Something I wrote on Nov. 21 while working at the shelter
Procedure count: 2 cat spays, 1 cat neuter
Well today is going significantly better than yesterday - I have heat today!!! AND, it was done early enough that the place was actually warm when I got home. And of course I cranked the heat so it is really cooking in here! I also took a hot bath when I got home, so I am seriously making up for yesterday.
My first day at the shelter went well for the most part. Dr. N is really cool and he is great at what he does. He can objectively make decisions that are in the best interest of the shelter, however he still really has a heart. Their family cat passed away recently from cancer, and they want to get a new cat, however he can’t decide on which one, because as he put it, “How can I make the decision that this one gets a home while the others do not?” He does a wonderful job there, and I can’t imagine what they would do without him. He also goes out on cruelty cases and testifies in court - says that is probably the most gratifying thing he does.
I spent the better part of the morning touring the facility (which is immense and amazing, with a million dedicated employees/volunteers) and doing ‘vet checks’ with Dr. N. Lunch for a half an hour, then to the surgery table in the afternoon. I spayed two cats and neutered a cat - Dr. N said I worked really fast, however he did give me some great pointers. Tomorrow I will likely do lots more - hoping to get some mass removals or cool stuff like that.
Most of you know me as a predominantly dog person, which I feel I am (although I couldn’t help but be taken aback at the sheer number of cats available in just this one shelter - think of how many shelters there are in the country, and those are some amazing numbers!) Although many dogs today touched my heart, there were a few I want to write about.
Billie was a 7 year old, speckled grey (not sure of the exact term for her coloring, however I have never seen a dog like her) Great Dane (see pictures below). She had been surrendered by her owner due to the owner being wheelchair-bound, and unable to care for her any longer. On physical examination, Billie had a large, solitary, proliferative mass on her left maxilla inside her mouth. It was rock hard, and was a tiny bit ulcerated. She had continued to eat well, and was in good body condition, so the best guess was that this thing, although likely not comfortable to have, had not yet bothered her to a significant degree. She was a very sweet dog - a bit nervous and dying to get out of her cage. After examining her, Dr. N decided that euthanasia was the best option for this dog - realistically-speaking (which I know many people don’t want to hear), this dog was not going to find a forever home, unless it was with some sap like me who couldn’t bear the thought of this dog spending her last months in a cage in a shelter. I asked Dr. N if he thought we could surgically de-bulk this thing, and I’m certain he would have let us do it if Billie had a home lined up. I was all ready to read up on hemi-maxillectomies and to do it if he had said the word. We sedated her and got a good look at the mass - it was rock hard, probably osteosarcoma. In the end they decided since she didn’t have a home for sure, she was to be euthanized. I petted her beautiful grey head and soothed her as she took her last breaths. I cried. I don’t think I ever won’t cry. I just know I could never have that job. I regret not agreeing to take her and give her a great life for the year she probably had left, if that. But I can barely support myself on the student loan money I get.
There was Jade, a one year-old Pitbull with suspected demodicosis (Demodex mange) on her ears and feet. She was honey-colored, small (maybe 20 lbs) with a white stripe down her forehead toward her nose. She was scared, but once she realized we were not going to hurt her, she brightened up. She was a sweet, friendly little dog - vocal if you stopped paying attention to her for one second!! They did several skin scrapings, and demodex mites are the kind of mites that are relatively easy to find on scraping - but to no avail. There were no mites to be found on this textbook case!!! Adult demodex is difficult to cure, and often times it cannot be cured. Had this dog had demodex, she likely would have been euthanized. Dr. N decided she could go for a temperament test, however with Pitbulls, as they are often bred for fighting, the thought was that she would either be euthanized for demodex or for temperament. She passed with flying colors. Dr. N himself re-scraped her and still could not find mites. So she has a reprieve - for now. She is a sweet girl, and she would be the perfect dog for some cool, college chick.
I was disgusted to read most of the ‘intake sheets’ - the info sheets that are filled out when the animals are surrendered by their owners. Very few pets actually get lost - fortunately there were two there today whose owners were coming to get them. Most of these animals are surrendered for any possible reason - one time there were some people who surrendered a dog because they cut down the tree they used to tie it to! People disgust me. I know now why I chose to be a vet rather than a human doctor. I can’t believe that pets truly are THAT disposable. No time for the dog seems to be a popular one - I mean, really. In a perfect world, we’d all be able to stay home and play with our dogs every day, but the reality is people have to work. And I’ll guarantee you that all of those dogs in that shelter would rather sit in your house for 8 hours a day alone than be in a cage or dead. Period. Owner too sick/debilitated/old to take care of the dog anymore - I mean, tell me where are the families of these people? Where was the family of Billie’s owner? Did they realize how much this dog meant to her owner? I’ll tell you that if something happened to my mom or my brother and his wife, I’d have their pets with me in a second. The whole thing just disgusts me so much. And people walk up with their pair of elderly beagles, and say, “Oh I just know you are going to find them a good home.” to which the shelter employees say that they may not, and there is a good probability that the dogs will end up being euthanized. The reality is people don’t want to adopt two elderly beagles, and right now the shelter has three pairs of them. I do realize that there are some who are in dire straights and must relinquish their pets, however it amazes me how many find them so disposable. And what happened to the owner’s responsibility for that pet - why didn’t they try and find it a good home to go to?
Two last things:
1. Go get your pet and stare into their eyes and tell them that, never, under no circumstances will you ever abandon them. They are your family. F*#& boyfriends/girlfriends who don’t like pets - they’re not worth your time.
2. For you vet students out there who read my journal (all 3 of you LOL) - make time to volunteer at your local shelter. Do stuff other people can’t do - like spay and neuter. This is the only way we will ever even make a dent in the feline overpopulation problem in this country (canine too). Take one Saturday every month - it’s not much to ask. As a private practitioner, find ways to offer low-cost or free spay/neuter to your low-income clients - at least they are trying to do the right thing. Its ok to ask them to show you something that proves they are truly low-income - heaven knows people with money and without conscience will try to abuse this privilege as well. Educate everyone about spay and neuter. Familiarize yourself with some statistics and spew them out on everyone. Encourage people to rescue and adopt from humane societies - kill or no kill. Refusing to support kill shelters doesn’t help save animals - it helps more and more die. Kill shelters are often open-intake - meaning they won’t refuse anyone. Meaning animals in bad situations have refuge there. No kill shelters often have restrictions on intake, meaning if an animal is not likely to find a home, they won’t take it. Meaning animals in bad situations stay in bad situations if they are not deemed adoptable. In our career we swear to care for animals - do right by them, even if it costs you a few bucks. Support your local shelter, even if they are doing all the spays/neuters that you think you could be profiting from. They are doing a world of good out there.
I could never do the job these people do. I admire them and respect them more than I respect the President. Believe you me, I will take at least one Saturday a month to do spays and neuters after I finish school. And believe this too - if my future husband is a vet, he will be the kind of person that not only supports my ideals, but will be right there alongside me, spaying and neutering as well.
For everyone else - find what you are passionate about and make a difference - even if it goes unnoticed.
Well today is going significantly better than yesterday - I have heat today!!! AND, it was done early enough that the place was actually warm when I got home. And of course I cranked the heat so it is really cooking in here! I also took a hot bath when I got home, so I am seriously making up for yesterday.
My first day at the shelter went well for the most part. Dr. N is really cool and he is great at what he does. He can objectively make decisions that are in the best interest of the shelter, however he still really has a heart. Their family cat passed away recently from cancer, and they want to get a new cat, however he can’t decide on which one, because as he put it, “How can I make the decision that this one gets a home while the others do not?” He does a wonderful job there, and I can’t imagine what they would do without him. He also goes out on cruelty cases and testifies in court - says that is probably the most gratifying thing he does.
I spent the better part of the morning touring the facility (which is immense and amazing, with a million dedicated employees/volunteers) and doing ‘vet checks’ with Dr. N. Lunch for a half an hour, then to the surgery table in the afternoon. I spayed two cats and neutered a cat - Dr. N said I worked really fast, however he did give me some great pointers. Tomorrow I will likely do lots more - hoping to get some mass removals or cool stuff like that.
Most of you know me as a predominantly dog person, which I feel I am (although I couldn’t help but be taken aback at the sheer number of cats available in just this one shelter - think of how many shelters there are in the country, and those are some amazing numbers!) Although many dogs today touched my heart, there were a few I want to write about.
Billie was a 7 year old, speckled grey (not sure of the exact term for her coloring, however I have never seen a dog like her) Great Dane (see pictures below). She had been surrendered by her owner due to the owner being wheelchair-bound, and unable to care for her any longer. On physical examination, Billie had a large, solitary, proliferative mass on her left maxilla inside her mouth. It was rock hard, and was a tiny bit ulcerated. She had continued to eat well, and was in good body condition, so the best guess was that this thing, although likely not comfortable to have, had not yet bothered her to a significant degree. She was a very sweet dog - a bit nervous and dying to get out of her cage. After examining her, Dr. N decided that euthanasia was the best option for this dog - realistically-speaking (which I know many people don’t want to hear), this dog was not going to find a forever home, unless it was with some sap like me who couldn’t bear the thought of this dog spending her last months in a cage in a shelter. I asked Dr. N if he thought we could surgically de-bulk this thing, and I’m certain he would have let us do it if Billie had a home lined up. I was all ready to read up on hemi-maxillectomies and to do it if he had said the word. We sedated her and got a good look at the mass - it was rock hard, probably osteosarcoma. In the end they decided since she didn’t have a home for sure, she was to be euthanized. I petted her beautiful grey head and soothed her as she took her last breaths. I cried. I don’t think I ever won’t cry. I just know I could never have that job. I regret not agreeing to take her and give her a great life for the year she probably had left, if that. But I can barely support myself on the student loan money I get.
There was Jade, a one year-old Pitbull with suspected demodicosis (Demodex mange) on her ears and feet. She was honey-colored, small (maybe 20 lbs) with a white stripe down her forehead toward her nose. She was scared, but once she realized we were not going to hurt her, she brightened up. She was a sweet, friendly little dog - vocal if you stopped paying attention to her for one second!! They did several skin scrapings, and demodex mites are the kind of mites that are relatively easy to find on scraping - but to no avail. There were no mites to be found on this textbook case!!! Adult demodex is difficult to cure, and often times it cannot be cured. Had this dog had demodex, she likely would have been euthanized. Dr. N decided she could go for a temperament test, however with Pitbulls, as they are often bred for fighting, the thought was that she would either be euthanized for demodex or for temperament. She passed with flying colors. Dr. N himself re-scraped her and still could not find mites. So she has a reprieve - for now. She is a sweet girl, and she would be the perfect dog for some cool, college chick.
I was disgusted to read most of the ‘intake sheets’ - the info sheets that are filled out when the animals are surrendered by their owners. Very few pets actually get lost - fortunately there were two there today whose owners were coming to get them. Most of these animals are surrendered for any possible reason - one time there were some people who surrendered a dog because they cut down the tree they used to tie it to! People disgust me. I know now why I chose to be a vet rather than a human doctor. I can’t believe that pets truly are THAT disposable. No time for the dog seems to be a popular one - I mean, really. In a perfect world, we’d all be able to stay home and play with our dogs every day, but the reality is people have to work. And I’ll guarantee you that all of those dogs in that shelter would rather sit in your house for 8 hours a day alone than be in a cage or dead. Period. Owner too sick/debilitated/old to take care of the dog anymore - I mean, tell me where are the families of these people? Where was the family of Billie’s owner? Did they realize how much this dog meant to her owner? I’ll tell you that if something happened to my mom or my brother and his wife, I’d have their pets with me in a second. The whole thing just disgusts me so much. And people walk up with their pair of elderly beagles, and say, “Oh I just know you are going to find them a good home.” to which the shelter employees say that they may not, and there is a good probability that the dogs will end up being euthanized. The reality is people don’t want to adopt two elderly beagles, and right now the shelter has three pairs of them. I do realize that there are some who are in dire straights and must relinquish their pets, however it amazes me how many find them so disposable. And what happened to the owner’s responsibility for that pet - why didn’t they try and find it a good home to go to?
Two last things:
1. Go get your pet and stare into their eyes and tell them that, never, under no circumstances will you ever abandon them. They are your family. F*#& boyfriends/girlfriends who don’t like pets - they’re not worth your time.
2. For you vet students out there who read my journal (all 3 of you LOL) - make time to volunteer at your local shelter. Do stuff other people can’t do - like spay and neuter. This is the only way we will ever even make a dent in the feline overpopulation problem in this country (canine too). Take one Saturday every month - it’s not much to ask. As a private practitioner, find ways to offer low-cost or free spay/neuter to your low-income clients - at least they are trying to do the right thing. Its ok to ask them to show you something that proves they are truly low-income - heaven knows people with money and without conscience will try to abuse this privilege as well. Educate everyone about spay and neuter. Familiarize yourself with some statistics and spew them out on everyone. Encourage people to rescue and adopt from humane societies - kill or no kill. Refusing to support kill shelters doesn’t help save animals - it helps more and more die. Kill shelters are often open-intake - meaning they won’t refuse anyone. Meaning animals in bad situations have refuge there. No kill shelters often have restrictions on intake, meaning if an animal is not likely to find a home, they won’t take it. Meaning animals in bad situations stay in bad situations if they are not deemed adoptable. In our career we swear to care for animals - do right by them, even if it costs you a few bucks. Support your local shelter, even if they are doing all the spays/neuters that you think you could be profiting from. They are doing a world of good out there.
I could never do the job these people do. I admire them and respect them more than I respect the President. Believe you me, I will take at least one Saturday a month to do spays and neuters after I finish school. And believe this too - if my future husband is a vet, he will be the kind of person that not only supports my ideals, but will be right there alongside me, spaying and neutering as well.
For everyone else - find what you are passionate about and make a difference - even if it goes unnoticed.