Vet School Graduation

May 7th 2016, a day I looked forward to for 4 years finally arrived. Graduation day.

Randy came home a week before graduation, and I am so glad he did. I don't know how I would have gotten everything done on time without him. We spent our last week soaking up as many of our favorite things about Pullman/Moscow, lots of packing and sorting of stuff, and spending time with friends.

My last full day of clinics was Thursday the 5th. Friday I had to go to school to perform my morning patient care and paperwork and then pass of the reins to the new 4th years. My class had brunch together that morning to go over graduation stuff (like how to hold your hood and where to walk). That afternoon my parents, Chantel and Garrett, Ashley, Jason, Grandma Kay and Grandpa Karl flew into Lewiston. That day was full of food (pizza, Applebees, Oreos, cookies, chips and salsa), bowling and culminated in the best game of Curses I have ever witnessed (Thanks Dad for the Elmer Fudd impersonation). That night, Chantel and Garrett stayed with us. The following morning we had a big breakfast and then it was time to take graduation photos with my cap and gown. Bob and Cindy drove up from Emmett that morning, so we met them for lunch in Lewiston. We took a few group pictures just before it was time for me to head to Beasley Coliseum.

My class had to line up under the Coliseum and it was so hot. It didn't help that we were wearing heavy velvet graduation gowns and hoods. Finally, it was time for the ceremony to begin. Dr. Thandeka Ngwenyama was our master of ceremonies. I took her critical care rotation twice because she is amazing. Her concern for the animals entrusted in her care and her small group teaching style was excellent (even if it included being asked a lot of difficult questions). She always tried to make the students answer fit the question. Dean Slinker said a few words of congratulations. Our commencement speaker was Dr. Andy Roark who spoke about caring for people as well as animals and not being afraid. Then it was time for the  awarding of diploma covers and hooding. Dr. Parish and Dr. Rance Sellon were the hooders. I have worked with Dr. Parish often during my four years in Pullman. He was my advisor for my senior paper as well. Once all of us had walked across the stage we repeated The Veterinarian's Oath lead by Dr. Leathers our pathology professor who had retired earlier this year.

Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.

I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.

  
Afterwards there were refreshments. I tried to find all of my friends, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find all of them. On our way back to our house, Randy and I stopped by Dairy Queen for some celebratory ice cream.

I can't believe that my vet school career has officially ended. The WSU Collage of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2016 is full of some of the most incredible, kind, hard working, loyal people I have ever met. I am missing my friends already. Goodbye class of 2016 -until the next conference or class reunion.

Graduation Photos

Brooklin took graduation photos for me. It had been raining that morning and we were able to sneak in the photos in-between rain showers.

FDIU

Field Disease Investigation Unit: a three week rotation that focused on herd/population problems, developing a plan, taking samples, interpreting results, and giving feedback to producers.

I was on this rotation with Cassie, Betsy, Sarah, and Dr. Allen and to say we had a blast would be an understatement.

Week one- we researched different problems, talked with producers and veterinarians. We also put together our sampling plan and our goals for the operation visits.

Week two- travel 8 plus hours by van to Montana. We stayed with Sarah's aunt and uncle. The first operation involved working cows in constant wind, snow that was blowing sideways, and freezing temperatures. I also got some exercise as our only paper with all of the animal IDs blew away. I had to chase it over fences and across a huge pasture full of cows. Every time I took a step, the paper would blow another 10 feet away. Thankfully, it eventually stopped, and Dr. Allen drove the van out to pick me up. At midday, the producer and his wife fed us a wonderful dinner and later hot chocolate and cookies appeared outside.  

Second operation involved missing the turn and driving an extra hour and half in the snow and trying not to get the mini van stuck in the middle of no where without any cell service.

Week three- waiting for results, putting together reports, and giving a presentation about what found and our adventures to about 25 colleagues.

Seattle Humane Rotation

I spent the first two weeks of February in Bellevue Washington at the Seattle Humane shelter to complete my shelter medicine rotation. WSU CVM paid for our hotel rooms and they were very nice but only had a microwave and mini fridge. I had to get creative to figure out what to eat for two weeks (I don't want to eat any more lasagna for a while). During the rotation we (students) performed many steriliztion procedures on both dogs and cats and cared for any sick animals (we had 4 cats with urinary issues and all of them were either black or black and white).  My fellow classmates were my good friend Becky and Allison. Allison kept me laughing the entire two weeks. One night after a particularly long day we went out to dinner to the Cheesecake Factory.

One of the procedures I performed involved taking abdominal biopsies from a cat. I took samples of liver, spleen, mesenteric lymph node, jejunum, and duodenum. This was an older kitty who had been having diarrhea and ultrasound reveled thickened intestine. I took the biopsies in order to figure out what was going on. 

My dad's brother Doug and his family live nearby and I was able to visit them several times. It was so good for my heart to be with family. My mom flew up from Utah for the weekend and we had a great time shopping at Pike's Place and sampling chocolate and gelato.

The hotel was 5 minutes from the temple and I was able to go twice while I was there. I found comfort in spending time in this holy house. One afternoon, on my lunch break, I walked around the grounds. There were several benches within groves of trees that were just right for pondering. 

I had a wonderful time with my classmates. I was able to learn and try new procedures and overall improve my confidence with surgical procedures. This was my first exposure working at a shelter and it was an eye opening experience to say the least. I dearly missed my own animals and by the end of this rotation it had been three weeks since I had seen them. 

NAVLE Results

I passed my NAVLE!!!!!!!! I am going to be a veterinarian! 

I have had two phone interviews with practices in southern Idaho. I have a working interview with one as soon as I can get there and I'm discussing compensation packages with the other one. 

We will see what happens.

I really would like to know what's in store for our family but mostly I want to live with Randy.

(I'm getting close to the end of my small animal ICU rotation. As I'm typing this I'm sitting in a kennel with a dog who gets anxious when left alone . Overnights are not my favorite)

The Last 2 Months' Adventures

The first week of September I presented my senior paper (I am so glad that hurdle has been jumped and completed). I talked too fast, but at least its finally done. I have chosen my date to take the BIG TEST (aka the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination). It will be me and 3.5 years of study against 360 questions on November 25th at 9 am.

After I presented my senior paper Randy, the critters, and I drove down to Emmett to see Randy's parents. While there, we rode the horses, went to garage sales, attended the Boise temple, visited the aquarium, ate a lot of food, and window shopped. My mom came for a one day visit. Early the next morning after mom left Randy and I drove down to Utah to surprise her. We spent one morning at the  Hogle Zoo where we met up with Stephanie. My little sister Chantel got engaged to Garret. Garret's older sister Brittany and I are dear friends and our mothers are also best friends that we met while we lived in Florida. After all these years of joking that Garret would marry one of my sisters, I never thought it would actually happen. The night after the engagement both of our families went out to eat to celebrate. The following day was my cousin Ryan's mission farewell. I enjoyed being able to visit with my cousins and aunts and uncles.

My next rotation was at the Caine Center in Caldwell Idaho focusing on small ruminants. It was awesome! I feel comfortable with ultrasound guided pregnancy diagnosis in both sheep and alpacas. I was able to castrate a goat and an alpaca, perform fine needle aspirates on a cow, draw blood from goats, perform Tuberculosis testing in goats, and lance an abscess. On the weekends I drove back to Emmett to see Randy.

After two weeks at the Caine Center I had to return to Pullman for my next rotation (Community Practice). This time it was my turn to leave Randy. He started his new job as a Dear, Elk and Antelope  Technician for Idaho Fish and Game on September 28th. This position lasts for 8 months. I am so tired of being apart, but God has a plan for us and it will all work out.

My first day back in Pullman I came home to the house smelling like dog poop. Mitch had a bout of bloody diarrhea. Its crazy how when something happens to my own animals all training and logical thought leaves and panic easily sets in. Once again I am so so thankful that Amanda and Jake live down the street. The only thing I could think to do was to call Amanda. She literally came running to my aid and started to examine Mitch while I tried to clean up the mess in the house. I called the VTH and told them I was coming. Amanda drove Mitch and I to WSU and immediately started to run what we call the Big 4 (basic diagnostic tests) and placed an IV catheter while I sat on the floor, held Mitch, and tried keep my composure. She and Jake then took me to dinner and while we were at the hospital Jake cleaned my house. These people are the most selfless people I know. Thankfully, Mitch just needed some fluids and antibiotics and was able to come home the next evening. He is back to his normal, happy, goofy self.

I had a great time in Community Practice. I feel more comfortable with vaccines, talking to clients about preventive care, and working with cats. It seems like almost all of my cases were cats, especially kittens! On my surgery day, I repaired an areal hematoma in cat. During the two weeks, Shannon came to visit. I hadn't seen her since her graduation in May 2014. We sat and talked for a long while.

Last weekend Brooklin and I went apple picking at an orchard near campus. She also helped me pick out my Halloween costume for a Harry Potter themed party. We hadn't had a chance to talk in months.

Currently I am completing my preceptorship rotation. The preceptorship rotation is a month long arrangement at an approved clinic. I am at a mixed animal practice and its been fun so far. I have performed spays, neuters, mass removals, floated a horse, assisted in a C-section of a dog, identified a lameness in horse without anyone pointing it out to me first (personal win), and placed catheters. The doctors and technicians and the rest of the staff are great and have been very kind to me.

My life is busy, but it is very blessed.

Exotics Rotation

So Exotics is super duper cool!!! Dr. Finch was great, the techs were super helpful, and of course Jacki my classmate was awesome. We had a blast plus I was able to work with some pretty amazing animals - 

• Golden Eagles (I got to hold them!) 
• Owls- Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Short eared, Screech
• Other falcons- kestrels, Red tail hawk, Swainson hawk, Coopers hawks, Sharp-shinned hawk 
• Axolotl 
• African Frog
• Canada Goose
• Ferrets
• baby cottontail bunny
• baby birds- robin, flicker, starling, pigeon
• Rabbits 
• Spotted Leopard gecko 
• Macaw 

I was able to perform some cool procedures as well

• gave injections to reptiles 
• gave subq fluids to a golden eagle and a Guiana pig 
• neutered a rat and half a rabbit 
• changed bandage on a great horned owl
• got a lot of experience grabbing raptors and restraining them for exams and transport 
• force fed a great horned owl 
•  learned how to feed and care for baby birds and bunnies. 

Some procedures I got to watch and learn from

• How to perform an physical exam on a screaming macaw and other birds
• how to perform nail, beak, and feather beauty trim
• a mass removal from a 100 g bird
• radiographs of a box turtle, great horned owl, guiana pig
• The easiest way to grab a bird from its cage (it involves complete darkness) 

Weekend patient care was overwhelming- it took us 6 hours to complete morning patient care on Saturday, but to our credit we had over 50 animals to care for and we cut it down to 5 hours on Sunday. 

Good things

A few of the good things that I have done over the last two weeks of equine medicine 

passed a nasogastric tube on a horse twice without incident - stomach gas tastes just as gross as it sounds 

learned the joys of bottle feeding a few days old foal, being splattered with milk, foal milk mustaches

enjoyed a walk with my dear friend Brooklin one evening 

Soaked up some sunshine with Amanda, Jake, and Ashley at the Farmer's market, Pattys, and the U-pick flower garden 

Experienced the overwhelming good feeling of a sincere thank you from a client for taking care of her horse 

Had dinner with Becky and spent a few hours catching up on life- I miss seeing that girl every day 

Performed abdominal ultrasound on a horse

had a blast laughing with my rotation mates and the clinicians and eating ice cream

Bottle fed a tiny fawn

Took Mitch to a BBQ

Facetimed with my family


Yup- its been busy! 

Weeks 1-4

Oh man its been a crazy last fews weeks!

Week 1 in Critical Care was fantastic! I was able to see and do many great things. All the clinicians, interns, and techs were very helpful.

• CPR and emergency drugs (The intern setup a scenario for us and let us practice on a dummy)
• Managing a patient on ventilator 
• Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia 
• Ultrasography - T FAST and A FAST scans
• Pericardial Peritoneal Diaphragmatic hernia (the sac around the heart is continuous with the abdominal cavity)
• Recumbency care 
• Learning the basics around the hospital- filling pharmacy orders, how the different departments interact, who is responsible for what. 
• Basic care- setting up fluid pumps, syringe pumps, changing bandages
• Blood transfusions 

Week 2 - Vacation! (Much needed)

I drove down to Utah, with a pit stop in Emmett to drop off Mitch and Winter at the McBrides'. (Thank you for taking care of them!) Monday afternoon was Ashley's high school graduation. There were over 600 kids in her class. Afterwards following at crazy parking lot driving experience with Brandon and Grandma Kay we had dinner with Amber and Zach, Kamie and Garff, Brandon, Ryan, Max, Grandma Kay and Grandpa Karl at Longhorns. It was a blast, I laughed and laughed. Zach kept embarrassing Amber until she slinked down below the table to cover her face. I just wish Randy had been there. The next day Mom and I went shopping for scrub pants and suitable shoes. Wednesday, Mom and I flew down to  Las Vegas to spend a few days together. I think I'll have to do a separate entry for that trip - too much to share. We flew back to Utah Friday morning.

Waiting for the volcano to erupt at the Mirage

Randy finally arrived that evening. We celebrated by stuffing our faces at Texas Roadhouse. Saturday, Mom, Dad, Randy, Jason, and I went to the temple. Mom, Randy, and I did initiatories while Jason and Dad did baptisms. Randy, Jason, Dad, and I went the Air Force Museum. It was cool to hear my dad tell stories about the different planes. Later that day Chantel drove up from Orem and all of us went out to dinner and then went bowling with the Coxs. Sunday involved church, home videos, and dinner and games with the Coxs. That evening I had to say good bye to my sweet heart once again and he made the trek back to Idaho. Monday, Mom, Dad, Jason and I drove up to East Canyon to spend tim with my mom's family. Jason rode a mountain bike down a creek bed in the rain while I visited with my aunts and grandma. Later Mom and Dad let me have a go on the ATV down at the ranch. Too soon it was time to start loading up the car to head to Idaho. My good friend Maria came over while I packed and loaded the car. It is always good to visit with Maria, I wish it could have been a bit longer.

Week 3 & 4 - Rigby, Idaho

I spent 2 weeks at Mountain River Veterinary Hospital for my SIPE (the student selects any clinic they want). I stayed at my dear friend Brittany's house. Brittany and I have been best friends since high school. I met her when I moved to Florida (the second time) and we roomed together at BYU-I. It was fantastic to spend so much time together. She works two jobs so I read a lot of books and watched a bunch of movies when she wasn't home.  

Some of the interesting\fun things I participated in include

• assisting in the delivery of a mini foal. This was my first time witnessing a foal being born
• assisting in a C-section of a dog who had 8 healthy puppies. 
• drew blood from about 100 rams for Brucella testing 
• performed joint injections on a dog
• spayed 2 dogs and a cat
• floated 3 horses 
• assisted in several surgeries- jaw fracture on a horse, spinous process fracture on a horse, infected umbilicus on a foal
• dehorning goat kids with a laser 
• neutering cats 
• milked mare and tubed her foal (foal wasn't eating enough)
• came up with treatment plans for a variety of patients

Randy came over to visit on the weekend. When we checked into our hotel, Randy was wearing his Idaho Fish and Game Shirt. The man who was helping us check in gave us the government rate which saved us about 50$! We enjoyed dinner at Jonny Carinos and then picked up some groceries for the weekend. Saturday started with Reeds Dairy Ice cream at 11 am and perusing the local farmers market. We then headed up to Rexburg for lunch at Mill Hollow (we used to go here on dates all the time as they serve delicious sandwiches). After lunch we went to the temple to do sealings. It is always a wonderful experience to be in a sacred room with my husband serving husbands and wives who have passed on become sealed together for all eternity. We also participated in some sealing of daughters to parents. The sealer spoke Spanish and performed the ordinance in Spanish for those families who were from Spain. It was such a tender moment and a reminder of what is really important. We later met Sylvia and Bryan for dinner that lasted just shy of 4 hours! It has been a year since we saw them last and we had a lot to catch up on. 

After church on Sunday, Randy had to leave to get back to work. I took my scriptures and headed out to enjoy the sunshine on the banks of the Snake river. It rained (I mean poured) almost every day for the 2 weeks I was there so I wasn't about to sit inside while the sun was out. 

My last day at MRVH came and I had to start the 4.5 hour drive to Emmett to pick up the little ones. I stopped over in Twin Falls to meet Randy for dinner. I wish I could have spent longer then an hour with him, but I'll take anything thing I can get. Saturday, I woke up with a terrible stomach ache that lasted all day, but we made it home to Pullman safe and sound. I some how managed to get 3 loads of laundry done and make it to the store for necessities. I rounded off the evening with fruit juice popsicles (best thing ever! And the only thing that sounded appetizing to me) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

Life is good. I start on Equine Medicine in the morning! 

Spring Break Visit to the Boise Zoo

Monday of Spring Break, my mother-in-law and I went to the Boise Zoo. It has been a while since I have been to a zoo and it was fun to see all the animals. A club from school put together a behind the scenes tour. We were able to meet the zoo veterinarian and get a tour of the zoo vet hospital. The doctor discussed with us interesting cases, we went through some radiographs, and talked about the importance of flexibility when working with zoo animals because equipment usually isn't designed with tigers or hornbills in mind. Oh and porcupines stink!

The Patas monkeys were hilarious to watch

This sloth bear female was making kissing faces

It was hard to tell how many lemurs were in this pile, but I think we counted 4

Family time

Wallabies! If you look close you can see a baby poking his head out of the mamma in front

Another Leaving Day and Family Update

Randy left for southern Idaho this morning. Again. He is working for the University of Idaho as a crew leader on a Sage Grouse project and will come home in July. I'm not sure the next time I will get to see him. Spring Break is next month, so I will at least see him then, but hopefully sooner.

At church today my friend Ashlee visited with me about it while I tried not to burst into tears- again. She said something that I have never before thought of. I thought it would be easier or at least less painful this time Randy left because we have done this so many times. Ashlee responded something to the effect of,' As time goes on we love our spouses more and more, so it would make sense that you miss him more'. I like that way of thinking - it makes complete sense.

A little update about our last month-

Randy has applied for a graduate position working with Sage Grouse in South Dakota. The position would start in August. We are waiting to hear back from the professor. I hope he gets in! I feel like its his turn to achieve his dreams. He followed me here to Pullman and turned down other jobs so we could be together more often. Now its my turn to follow him and I will follow him anywhere.

This semester of school is a hundred times better in every way possible compared to last semester. I am really enjoying my classes particularly my Practice Management and Large Animal Surgery classes. Practice Management is my weekly dose of motivation to keep pursing my dreams and giving me tools to achieve life long success. Large Animal Surgery is a chance to be a doctor every Friday. My theriogenology labs are getting started and those should be a lot of fun. Tomorrow we are practicing bovine obstetrical manipulations.

Winter wanted to play Firefly with us last night

This week I am starting the second half of my senior paper- the research side. I am co-writing a case report with Dr. Fry about a set of triplet calves that at age 4 months had developed lymphoma. We are hoping to prove that the lymphoma started in one calf in utero and spread to the other two. Dr. Fry found a technique and a lab in Texas that should hopefully allow us to prove this. It involves preparing slides with tissue sections on them. The finished slides will be sent to Texas for the testing. I will be preparing the slides (possibly 600!). This exact technique is foreign to me and others at WADDL so there will be a fair about of trial and error.

Mitch and Winter as wonderful as always. I am going to depend on their companionship to get me through the next few months.

Randy and I spent our last day together doing a ton of laundry, packing, going on walk, playing board games, and going out to eat.

Several other events that occurred over the last month- We celebrated Randy's 31st birthday twice. Once the day before with the Gancinia's and again with Bryan and Rebecca the following day. Both times involved yummy food, dessert, and games. We had a Firefly marathon with Bryan and Rebecca (I think we watched 8 episodes) and Bryan treated us with amazing homemade pizza.   Randy spent a day last week with Washington, Idaho, and Organ Fish and Game Departments capturing Bighorn Sheep. He will have to tell you about it. He came home beaming with excitement.

I am grateful for the many blessing I have been given. I have the most incredible husband! I have many good friends who have already stepped in to help me in this difficult time. I have supportive family, hilarious animals, and a comfortable home. I am over halfway done with completing my goal of becoming a veterinarian at an incredible school. I have faith and trust in God that He is aware of me and my family and has a plan for us. When compared to my blessings, my trials diminish.

Ramblings (A lot of them)

Last week my dad and Grandpa Sheets came for a day to put on our new roof! And just in time since the rain just keeps coming. This was the first time Grandpa has been to our house. I was able to show him around school and he thought Mitch and Winter were hilarious.

I attended a lunch lecture this last week about equine infectious diseases worldwide and what is being  done to try to halt disease from spreading. One of my professors traveled to Ethiopia last year for a conference on this subject. Many people make their living using cart horses to transport anything they can find - people, bricks, construction materials, food, etc. Most of these horses are slim and some are very thin. The owners do not have the funds to pay for vaccines, routine health care, commercially made tack (they make saddles, bits, bridles out of whatever they can find), or proper hoof care let alone well built homes. They are living on less then $2 per day. There are several outreach groups that are providing treatment, vaccines, and education free of charge to the owners of these horses. This presentation reminded me just how much I have to be thankful for. I have never known want, I have never gone hungry for more then a few hours, I have clean water, a warm place to call home, a sewer system that works, animals that are companions, a wonderful education, the gospel of Jesus Christ, a loving husband, strong family support, good friends- what on earth could I possibly complain about???? What more could I possibly want or need?

I am humiliated to say that I can come up with more. This week Randy was offered a job working for University of Idaho working with Sage Grouse in a similar area to where he was earlier this year. So once again, my Randy is leaving me. I know I should be grateful that he continually acquires field jobs that will hopefully allow him to find a full time permanent job or get into graduate school. I am one of the lucky girls in my class that gets to live with her husband for 6 to 7 months a year, and not only see him for a few days during breaks for the 4 years.  But I am so tired to being left. I want to start a family, but I'm not sure if that will ever be possible with us constantly living apart and me going to school or work full time (since I have racked up quite a debt load). I am so tired of being hopeful that something is going to work out to have it come crashing down. I am tired of not being excited about what I am learning. This semester has beaten me up and spit me back out again. It has made me question why did I ever want this to begin with. What is it that is so wonderful about vet med that is worth all of this effort and sacrifice? The song 'Done' by The Band Perry is a near perfect description about how I feel about this semester.  

Then there is actual clinical practice of vet med. I probably read too many blog posts about how difficult it is to be a vet and a normal human being. 'You can never please anyone' seems to be the biggest complaint. Clients blaming you for only caring about the money, working late every day of the week and weekends, not having time to properly care for a family, the list goes on. Since I haven't made it there yet, I can't say I have had these experiences, but they don't seem too outrageous. I realize I don't want to work overnights, weekends, or emergencies all the time. Does that make me a bad/lazy veterinarian? I don't want my kids raised in day care.  This would be much easier if I didn't go to vet school. Then we could go where ever Randy got a job, I could stay home and raise our family. But for some reason I was strongly prompted to apply for vet school at WSU. As Randy won't let me forget, I am supposed to be here. I thought I knew why, but now I am not so sure. I can't see why Heavenly Father would ask me to do something that 'seems' to go against what I have been taught. I can't see how it is possible to be a good wife, mother, friend, daughter, veterinarian, and pay off my student loans. There does not seem to be enough time to do all those things well.

My sweet Randy keeps reminding me there is a reason, that everything will work out, don't give up, and to remain faithful. A blogpost from Veterinarians Behaving Badly, has become one of my favorites. It is formatted as a letter to a new grad and if you want to read it you can find it here. The author says 'Focus on the animals... remember you will have limitations... our profession rocks... you are a healer... do not let this job take over your life...'. Slowly I may be able to find my passion for vet med. Hopefully spending time with family and not cramming for exams will give allow my exhausted brain to find my reason why.

SAVMA Symposium

I went to Colorado at the end of Spring Break for the Student American Veterinary Medical Association Symposium in Fort Collins. Each year a different vet school hosts the symposium and the students put together a 3 day conference with wet labs, lectures, dinners, day trips, etc.

This trip was the first time I flew into an unknown airport and got on a shuttle by myself, and arrived at a hotel that I have never been to before. I was proud of myself for getting everywhere on time and not getting too terribly lost. 

The first day I took a nap and checked out all the booths and got a bunch of cool stuff. The opening ceremonies for the symposium included a bunch of 5 minute talks on all sorts of topics- from family, magic tricks, to why its awesome to be vet, to just funny stories.  Afterwards, we loaded up in a bunch of busses and headed to downtown Fort Collins. Fort Collins had a cute downtown town. It was so clean and full of good places to eat (including a gelato shop!) and shop. The  Symposium provided everyone a 15$ visa card for food that night. We ate a pizza place called Old Chicago.   

On the bus headed back to the hotel- Laura, Becky, and me 

The next day was the bovine palpation exam. The first part of the exam was a written test and only the top six teams get to move on to the next part of the exam. We did not move on, but I was okay with that. I wanted to go to a lecture with Temple Grandin and get lunch. The lecture was a question and answer series. This lady is amazing. She has autism, but has a PhD and almost single handily changed the way cattle are handled.

That afternoon I had a wet lab learning small animal emergency procedures. I learned how to place interosseous catheters, chest tubes, esophageal tubes, and tracheotomy tubes. It was fantastic! The evening was spent a conference center with lots of yummy food and live music. 

I spent Saturday going to lectures. I heard some interesting talks on animal hoarding, zoo animal training, equine sports medicine and advice from a veterinarian. The evening involved a semi-formal dinner (with the napkins folded like dog bones!) and a talk given by a veterinarian oncologist.  

Me and Miss Becky 

Sunday I flew back to Spokane (we got dropped off at the airport THREE hours prior!!!!) I enjoyed my time at the symposium learning new things, getting to know my own classmates better, and hearing about other vet schools. I am grateful that I attend WSU. Its a pretty unique and incredible place.

  It was lovely to be back in my own bed with Mitch and Winter. Just wish Randy could have come home with me

Bark for Life

So much sunshine!!! I love it!!! 

Mitch and I went to a local park for Bark for Life. 

Rebecca and Mitch

Carolynn and Mitch

Sara and Olive

Two black 'n whites

Megan and Loki

As the result of a fundraiser- Dr. Lampa was chosen by the
 vet school to dress up like Aladdin and be in a photo booth

I love Mitch's face- Help me!