Day 5, April 21, Final Day

Today was the last day of AVM, and as I said yesterday it was over way to quickly.
We had a lecture on "Wolves in Public Policy", and I learned that wolves have killed 3 people in the past few years (these were the first people in written history). The first two humans were killed because they went into an inclosure with wild wolves at night, and they were both relatively short. It is very strongly recommended that you do NOT do this.

The third person turned out to be feeding a bear (and was killed by said bear), and the wolf that was though to have killed him/her came along after said person was dead and devoured the corpse. When the wolf was shot, and the autopsy performed on the cadaver they found the bones and tissue of the person in it's stomach. They later found out that the bear had killed him/her.

Now that I have grossed you out, I suggest that we get back on topic. Next we had a class on zoonoses, which are diseases, fuguses, and viruses that can infect both animals and people (such as Rabies, Mad Cow, and Ringworm). We then had an incredibly short class on ethics. Like if a woman comes in with a perfectly healthy, reasonably aged pet and tells you to put it down because she is moving into an apartment building with her boyfriend, and both the apartment building and the boyfriend don't want the dog in the apartment. If she comes home with the dog, her boyfriend will shoot it. We had to decide what to do, whether to put the dog to sleep, call the ASPCA or various other options. What would you do?

After the ethics "class" we had to fill out evaluations of the program, and most of us finished very quickly. After that we had lunch and went to the SCAVMA store (gift shop). We then had a lecture on Wildlife Veterinary Medicine.
A few tips to you who have rabbits and/or birds nesting in your yards. Don't take baby bunnies you see alone on the ground. Mothers are only around at dawn and evening, because the nests aren't very well hidden, so if a predator saw a mother rabbit hanging around a certain place then they would know where the nest was.
If you see birds trying to fly but can't in the spring and summer, they are most likely fledglings who are trying to fly for the first time. DON'T pick them up! They need to learn how to fly on their own. Also keep your cat indoors if you see birds or rabbits in your yard.

After the Wildlife Veterinary Medicine lecture we gave our presentations and went home. This has been a great educational experience for me, and if you have any interest in becoming a vet or are considering a career in anything to do with animals I strongly suggest that you go to this program.

Day 4, April 20

Today we went on a field trip to Appleton Farms and Wolf Hollow (a wolf sanctuary for wolves raised in captivity) in Ipswitch. First we went to Appleton Farms, curiously enough there were no apples grown on the farm. It was a farm that had been owned by the Appleton family for about 500 years (I think), and it is still a working cow farm. The little calves were so cute! (I am going to upload pictures of them and the wolves later.) Most of the people in the AVM group let out a collective "AAAAAAAwwwwwwwww........". So anyway, back on topic. We had a tour of said farm and learned about its extensive history. We had lunch at the Appleton Farms.

After lunch we climbed back into the bus and rode to the Wolf Hollow wolf sanctuary. When we got there the wolves began howling at the bus. We got out when the sanctuary keeper came out to meet us. We then went to see the wolves and listen to the sanctuary lady talk about the wolves and how their species were hunted almost to extinction in something called the Predator Wars. Even President Rosevelt said it was okay to kill all the wolves. We also learned some of the status levels in a wolf pack; the Alpha (leader), Beta (2nd-in-command), and the Omega (outcast (sorta) ). I loved watching these wolves, and I want to go back soon. Attention teachers, this would make a GREAT educational field trip!!!

Tomorrow is the last day of AVM, and in my opinoin it was over WAY to quickly. Byes.

Day 3, April 19

Today we had Introduction to Anatomy in the Anatomy Building (Big surprise there). In this class we looked at previously dissected cadavers (a horse's head, a cat, and a dog), and we learned the various organs in each animals body. Surprisingly enough, all mammals' organs have the same basic structure and layout.

After we had thoroughly explored each cadaver/corpse/dead animal we went back to the hall where we meet in the morning to watch a video called "Wolves at Our Door", about a team of people who watched a pack of wolves to learn more about their social lives and to prove that they aren't really vicious towards humans. It turns out that wolves are more scared of humans than we are of them. Also humans have killed about 2 million wolves, and wolves have killed none of us.

After the movie we went to the library to finish work on our projects for another hour. After all the groups finished work on their project presentations we went to the cafeteria to have lunch, after which have a lecture on being a veterinarian and how to get into vet school and stuff like that.

After the lecture we had another about Infectious Disease. We learned about various bacteria and what they do, and that for every human cell there are 2 bacteria. About half way through the class we had a Jeopardy game. I got all my questions right, and my team won the game.

After the game and class were over we went to the sheep barn to learn about taking care of sheep. We learned how to catch and tip a sheep (not with money). One of the lambs had a "parrot jaw", or an over-shot top jaw like a parrot's beck, and it had to be bottle fed because it couldn't nurse off its' mother. Tommorrow we are going on a field trip to Appleton Farms and Wolf Hollow in Ipswitch. Byes.

Day 2, April 18

Today when I got to the clinic I was one of the first people there and so I took a seat in the corner and waited for my friends to arrive. A few minutes later everyone took a seat around the big table in the center, and one by one we stood up said our names, and what we had learned the previous day. I was the last one to go, and I said that I learned about rumen donators.

After I said my names and what I had learned everyone collected their stuff and we left to go to the library, where we gathered into groups of five depending on what we wanted to do for projects. I chose the top ten avian diseases and joined the group. We worked on our presentations for the next two hours.

After we got a reasonable start on the projects we then went to the Anatomy Building to learn how vets check dogs in appointments, and we were also allowed to test the reflexes, eyes, blood flow/circulation, heart rate, and mucus flow. After this we took the dogs for a quick walk before lunch. After everyone had finished eating we still had half an hour before or next "class", so we played soccer (YAY!!! :) )

After lunch and soccer (the score was one all) we went to the Varis building where we were lectured on Congenital Defects in Livestock. It was incredibly interesting, even though it has put me off beef forever. But luckily enough, I still want to be a vet.

Next we had to go back to the Anatomy Building to look at Radiographs (X-rays), and a Case Study, where we looked at a case and had to decide various things about what to do. Such as we had to decide what to ask the patients owner about the medications the dog was on, and then decide what tests to run, and also the diagnosis.

Today was more interesting than yesterday, and tomorrow we get to watch a dissection, as well as a video about wolves. Bye. :)

Day 1, April 17

Today was my first day at Adventures in Veterinary Medicine. My mother and I arrived at the Admissions Office, and we were directed to the second floor where the registration took place after all the students had gotten a free AVM T-shirt and water bottle. After the registration, the parents left. We then were split into groups (Canine and Equine, I was in Canine) and toured around the campus by our group leaders.

After the tour we went to the the horse barn to visit a cow named Portia who was a Bovine Rumen donator. The protazoa digest the food in a bovine's stomach, and when all the protazoa dies/is taken over by another bacteria the bovine will die of starvation, no matter how much it eats because the food isn't digested. She had a plastic hole in her side that opened into her stomach to give the vets easy access to the protozoa in her stomach. After we left the barn we went back to the Admissions Office to have a lecture on 'Animals and Public Policy'. I found it really interesting.

Then we went to the cafeteria and had lunch. After lunch we went back to the barn where we had met Portia to have a class on 'Approaching Large Animals', where we learned about how to approach large animals. Then we went another class about 'Large Animal Handling' and we learned how to tell if a cow was pregnant, how to make a cow pee (don't ask), and also about the various diseases and viruses that cows and horses get.