Valley Vets
I've been
going to Valley Vets for 5 years (since I was 12 years old). Of course at this
age I wasn't able to do much, other than watch operations and clean up.
However, I am now able to help look after the animals that come in
from the RSPCA and I often help feed and clean them. I still help to clean the
examination table and mop the floors, but I feel that I am now trusted more and
I am allowed to be a little bit more hands on.
Unfortunately
I have no free periods on my college timetable where I could go to the vet's,
so I am restricted to after school consults. This also restricts me to
Wednesday's, which tend to be very quiet. However I really enjoy getting the
chance to ask the vet questions, to help out with the RSPCA animals and to meet the
regular patients when I'm there.
Park Vets
Unfortunately
I have been unable to go to Park Vets during the day, due to insurance. However
I was able to go and have a look around the facilities during the
evening.
When I was there I was able to see different equipment that I hadn't been able to see in Valley Vets. I was able
to have a look at the endoscopes, the X-Ray machines, a sterile operating theatre and
a large animal drug dispensary.
Whilst there I met a cat that had jumped out of a window and had lost the use
of his back legs. It was upsetting to hear, that if he wasn't able to reuse his
legs within a number of weeks, he would have to be euthanised. This would be because it would be unfair
on him to be kept alive, as he wouldn't be able to look after himself.
Fletcher's
Farm
I've been
going to Fletcher's Dairy Farm since July 2013. When I started at the farm I'd
had no experience with large animals at all. However now I'm often thrown at the deep end. For example, today I was left to clean out the parlour and
make sure everything was in order for the afternoon milking. I've been left
alone in the parlour a number of times and know how to feed the cows and clean,
dip and put the clusters onto the cows. Also I am now much more confident
around the cows and find myself pushing them around if need be.
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| The calf moved just as I took the photo, hence the blurriness. |
If I
don't understand anything, Michael, Helen, John and Laura (who look after me)
have said, I ask and they are more than willing to describe in detail what
something is or what something does. In fact they are often more grateful for
me to ask, rather than nodding and hoping they don't find out that I'm unsure
about what something is.
My
favourite part about the farm:
The
calves. I was lucky enough to see a calf being born on 30th November 2013. That
date will be imprinted into my brain. I had waited since July to see a cow give
birth and it was definitely worth the wait. The birth was not simple because
the calf’s head kept moving back towards its stomach. Michael was going to tie
a piece of cord to the jaw of the calf so that he could manipulate the head, to
between its front two legs, more easily. At the time everything was happening so
quickly, but the whole birth probably took half an hour. Seeing a more
difficult birth work out perfectly was something that has definitely enthused
my dreams of becoming a vet.
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| Attaching a block so that the infected hoof is able to heal. |
The part
of the farm that can be difficult:
When I
drive up to the yard and see a dead cow or dead calf, I find that the most
difficult. When I first saw a dead cow, I didn't know how to react. I just
stared and wouldn't get too close to the body. However, I would like to think
that I have become more accepting towards the idea of animals dying. This is
not to say that I feel nothing when I see a dead animal, but more that I don't
feel like crying or running away. I feel that I am now more able to contain my emotions.
Heath
Vets
During my
week of work experience in Year 11, I was offered a place in Heath Vets. Heath
Vets is very different to Valley Vets as it is bigger and there are more staff
employed there. During the week, I mostly shadowed a relatively newly qualified
vet. She was brilliant with the owners and the animals.
Before
going to Heath Vets I wasn't as clear as to how well your communication skills
have to be. However after seeing a Dachshund that was
the weight of two Dachshunds, I realise that as a vet, your role is
to educate, as well as to care for animals. Some people take a vet's advice on
board straight away, whereas some don't listen at all. With some owner's it's
important to tell them exactly how it is, but with some you have to be very
careful with how you phrase the information.
During
work experience I also realised that I can stay calm in very stressful
situations. The vet had performed a spay, on a black lab, first thing in the
morning and everything went well. However, just as we were sending her home we
realised that blood had started to pour out of the stitched up area whenever
she moved. This was definitely abnormal and nothing I'd seen before. The nurse
had to speak to the owners and tell them that their dog had to be kept in for
extra observation, while also making sure that they weren't worried about her.
While this was happening the vet was doing ultrasounds to see if there were any
pockets of fluids, suggesting any abnormal bleeding. To cut a long story short,
we ended up opening her up as the bleeding wouldn't stop. (The operating
theatre had what, at the time, seemed like puddles of blood everywhere, which didn't help the stress levels of the vet). At first the vet thought that
the bleeding was from a nick in the skin but as time went on, she assumed it was
the capillaries in the fat. The vet had the nurse call the senior partner of
the practice to have a look, because she was becoming more stressed
by the second. It turns out that the dog was actually fine and after an extra
stitch and some fluids, over night, she was ready to go home.
