I was back in lab after a few months off! While me and Ryan switched on and off helping to monitor a cat that had been de-gloved (attacked by a dog so severely her skin was torn away exposing her organs) and running blood work and fecal samples. The cat is currently doing ok. She has a high fever but can still purr and eat. I had to sub cue fluids into her (inject the fluids just under her skin by her scruff) this morning. I'm getting better at identifying parasite eggs in fecal samples as well after examining at least 12 slides that day.
Today I had my first "real" clinic shift. We have been in charge of taking care of the sick animals in the clinic for a while now, but it's been pretty easy with 6 new people plus supervisors working at the same time instead of the 3 that are normally on at once. Today was more normal and I was the only intern on clinic duty with 2 staff members to help and supervise. I was kept busy all day taking care of 4 raccoons, 6 pigeons (3 of which needed to be tube fed), 3 squirrels with one needing to be bottle-fed, 4 turtles/tortoises, 12 opossums, 2 guinea hens, a rooster, a duck, and 2 blue jays. I think.
My duck was upgraded to an outdoor enclosure and a crazy buck in it that tried to gore me several times. He's getting super aggressive. My 12 opossums are set to be released in a few days, and a pigeon is going to be moved outside to test for flight capabilities. A good day! Check out my one new photo (more to come soon) of me and one of my baby raccoons I've been taking care of. Hope you're all doing well and love and miss you all!
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