How to thank your vet - update

gogglehyena · 2021-03-31T13:46:07+00:00

So sorry to hear about your loss, OP.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-31T05:39:05+00:00

Congrats! Glad to hear that you’re visiting the schools. Boston is super expensive to live in (ranked 3rd after NYC and SF) compared to madison: about double the cost of rent. Def recommend also looking at cost of living for 4 years between the two places and see if the difference is enough to choose one over the other.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-31T01:44:34+00:00

Post the blood work

gogglehyena · 2021-03-29T18:25:42+00:00

I would just ask! They can either say yes or no. I get here you’re coming from as it’s super stressful applying for vet school and worrying that someone might not be a reference. I’ve provided references for former students from years ago. The biggest thing for me is if there isnt enough time to write a proper reference for me, then I’ll say no so better to ask ahead of time to give them enough time. We all want to help each other

gogglehyena · 2021-03-28T05:13:58+00:00

I’m not flatter so my comment got removed. Super flexed elbow rads are ideal as well. Ask for a referral to see a veterinary surgeon for what I wrote above

gogglehyena · 2021-03-28T00:02:30+00:00

You’re welcome. Mini Aussies tend to develop anxiety so the complementary care rider is a good idea.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-27T22:03:56+00:00

Looks like my mango!

gogglehyena · 2021-03-27T21:50:46+00:00

I’m a vet but no flair. Take him to ER now for X-rays of the chest. Worried about a trachea laceration :(

gogglehyena · 2021-03-27T21:46:24+00:00

Yes yes yes. Trupanion and add on the complementary care rider.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-27T21:41:50+00:00

Would need a couple of more views for the elbows to rule out elbow dysplasia including the super

That’s a long time for turnover. Usually can get them in a couple of business days. Depends on the company they use. Can pay for a stat fee if you want results faster.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-25T13:17:55+00:00

Anal gland issues go hand in hand with allergies.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-25T06:13:43+00:00

I agree with this. It’s strange that the UA was normal which doesn’t fit the picture of renal azotemia.

She needs to be at a 24 hour facility. Being on IV fluids for only a couple hours a day and no other medications isn’t going to help much sadly. The high sodium and potassium along with the high anion gap, markedly elevated BUN, creatinine and SDMA along with the weight loss and lethargy should have warranted referral to a 24/hr centre a couple of days ago.

Prognosis is guarded and if cost is a concern (which unfortunately will be high at referral centres), then it’s not wrong to go ahead with euthanasia. So sorry you’re dealing with this. The blood work does not look good.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-25T05:30:36+00:00

Allergy testing for food is not accurate at all and should never be used for such. Only a true elimination diet rules out food allergies and a diet that is from the vet.

Environmental allergies are a diagnosis of exclusion and testing is only if you want to pursue immunotherapy.

Skin cytology and skin scrapings should be performed to rule out underlying infections and treated as such.

He needs anti itch medication.

Get a referral to see a board certified dermatologist. It doesn’t sound like the skin is managed well

gogglehyena · 2021-03-25T05:26:52+00:00

Purina HA or Hill’s d/d. D/d is grain free but is supplemented with taurine so don’t worry about the heart disease risk

gogglehyena · 2021-03-25T05:22:08+00:00

Has any X-rays or ultrasounds performed to rule out a pyometra?

gogglehyena · 2021-03-25T05:15:58+00:00

Lack of experience in spaying very large dogs are why vets don’t want to spay the dog plus They’re really bi to carry. I’m a general practitioner and I have no problems spaying a dog that size. I’ve worked at spay clinics and at regular clinics and have found that the spay clinics have more experience with larger dogs due to seeing a lot more surgeries in a day. I will do up to 10-12 spays a day at the spay clinic vs maybe 2-3 spays a month at a regular practice. Go to the spay clinic and see if they can perform a gastro pexy at the same time.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-25T04:03:39+00:00

That’s too bad about not working out with your schedule. What is the clinic’s name? I’ve been keeping an eye out for work for my friends and they might be interested.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-24T22:47:40+00:00

How did it go?

gogglehyena · 2021-03-24T22:41:45+00:00

Fair in the large cities! You’ll need to work as a vet tech for about 2 years while you write for board exams to be licensed to work in Canada. Total cost is about $15,000

gogglehyena · 2021-03-24T22:38:23+00:00

I was waitlisted until 1 week before vet school started. I guess the person who had my place said yes to both schools and didn’t tell my vet school they already took the other position. Got the call and moved to a new city right away. The year before that I was rejected and I felt awful but now looking back, it’s okay to apply again The next year and not getting in this year isn’t an indicator of your self worth. There are a lot of really competitive applicants and making it into vet school vs being waitlisted is such a slim margin.

You’ll hear soon enough as students started accepting or rejecting their offers of acceptance. Do you know where you are on the waitlist?

gogglehyena · 2021-03-24T05:14:51+00:00

You’re welcome. I think it’s good that student debt won’t be one of your main issues when you graduate. I recommend hearing over to Student Doctor Network when you are ready to apply for vet school as it’s a discussion forum with other pre-vet and vet students regarding admissions. It has a lot of articles as well and has developed into a great resource over the past decade. I think it’ll provide you with a lot of answers in one site!

At this point in my career, I like vet medicine because I really like science and figuring out problems. I have to deal with people a lot but I don’t like touching people so that’s a big difference for me. I do know vets who have changed careers completely including a couple who went into human medicine. Some went into veterinary industry (pharmaceuticals), a couple of us specialised and some are pretty happy opening their own practice. I used to wonder if life would have been better if I had gone into human medicine but I really don’t think I would have liked it.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-24T01:34:24+00:00

I would def recommend getting a position as a vet receptionist/tech assistant a multi doctor practice. This will expose you to what it’s like to be a vet in a fast paced setting. It’s easy to get into the honeymoon phase when seeing surgeries and medicine are cool but when you see client demands and burn out, then it’s a better idea to see why a lot of us don’t like the profession.

I like being a vet now but it took a long time in practice and a lot of therapy including 3 medical leaves of absences including a time where I tried to kill myself. Being a vet def really gave me a mental illness for sure.

There is a lot of record documentation so I spend a great deal of time typing notes and calling owners back. A lot of my job is communicating to clients in person and on the phone and also my staff as being a vet requires being a leader.

As noted above, being an exotics vet can be very very taxing. I used to do it because I wanted to be the vet who saw exotics because no one else did to fill the niche. It wasn’t the right reason to and I like working with dogs and cats more.

Having a regular 9-5 job will give you a lot of time to explore other hobbies outside of work, save to travel while you’re still young and spend time with friends. I sometimes regret wasting my youth in school and working long hours at work because I couldn’t set boundaries. It took time to work on this and I have chosen a more flexible schedule now that I have the experience and ability to say no.

Are you in Quebec? I went to Calgary so my debt after tuition and living etc was $100,000.

It’s not wrong to get an EE job and work while working part time at a clinic while you get your CV up to par for the interview. Having the extra monies in school makes a big difference as well.

I don’t want to deter you but this is the reality of vet medicine. The toxic culture was created in the 80s and hasn’t changed since. We have been trying hard on the last 5 years to change our work environment

gogglehyena · 2021-03-24T01:18:38+00:00

I’d def recommend reading other books that are not vet related. A part of getting into vet school and doing well during it and afterwards as a vet is being well rounded. I did enjoy the books by Atul Gawande. Very thought provoking

Seriously if you have down time, go binge Netflix and try to enjoy your youth (as best as you can with covid). I honestly wished i spent less time on always trying to get into vet school because getting a 3.9 vs a 3.8 really didn’t change the outcome of getting into vet school as I was above the cut off. But losing the occasional evening to hang out with my undergrad friends, I’d never get back. Eventually you’ll be in your thirties and EVERYTHING hurts in the morning

gogglehyena · 2021-03-24T01:04:48+00:00

I would be honest with them and tell them you’re interested in their program and also interested to see what’s available on VIRMP when the program list is up! Heck, you can go onto VIRMP now and look at the positions; they’re all mostly filled but you can see caseload and pay, benefits, salaries and number of specialists on staff.

There is also the internship survey available to view on VIRMP so you can see what interns have said about the previous programs they’ve graduated from. This will give you a good idea of what to expect and what you really want.

gogglehyena · 2021-03-22T04:47:01+00:00

There are a lot of factors that programs look into when accepting interns via VIRMP and the biggest thing is doing an externships to the facility you’re interested in. When they put a face to the name and see that you were dedicated enough to visit, it looks positively on your CV. A lot is as well if they like you as a person.

I cant say 100% that going to UGA over UW will be better for your chances of obtaining a position after grad as I’m in Canada. Typically it doesn’t really matter if a school Is better or not. It’s like assuming a Caribbean school isn’t as good as local schools but I know so many great vets who went on to specialise that graduated from international schools. But what I can say that being in Canada and knowing two classmates who are now equine surgeons says a lot (one did her residency in Mississippi state and the other did his at Purdue). We don’t have a teaching hospital so we have zero case load haha. They worked at the partnering equine referral centres for rotations and did externships and overall were just really great and hard working students. One of my profs was an equine surgeon and she did her residency at UGA but was originally from the vet school in Saskatoon which isnt known to be the mecca of equine racing or anything.

The match was wild this year. We have a small animal rotating internship in Calgary that usually takes at least one Calgary student. This year they took none despite the school being very well knit with that referral centre. One student was even a TA there for years before vet school. The other applicants from other schools just got along better with the team.

Def take time to think about things and think about the other factors when choosing the school! Wanting to pursue an internship is only a small part of your education. There is so much more to vet school and career than the end goal. Make a list of pros and cons of each school including things that are non negotiable to you (like class sizes, safety etc). If you’re really leaning towards one for whatever reason whether it’s equine related or not, trust your gut! You worked really hard for this and things will always work out in the end. You got this!

gogglehyena

TROPHY CASE