Meet Anya

Why Am I Wanderlusted

Myths About Dog Food

After debating, since December, and some nervousness, I gave myself the most loving Valentine's/Birthday gift:

Her name is Anastasia, Anya for short, and she is a 2-3 year old terrier mix. She came into the LSU clinic after being found wandering on the street, perfectly healthy.  She has all her vaccines, is heartworm negative, already spayed, house broken, and loves to cuddle! She's practically perfect, especially her name!

Anastasia was an orphan; so is Anya

Anastasia sings "Once Upon A December"; I met Anya once upon a December

Anastasia has a dog named Pooka; I bought Anya a stuffed dog and which we named Pooka

Anastasia's necklace is a flower; Anya's name tag is flower shaped (Back says Oh no, I'm lost again!)

 

Anastasia is a princess; Anya already acts like a total princess

My ophthalmology rotation started this week.  I am fortunate enough to be on with the current clinician since these are his last two weeks at LSU.

Susie came into town to celebrate my 30th birthday this weekend!  We will be living it up on Bourbon street. Stay tuned for next week's post to see how well I accomplished my bucket list!

Last Week of Externship

This past weekend, I went to the park to do some more animal encounters.

This week we experienced a goat necropsy, eland necropsy, radiographed a lethargic red roughed lemur,a limping gemsbock, and a cheetah pregnancy check. I had the privilege of doing a rabbit castration as well!
The vet students all went to downtown Roseburg for a wine tasting event. Some of the little bouquets set up wine for local wineries for tasting.  In one of the stores, three of us ended up buying the same owl ring because it we all loved it so much.

I have to say thank you again to Benji and Kirsten; this has been my favorite rotation so far.  It's going to be very hard to leave on Saturday morning and travel back to school for my next rotation of ophthalmology.

Oregon coast

This past weekend, I took in some Vitamin Sea as I traveled to the Oregon coast. There is an unexplainable feeling that my soul reaches when I rest my eyes upon the ocean horizon, hear the ocean waves, smell of the salt water, and feel the sand beneath me. I become elated, wild, and free, and my soul is restored again.

This week we unfortunately did another cheetah necropsy, radiographs and ultrasound on ring-tail lemur, a rhino necropsy (incredibly sad but such an amazing privilege), radiographs on a cheetah who was limping, radiographs on a lion cub that has been coughing, and radiographs on a wilderbeast that has been intermittently limping.

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Giraffes, Tigers, and Bears

This past weekend, I did the public animal encounters with giraffes, elephants, bears, and tigers that the park offers.

This week we did biopsies on some elephants, a physical exam on a bald eagle, gave fluids to a cheetah, checked on some coughing lion cubs, and unfortunately did have a necropsy on a cheetah as well. I've been relishing every thing about this park and the work I've been able to do!

I have been nervously searching and applying for a jobs every night. This is all getting very real!
This weekend I am planning on going to the coast for the weekend in honor of the snow back home!

All Creatures Great And Small

Wildlife Safari Externship

I started my final externship this week at the Wildlife Safari in Oregon which took nearly 12 hours of traveling.

I am staying in an intern house with 10 other people most of whom are 7 years younger than me, while sharing a room with two others (so no personal space), and sleeping on a cot for the next month.

This externship so closely reminds me of Africa and it's the most I've been able to participate in an externship setting this year. This week, we already anesthetized a Sika deer for a hoof trim, wound checked a ring tailed Lemer, did bloodwork and gave fluids to a rhino, received a call about a distressed oryx who unfortunately we did a necropsy on the next day, anesthetized a cheetah that ended up having an intestinal obstruction.  I obviously cannot post any pictures of the medical procedures, but I can share some pictures from around the park.  Highlight of the week: I did the anesthesia monitoring on the cheetah, who did wake up during, and was able to to pick her up and carry her in order to weigh her. Insanity!

Setbacks Into Successes

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This was my last week of radiology! One of Toby Keith horses was at our hospital this weekend for a surgery.  I had my emergency shift on Sunday during the day and Wednesday night.

The NAVLE results came in this week and while I was hesitant to write about it at first, I am strong enough and been through enough setbacks to not let this affect me the way it would have a few years ago. Unfortunately, I will be retaking it in April; fortunately, it will better prepare me to start practicing on my own. This isn't a setback because I will still be graduating on time; it's merely an inconvenience yet an excuse to solidly information.  In four months, I will be a veterinarian.
I have an incredibly inspirational veterinary friend who has been through a lot of setbacks, maybe more than me, she found out this week that she can officially practice as a doctor. She constantly had a positive attitude, never gave up, encouraged others (especially me), and trusted the journey. If she ever felt defeated or discouraged, she didn't let show.  I'm so proud of this beautifully strong woman!
35 Quotes On Turning Setbacks Into Successes

This weekend I will be traveling to Winston, Oregon for my 3 week externship at the Wildlife Safari.

Starting The New Year

The new year is off to a fantastic start so far!
I have a month and half to cross off the rest of the items on my 30 before 30 list. Two of the items is to do something for 30 days and get better at yoga, so I'm combining the two and doing yoga for 30 days. I'm doing a series of Yoga with Adriene. I've also started a new workout series and a different muscle group of mine has been sore every single day this week.

The clinic is full again but this rotation is still uneventful. One more week.....

I ordered a bunch of veterinary books that came in this week! So exciting....yes I'm a nerd.

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