Class of 2023... how you doin?!

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I registered for classes back in May because I already had my CSU eID, so I've had mine since then. 8-4 everyday wooooo. It's gonna be an adjustment for sureeee.

We have orientation from August 19 to 24 then class starts the following Monday.
 
danseth said:
I registered for classes back in May because I already had my CSU eID, so I've had mine since then. 8-4 everyday wooooo. It's gonna be an adjustment for sureeee.

We have orientation from August 19 to 24 then class starts the following Monday.
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Orientation is a lot of fun!

First semester schedule is definitely full, but a lot of it is labs so the time feels more unstructured/free.

I won't be on the same campus as y'all this year (officially moving on up to the teaching hospital on South campus full time), but I am an individual anatomy tutor so may still kick around the anatomy labs every so often
 
vetmedhead said:
Orientation is a lot of fun!

First semester schedule is definitely full, but a lot of it is labs so the time feels more unstructured/free.

I won't be on the same campus as y'all this year (officially moving on up to the teaching hospital on South campus full time), but I am an individual anatomy tutor so may still kick around the anatomy labs every so often
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Weird that you have different campuses! Everything vet med is together here which is convenient...we do move from the main academic building to the lecture hall in the hospital as third years though.
 
mmmdreamerz said:
Weird that you have different campuses! Everything vet med is together here which is convenient...we do move from the main academic building to the lecture hall in the hospital as third years though.
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I think that's just how that worked out here over time. The first and second years are on main campus and the third and fourth years are in the teaching hospital a mile away. I think they're planning to put a new building up on South campus so all of the years can be together, but that's probably a few years away.
 
vetmedhead said:
Orientation is a lot of fun!

First semester schedule is definitely full, but a lot of it is labs so the time feels more unstructured/free.

I won't be on the same campus as y'all this year (officially moving on up to the teaching hospital on South campus full time), but I am an individual anatomy tutor so may still kick around the anatomy labs every so often
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It does look fun! I’ve been to mountain campus once before and it’s awesome! Good to know we will have a bit more free time than the class schedule allows though.

Hope to run into you at some point! I am preeeeety sure I’ve already met you or seen you around before though 🙂
 
danseth said:
It does look fun! I’ve been to mountain campus once before and it’s awesome! Good to know we will have a bit more free time than the class schedule allows though.

Hope to run into you at some point! I am preeeeety sure I’ve already met you or seen you around before though 🙂
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Probably! I definitely tend to get my fingers into a lot of pies so it's likely we have met or been near one another before haha.

Actually, purely through my involvement with the Pre-Vet Club here, I've known a minimum of one person in each class from c/o 2017 through to c/o 2023. The number gets a little bigger when you include SDNers
 
Although you know what, depending on what rotations I get for my third year, there is a distinct possibility I will be spending some chunks of time down at main campus with y'all. The clin path elective is in the second year building and there are a few surgical anatomy electives in the small room in the anatomy lab. There are probably others I'm not thinking of off the top of my head right now
 
vetmedhead said:
Orientation is a lot of fun!

First semester schedule is definitely full, but a lot of it is labs so the time feels more unstructured/free.
Click to expand...

Second this! We were often done with lab early too so the days were shorter than what was scheduled. Much better than second semester where there is little lab time and majority is in the classroom.
 
I am getting ready to go for the big move, as I am sure many of you are, eek! :nailbiting: I and my SO have to travel with our 4 pets (two dogs, 1 cat, and 1 sugar glider) for 11.5 hours (~13 if we follow the 55mph speed limit of truck rental) in a rental truck dragging a vehicle by car dolly. I will go in my own car with 3 pets and he will drive the rental truck with the dragging dolly with one pet. Any suggestions? It sounds draining haha. Not sure if its just better to split up the time and stay somewhere, but then what hotel or airbnb in the middle of nowhere would accept our 4 pets? Sigh :pigeon:
 
Vet2022-20224 said:
I am getting ready to go for the big move, as I am sure many of you are, eek! :nailbiting: I and my SO have to travel with our 4 pets (two dogs, 1 cat, and 1 sugar glider) for 11.5 hours (~13 if we follow the 55mph speed limit of truck rental) in a rental truck dragging a vehicle by car dolly. I will go in my own car with 3 pets and he will drive the rental truck with the dragging dolly with one pet. Any suggestions? It sounds draining haha. Not sure if its just better to split up the time and stay somewhere, but then what hotel or airbnb in the middle of nowhere would accept our 4 pets? Sigh :pigeon:
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I did a cross country drive with my cat pretty regularly and I maxed out around 9 to 10 hours of driving before I just couldn't (safely) do it anymore. I do recommend stopping to rest at least a little if you're going beyond that, especially if your drive will be really flat or visually boring. It's also nice to take a break when driving something big and kind of taxing like a rental truck. I will also add that you should buckle your pets' carriers into seat belts if at all possible so they don't go flying around your vehicle if you hit something.

I know my advice sounds a little overly cautious - I was in a pretty serious car wreck last week at highway speeds and am very lucky to still be alive. Whatever you decide to do, be careful and stay safe.
 
Vet2022-20224 said:
I am getting ready to go for the big move, as I am sure many of you are, eek! :nailbiting: I and my SO have to travel with our 4 pets (two dogs, 1 cat, and 1 sugar glider) for 11.5 hours (~13 if we follow the 55mph speed limit of truck rental) in a rental truck dragging a vehicle by car dolly. I will go in my own car with 3 pets and he will drive the rental truck with the dragging dolly with one pet. Any suggestions? It sounds draining haha. Not sure if its just better to split up the time and stay somewhere, but then what hotel or airbnb in the middle of nowhere would accept our 4 pets? Sigh :pigeon:
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A 13 hour drive is rough for sure if you've never done it before. You can always look into pet friendly hotels and such along your route, but if you can't find anything, it is doable, if not ideal. Definitely stop for a nap at least if you start getting tired. Have caffeine at the ready. And if you know what time of day you tend to be more awake during, shoot to be driving during that time. For instance, I tend to leave a bit later in the day for long drives because I am really sleepy in the morning but wide awake once it's dark out.
 
Vet2022-20224 said:
I am getting ready to go for the big move, as I am sure many of you are, eek! :nailbiting: I and my SO have to travel with our 4 pets (two dogs, 1 cat, and 1 sugar glider) for 11.5 hours (~13 if we follow the 55mph speed limit of truck rental) in a rental truck dragging a vehicle by car dolly. I will go in my own car with 3 pets and he will drive the rental truck with the dragging dolly with one pet. Any suggestions? It sounds draining haha. Not sure if its just better to split up the time and stay somewhere, but then what hotel or airbnb in the middle of nowhere would accept our 4 pets? Sigh :pigeon:
Click to expand...

I was driving the 15 or 16 hours between IL and CO for the first several years of vet school. I tried to leave 5 am CO time to arrive between 9 and 10 pm so I spent as little time as I could driving in the dark (cause deer are stupid). I had coffee to start, then got some later in the afternoon. I need to stop every 250 miles due to a blood clot issue, but I think is a good increment to get out and stretch your legs. I always have music or podcast or someone call me to eat up the time. The last 200 miles are always the worst to me. The middle 400 are the best where I feel I'm making progress. Lol.
 
Vet2022-20224 said:
I am getting ready to go for the big move, as I am sure many of you are, eek! :nailbiting: I and my SO have to travel with our 4 pets (two dogs, 1 cat, and 1 sugar glider) for 11.5 hours (~13 if we follow the 55mph speed limit of truck rental) in a rental truck dragging a vehicle by car dolly. I will go in my own car with 3 pets and he will drive the rental truck with the dragging dolly with one pet. Any suggestions? It sounds draining haha. Not sure if its just better to split up the time and stay somewhere, but then what hotel or airbnb in the middle of nowhere would accept our 4 pets? Sigh :pigeon:
Click to expand...

If you can split it up into two days I definitely would. When my hubby and I drove cross country 10 hours was our limit and it took us most of the day because we took multiple breaks.

If you can't I highly recommend getting some audiobooks.
 
I just finished residency and moved 1300 miles by myself with my dog (13h day 1, 8h day 2). It is easier with more than one person since someone can sit out in the vehicle with the pets, but other people might be moving alone so I'll add my two cents.

For the dog, I found that stopping at the state "welcome centers" when you first cross into a new state was best for letting the dog stretch his legs and pee. They're off the road enough but not so awkward to get to you get turned around, and they had restrooms for humans too. I think the big welcome centers are kept cleaner than the smaller rest areas in other places along the way. Only one said no pets on the building entrance door, but I took my dog in with me anyway and no one said anything. I tried to load up on snacks and drinks early in the day when it was cooler and the dog could wait in the car for <5 minutes and be okay. I would hit a drive-through for meals but sit and eat in the parking lot because it didn't seem that safe to be driving a loaded-down car where you can't see out of the rearview window that well, with a dog in the front seat, on the interstate, in a place you've never been all while eating, haha.

If you haven't ever driven that far before, I do think splitting it up is smart. Especially if your SO hasn't driven a truck/trailer that large before. La Quinta hotels are all pet friendly with no extra pet/cleaning fees, if there is one along your way. Some are nicer than others...the one I stayed at in Little Rock was not that nice but it was <$100. I've also stayed at a Best Western and a Hampton Inn that were pet friendly before, which were nicer, but they charged an extra $50-75 for the dog. If you're stopping, you don't even necessarily have to stop halfway...even if you were to drive 9ish hours (10-10.5 with stops probably), your second day would be a shorter 3-4 hours so you may be more energized when you arrive and have to unload the moving truck. When I moved out to my residency location it felt weird to stop just 2 hours from our destination, but it ended up working out really well and we had the entire truck unloaded by very early afternoon.

I recently started using Waze for navigation, and the hazard and police alerts were really nice during this long drive. Audiobooks help pass the time, and I also made a playlist of my favorite songs to sing along to. Called my mom and talked for almost an hour too.

It may be too late to get them now, but I highly recommend pet seatbelts for anytime an animal rides in the car. At least buckling in the cat/sugar glider carrier is a good idea. Winston has a seatbelt from Ruffwear. It has a large chest plate to distribute the pressure it he were to be thrown forward, the buckles are metal, and it attaches to the human seatbelt. He can lay flat, curl up, whatever, and I get to feel more secure that he won't go flying through the window in an accident.
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Vets get 40% off of everything at Ruffwear, which helps with the cost for sure. I'm not sure if that discount extends to vet students, but they give that discount to "staff members" at vet hospitals so it might be worth contacting them to ask.

Edit: My only dislike with the Ruffwear harness is that there isn't a metal loop to attach a leash on potty breaks. Since Winston had a bout of neck pain previously, his collar is just for decoration and we use a harness, but when we stop I have to take off the seatbelt, swap it out for his Front Range harness, then swap back which is annoying. But that wouldn't be an issue for someone who uses a collar.
 
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Dinashadow said:
I second the ruffwear harness. It's a little pricey but it's one of the few seat belt harnesses that have actually been crash tested.
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Sleepypod ones are also crash tested, along with their tiny dog/cat carriers! Also pricey, so if you can get the ruffwear ones at the vet price, prob a better option.
 
Thank you! Lots of good info! The splitting it up into 9 and 4 hours seems like a great idea. Are the harness available in pet shops or just online like amazon ?
 
Vet2022-20224 said:
Thank you! Lots of good info! The splitting it up into 9 and 4 hours seems like a great idea. Are the harness available in pet shops or just online like amazon ?
Click to expand...

You might be able to find the ruffwear harnesses at REI, LL Bean or similar stores
 
Kurgo makes crash tested harnesses as well. What I like about them is that they have the option to hook a leash to the back like a normal harness, or the front like an easy walk harness. My dog has a very narrow chest and it fits him perfectly.
274252
 
Moanswoptr said:
Same for us, but our orientation is 3 days the week prior. It's coming so fast!

Side note, anyone else get any summer assignments?
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I haven't had "assignments" per se, but have had to complete online safety trainings and IACUC training
 
Definitely echoing the idea of breaking up the drive. We’d do two, 10hr legs up to vet school and both days were tough. Nowadays it’s pretty easy to find pet friendly hotels, but you may have to pay a bit extra. Lots of breaks, make sure to figure outa way to let the cat try to use a litter box if possible (@WildZoo were you the one with the good cat travel set up you shared once?)
 
that redhead said:
Definitely echoing the idea of breaking up the drive. We’d do two, 10hr legs up to vet school and both days were tough. Nowadays it’s pretty easy to find pet friendly hotels, but you may have to pay a bit extra. Lots of breaks, make sure to figure outa way to let the cat try to use a litter box if possible (@WildZoo were you the one with the good cat travel set up you shared once?)
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Yeah!
It's this
Cat1st Portable Pop Open Cat... Amazon product ASIN B00L36K7EE
Cat1st Portable Cat Litter... Amazon product ASIN B00KQNLQM2
I put my two kitties in there when we travel. Usually have a water bowl with a spill free lip on it in there too. The carrier buckles in to the back seat.
 
Anyone else start on the 12th?? 😕 Less than two weeks fhsdfdks

I've driven cross country twice in the past year (~3500 miles split into 4-6 days). We used an old plastic storage bin, line it with a trashbag, and put a touch of litter in each night at the hotel. Toss in the morning, wash out actual bin if needed but we didn't have to. We stopped at a few Motel 6's, also super affordable and a bunch of them have gone through really nice renovations.
 
boogercat said:
Anyone else start on the 12th?? 😕 Less than two weeks fhsdfdks

I've driven cross country twice in the past year (~3500 miles split into 4-6 days). We used an old plastic storage bin, line it with a trashbag, and put a touch of litter in each night at the hotel. Toss in the morning, wash out actual bin if needed but we didn't have to. We stopped at a few Motel 6's, also super affordable and a bunch of them have gone through really nice renovations.
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:hello:
 
I start classes on the 26th and have orientation on the 23rd. I'm torn between knowing I should enjoy my time off and being super eager to start. But I have been out of school for 3 years in a weird limbo state so I'm ready to get things moving.
 
mtlvet2024 said:
I start classes on the 26th and have orientation on the 23rd. I'm torn between knowing I should enjoy my time off and being super eager to start. But I have been out of school for 3 years in a weird limbo state so I'm ready to get things moving.
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Please just enjoy these last three weeks. Do fun things. Relax. Binge watch tv. Read some books for fun.
Signed,
A second year who does not want summer to end
 
Went to Mojito night last night, expecting only a few students from each class. There were at least 100 people, mostly first years in the beginning of the night, but soon second years and beyond came and started mixing too! I met a bunch of ladies (and gentleman) from my class. At one point I was talking to four other girls - three of us had engineer boyfriends, the fourth girl's father is an engineer at the company where my boy is transferring. Is vet x engineer a thing? I also met my Big, she's lovely and helpful and bullied away a drunk dude trying to hit on us. In trying to do so, we asked if he liked cats (we had been in the middle of talking about the orphan kitten project at Davis), he said Nooope, and we told him this probably wasn't the crowd for him, lmao.

All in all it was a lot of fun and I stayed until almost midnight socializing. As an introvert I was pooped at the end, but I'm 1000% happy I went and feel a lot better about starting in two days 😱😱😱
 
boogercat said:
Went to Mojito night last night, expecting only a few students from each class. There were at least 100 people, mostly first years in the beginning of the night, but soon second years and beyond came and started mixing too! I met a bunch of ladies (and gentleman) from my class. At one point I was talking to four other girls - three of us had engineer boyfriends, the fourth girl's father is an engineer at the company where my boy is transferring. Is vet x engineer a thing? I also met my Big, she's lovely and helpful and bullied away a drunk dude trying to hit on us. In trying to do so, we asked if he liked cats (we had been in the middle of talking about the orphan kitten project at Davis), he said Nooope, and we told him this probably wasn't the crowd for him, lmao.

All in all it was a lot of fun and I stayed until almost midnight socializing. As an introvert I was pooped at the end, but I'm 1000% happy I went and feel a lot better about starting in two days 😱😱😱
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Lol suddenly Thursdays comments to me make sense I didn't realize it was early this year I thought it was next week. Glad you met some people! Have a fun first week of girl scout camp!
 
Is Ruffwear advertising that they are the only harness crash tested? That's dead-wrong...there are a bunch of different ones that are crash-tested, but actually Sleepypod are the only ones that are actually certified by any sort of organization as PASSING the most rigorous tests. Ruffwear even has a post where they talk about how they would not pass the CPS requirements because they'd have to alter the design of their harness which would make it less comfortable, so they wouldn't fall within the excursion requirements.

CPS Certified - Center for Pet Safety

CPS Certified Products - Center for Pet Safety
www.centerforpetsafety.org www.centerforpetsafety.org
 
nyanko said:
Is Ruffwear advertising that they are the only harness crash tested? That's dead-wrong...there are a bunch of different ones that are crash-tested, but actually Sleepypod are the only ones that are actually certified by any sort of organization as PASSING the most rigorous tests. Ruffwear even has a post where they talk about how they would not pass the CPS requirements because they'd have to alter the design of their harness which would make it less comfortable, so they wouldn't fall within the excursion requirements.

CPS Certified - Center for Pet Safety

CPS Certified Products - Center for Pet Safety
www.centerforpetsafety.org www.centerforpetsafety.org
Click to expand...
Well that’s slightly concerning.
 
nyanko said:
Is Ruffwear advertising that they are the only harness crash tested? That's dead-wrong...there are a bunch of different ones that are crash-tested, but actually Sleepypod are the only ones that are actually certified by any sort of organization as PASSING the most rigorous tests. Ruffwear even has a post where they talk about how they would not pass the CPS requirements because they'd have to alter the design of their harness which would make it less comfortable, so they wouldn't fall within the excursion requirements.

CPS Certified - Center for Pet Safety

CPS Certified Products - Center for Pet Safety
www.centerforpetsafety.org www.centerforpetsafety.org
Click to expand...

I’ve never seen them claim to be the “only” one tested, just that they have been tested. They have a blog post about the crash testing they did, with whom, and the results. They address why they aren’t CPS certified, which I think is what you’re referencing...it seems like there is more into it than “less comfortable”. While that’s a factor, they also talk about how in their prototype tests the lower attachment keeps dogs from flipping backwards in the crash and keeps them more upright. If someone wants to get the sleepypod harness, great, that’s probably the best choice. But I still think the Ruffwear harness is way better than nothing, is at a lower price point with the vet discounts, and they show the testing that it will likely do it’s job.
 
Thank you all so much for the tips, we ended up paying someone to drive the truck (gift from parents) and my SO and I split the drive with our zoo pictured above (sugar glider in pouch). Not as bad as I thought it would be! :nod:

Orientation is tomorrow and the imposter syndrome has never been more real, phew!
 
Vet2022-20224 said:
Thank you all so much for the tips, we ended up paying someone to drive the truck (gift from parents) and my SO and I split the drive with our zoo pictured above (sugar glider in pouch). Not as bad as I thought it would be! :nod:

Orientation is tomorrow and the imposter syndrome has never been more real, phew!
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You’ll be fine! Just take a breath, relax, and try to acclimate in your new home and make some friends. This is your time to do that before the vet school train really starts ramping up. 🙂
 
Vet2022-20224 said:
Thank you all so much for the tips, we ended up paying someone to drive the truck (gift from parents) and my SO and I split the drive with our zoo pictured above (sugar glider in pouch). Not as bad as I thought it would be! :nod:

Orientation is tomorrow and the imposter syndrome has never been more real, phew!
Click to expand...

How'd the day go? I remember being exhausted from the forced group participation. haha
 
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