Work Experience: Vet Practice

Friday was, yet again, very busy at the vets. 

The first consult was a Springer Spaniel that had been in season about a month previously. The owner said that she was normally a bit of a busybody, but in the past 2 to 3 days had been very quiet and inactive. She was eating normally but she was drinking less than usual. Suzanne, after having a feel about, told the owner that the dog had swollen nipples and a tight and slightly swollen abdomen. This made her think of a possible ghost pregnancy. However, the owner then told her about a small volume of clear discharge that she had spotted. Often a discharge is a definite way of confirming whether a bitch has Pyometra. Pyometra is an infection of the uterus which then gradually fills with pus. Suzanne wasn't sure whether this was the case, however she didn't want to rule it out. 

Example of Pyometra from Google images

Due to the day being Friday and labs being closed, she didn't particularly want to take tests as the results wouldn't be available until the following Tuesday. Therefore she arranged another appointment for the Monday with the owner, informing her that if she was worried at any point she was to contact the emergency vet services. She also prescribed Tramadol, which is a human drug, to relieve pain. Tramadol can cause drowsiness and in worse cases sickness. (In cases of sickness Tramadol is stopped being given to the animal).

Me and Peanut after getting home from the vets

Another animal that I saw was my guinea pig, Peanut. I had noticed, at the beginning of the week, that her eye was quite red and swollen. This made me think of a possible eye infection. So I made an appointment for Friday, while I was volunteering. I was allowed to take my guinea pig with me and put her in one of the cages while I sat in on the consults. When Suzanne was free, at the end of the consults, she took a look at Peanut's eye. She said that Peanut had conjunctivitis but that she wasn't too happy with how red her eyes were, so there may have been something more sinister. She prescribed antibiotics to her, which would last a week, but if her eyes didn't improve by Monday I would have to go back. Suzanne taught me how to give Peanut her medicine. (I have to sit with Peanut on my lap, tilt her head towards the sky and, using a syringe, put 1ml of the antibiotics into her mouth, a little at a time.) Thankfully my guinea pig is known to sit still and snuggle in when I'm holding her so this is relatively easy. However, if this was my sister's guinea pig it would be an entirely different ball game. 

It is now Sunday and Peanut's eyes do seem to be getting better. I have my fingers crossed that she doesn't need to go back to the vets before Friday!

Work Experience: Dairy Farm

One of the diary herd being nosey

I'm so sorry I haven't written a blog post in over a week, school has been hectic and I haven't been feeling very well. 

Last week, when I went to the farm, I had the chance to see some dehorning of the calves. Dehorning is done for safety and economic reasons. Horned animals can take up more space so require bigger barns or/and fields, they can cause injuries to other cattle and the farmers, special equipment is often required to look after horned cattle and often cattle can entangle their horns on fences and vegetation.

To some people dehorning is considered to be a form of cruelty, however I believe that it would be more cruel to allow the cattle to harm themselves and each other. 

Me and the calves

The calf is first placed into the crush. This, in itself, looks more dramatic than it is. The horn areas are then shaved and anesthetic is then injected into the calf's head. Following this a heater is pushed into the calf's head and the horn is removed. The heat is used to stop the growth of the horn, this is called cauterisation. Dehorning is done when the calf is around three to four weeks old as the horns haven't had chance to attach to the skull. 

Michael dehorning a calf

The area where the horn had been removed was then sprayed with antibacterial "blue" spray. This would prevent infection of the wound. 

Michael also decided to check the teats of the calves and remove any of the extra teats. The best positioned four teats were left and any extra were cut off. I was expecting this procedure to be quite bloody however, I was surprised to see that there was none. We sprayed the areas that had had the teats removed with "blue" spray to prevent infection. It was relatively difficult to hold the calves down, while checking their teats, as they wriggled and kicked out at us if we got too close. Therefore we had to be aware of here they're hooves were in relation to our heads.

Calves are very needy

Work Experience: Vet Practice

I was back at the vet's again on Friday. Apart from regular booster vaccinations, I saw a Cocker Spaniel with unusual symptoms. 

The Cocker Spaniel had been having tests for a number of weeks. He had an unexplained cough, he has had x-rays and echoes to try and find out what is wrong. Unfortunately the last test showed a slight enlargement of his heart. This could cause multiple problems such as coughing, swelling of the abdomen and (in worst cases) collapsing. At the moment the Cocker Spaniel has a cough, which has been persisting for around a month. The vet had to take a blood sample, which would be sent to a laboratory for testing. After taking the sample, from the jugular, Suzanne realised that if she sent the sample on Friday, it would get to the laboratory on Monday/Tuesday. Unfortunately this would be too late to take reliable tests. Therefore after speaking to the owner, and apologising profusely, an appointment was arranged to take another sample on Tuesday, so that it would get to the labs by Wednesday/Thursday. 

When Suzanne was trying to arrange what was going to happen to the blood sample I had the chance to talk to the owner. He asked me whether I was on work experience and whether I was certain this was the job area I would like to go into. We then went on to discuss why I want to be a vet. I told him that I love science and animals and would like to combine the two, also that I would like to be able to help animals and, indirectly, people. We also talked about how after an animal is euthanised, in Valley Vets; the staff send condolence cards to the owners. He told me that after his dog was putting down, this was a very touching, thoughtful idea, which he believed displayed the consideration and caring nature of the vet practice, to both the owners and the animals in their care. 

This experience made me realise how much the owners depend on a caring vet who can explain medical terms to them clearly. I have also found out that if something goes wrong and the vet admits to being in the wrong and offers ways in which the wrong doing can be corrected, the majority of owners will be responsibly understanding. 

My Thoughts: Animal Cruelty

This week in critical thinking we've been told to choose a problem in the world and think of ways to solve it. I personally think that animal cruelty is a big problem in the world.While searching the internet for some RSPCA videos, I came across this:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2012/apr/24/animal-cruelty-rspca-video

After watching this video, I realised how frustrating this topic is. I feel that whatever we do to lower the cases of animal cruelty, we won't ever be able to eradicate it. However, this video made me even more determined to be a vet, as I would like to educate people on how to properly look after animals and help people make decisions on whether it would be sensible for them to own an animal. 

Did you know?

- 73,000 animals are seen by the RSPCA every year

- The maximum fine given to someone who has abused an animal is £20,000 and the maximum prison sentence is 6 months

- The fine is transferred automatically to the government, even though the RSPCA require £81,000,000 to run the charity for a year

- Animal abusers are often able to own animals again after a certain amount of time (usually 10 years)


In the UK the Animal Cruelty hotline is: 0300 1234 999

Image taken from Google Images

Image taken from Google Images