Summer 2012: VCA Cedar Animal Hospital Visit #2: For the Birds

Yes, once again, Thursday was a day of birds at VCA Cedar. Well, more specifically, I saw some birds toward the end of the day, but that was really the only exotic thing I saw. The most interesting points of the day were a couple of dentals (yes, I did just use the words "interesting" and "dentals" in the same sentence) and seeing a pair of cockatiels.

The dentals were cool because the technicians actually explained to me what they were doing and what they were looking for as they probed around in the dogs' mouths. Dr. B taught me a little about anesthesia drugs and post-operative medications, so I was able to understand a little better about Emmie's surgery. On a side note, we found out yesterday that Emmie's lump was a (probably) benign plasmocytoma, a tumor that can occur on either bone or soft tissue and that usually does not spread to other parts of the body. Plasmocytomas are usually cured by removal, which is really good in our case because I don't want Emmie to have to go back into surgery again! It is also a relief to know that she most likely does not have cancer of any kind, so for right now, we are done with the expense associated with the tumor.

The pain medication that Dr. B gave Emmie made her very loopy, and I didn't enjoy seeing her so unlike herself. She cried quite frequently throughout the day, and she looked like a dazed cow. However, Dr. B said that her cries were from a common post-operative condition in which an animal makes noise simply because it is confused and disoriented. So Emmie probably just didn't know what was happening to her, and she was upset because of it. Her post-operative medication was hydromorphone, a stronger version of morphine that also has a sedative aspect. The vet can usually give a reverse injection to counteract the drowsiness after surgery, but the medication can be hard on the heart. Emmie has a slight heart murmur, so  Dr. B couldn't give her the reverse injection. As such, Emmie was more loopy than she would've been if she did not have her heart condition. This relates to the dentals because Dr. B used hydromorphone on them, as well (she was just able to reverse on those dogs because their hearts were fine).

Dr. B also explained to me that during surgery, the vet should not use too much gas nor too little. Too much can have an adverse effect on blood pressure and body temperature, and--obviously--too little doesn't do enough to sedate the animal (so it ends up feeling too much pain and discomfort during surgery).

At the clinic, I also learned more about ear cleaning, which seems really simple on the outside but actually has a method to it. First, a solution for breaking up wax and debris is poured into the ears and rubbed around. After that, a rinse is poured into the ears, and the animal can shake its head to drain the ears. If the ears can't be flushed for whatever reason, the solution for wax and debris can't be used because it's not good for all the loose gunk (that's a technical term, mind you) to sit in the ears. Maybe you knew this about ear cleaning, but I had never really considered it, so it was pretty neat for me.

Also cool for me was learning how VCA Cedar is trying to be more cat-friendly. A recent trend in companion animal medicine is attempting to get clients to bring their cats in more for vet visits. Most cat owners are reluctant to take their pets to the vet because the cats hate it, and owners hate doing things that make their cats unhappy. Obviously, a vet's job is to keep cats healthy, and vets can't do that if they never see the cats. Anyway, some new methods include giving away free cardboard cat carriers to cat owners that don't have them and using FelAway plug-in hormone diffusers to create a calming atmosphere in the clinic. Dr. B says that the FelAway has had a surprisingly positive effect on her feline patients

While I don't get to participate as much at VCA Cedar as I do at St. Francis, I did get to help a little on Thursday with things like holding dogs on leashes when a doctor or tech went to get something, cleaning exam tables before new patients arrived, and retrieving things that the doctors or techs needed. I'm mostly there to see the exotics that I don't get to see everyday or even every time I am at St. Francis, so I don't really mind too much.

Finally, a pair of cockatiels came into the clinic because they were from the same house, and one of the birds had started plucking the insides of its wings and its back. The case actually belonged to another doctor, Dr. P, who I think is also really cool, nice, and funny. She told me that wing-picking can be caused by multiple conditions, from giardia (which is intestinal but manifests itself dermally, too, I guess) to yeast to mites. Some birds pick their chests, but this is usually behavioral and not because of any condition. Dr. P taught me that birds must be examined quickly because it is very easy for them to become stressed. She is really a great person because she walked me through some of her thinking processes as she was examining the bird (like how to rule out behavior, yeast, etc). I love getting little windows into things like that.

For the last few minutes, I stood waiting for Dr. B while she was talking with a client and met a parrot who was waiting for Dr. B to examine him. I didn't actually learn anything from the case; I just wanted to mention it because it was another bird.

Anyway, it was an all-around good day. Everyone at the clinic seemed to be in a good mood, so I had a lot of fun while I was learning all of this. In other news, I am basically done with my VMCAS. My last evaluator submitted her letter of recommendation, and I finally got my personal statement down to the required 5000 characters (with spaces!). I felt like I had to compromise my writing a bit, but it basically gets the same things across as it did when it was all the way up at 8000 characters. I double-checked everything to make sure it was correct, and now I am just waiting to pay for the application, update my hours for shadowing after this week, and print everything to save for my records. I can't believe how well everything came together! My goal is to hit the "E-Submit" button by Thursday so I don't have to worry about it after I go to the cabin, get my school shopping done, and head back to Augie for my final two trimesters of courses.

I am so very excited for the cabin! We just heard that Dad can go the full week (we weren't sure because of his new job), and I definitely got my full week off. This coming week, I will work an extra couple of days to make up for missed time, but I don't mind in the least. It is always the best week of the summer (no, the year!) for me, and I always enjoy myself. We are leaving this Saturday and will return on the 11th. Luckily, I have access to a TV up there, so I can still watch the Olympics! I love the Olympics, and this summer is especially great because they are in London. I already feel nostalgic and wish I could go back this fall again. That would be the best thing ever. I will try to blog about the cabin after I get back, but we'll see how it goes. Like I said, after this coming week and the cabin week,  I only have one week before I go back to school, so I will need to do some serious shopping and last-minute planning. I still need to find a desk and a bed-frame and mattress for my room in the house, and I am quickly running out of time. What happened to summer?