Pets in Veterinary school?

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AniSci

AniSci
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Hey guys...

I'm sure this one has been asked TO DEATH, but I'm curious...what are your thoughts/experiences (for those of you who went through it) on having dogs/cats to take care of while in vet school?

I've spent a year of my undergrad career taking care of a senior pug with arthritic hips that I had rescued from the vet clinic I work(ed) at. She didn't really do much, but of course I still had to take her outside for potty breaks, feed her, take her on short walks around the neighborhood I live in, give her baths, etc. And even though it was a HORRIBLE year school wise, I still didn't mind because honestly, I appreciated the breaks taking care of her gave me & she was something to take my mind off all my misery.

Anyway, she passed away several months ago due to kidney failure, and I'm just now starting to get that "You know...it might be kind of nice to have a dog around again."

I've got this year (2014-15) and then the Fall semester of 2015 left to go because I got started (i.e. took forever deciding what I for sure wanted to do with my life) late.
ANYWAY, odds are that I'll be going out of state for vet school in the Fall of 2016. I know the vet school living situations are different for everyone--some live alone, others live with roommates or their spouse (in which case you're Superman/woman). I've always either lived with my family or roommates that had been long-time friends, and I'm worried about having to be so far away all on my own. So I thought having a dog might make it easier.

Thoughts?? I'm already aware that vet school is WAY more demanding than undergrad, but I know vets that had pets during their years in vet school, so I guess some people are able to handle both.

So what are the pros & cons??

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So I take it there are absolutely 100% no downsides to having pets in vet school, provided whatever housing/living situation you're in will accept/allow/live with the pet.
 
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So I take it there are absolutely 100% no downsides to having pets in vet school, provided whatever housing/living situation you're in will accept/allow/live with the pet.

Did you read all of those threads?

I know that many threads talk about pros/cons... such as not as much time, not being able to walk dogs in the afternoon (which I don't think is a big problem), etc, etc.

There are also many of those threads that say to not get a puppy or kitten, because there isn't the time needed for training them and giving them the attention needed at that age.
 
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My advice is to not have a pet your first year in vet school, if that is the first time you're thinking about getting a pet.
 
having a pet years 2 and 3 in vet school was great, having one in 4th year makes me feel like the worst person ever. i routinely have 12 hour days, and even though i have a non-vet school roommate with her own dog, it doesnt feel like enough. my dog is very neglected and i feel absolutely wretched about it.
 
Cats are great.
 
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So I take it there are absolutely 100% no downsides to having pets in vet school, provided whatever housing/living situation you're in will accept/allow/live with the pet.

WTF took the time to find all those threads ... and then you snarked back at her ... without even taking the time to read them, didn't you?

Facepalm.png
 
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Cats are great.

I feel terrible leaving mine alone for hours on end, I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I had a dog instead. :(

The constant companionship is invaluable to me as someone that lives alone (and prefers to live alone). Best roommate ever. Getting your cuddle fix in with a human roommate comes with too many strings.
 
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WTF took the time to find all those threads ... and then you snarked back at her ... without even taking the time to read them, didn't you?

Facepalm.png

Given the fact the OP feels the need to post various "what do I do" threads including a checklist of things he/she will need for vet school and asking about due dates i.e. obviously not researching, I'm less than surprised.

images
 
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Given the fact the OP feels the need to post various "what do I do" threads including a checklist of things he/she will need for vet school and asking about due dates i.e. obviously not researching, I'm less than surprised.

images

But in that other thread she said that she has had many relatives go through med/dental school applications. And that she has researched the schools she just wants "opinions", she knows how to look up things.... :rolleyes:
 
WTF took the time to find all those threads ... and then you snarked back at her ... without even taking the time to read them, didn't you?

Facepalm.png

I did read through them. None of them were what I was asking about. Most of them were related to, "Does my school's housing allow pets?" or "Can I take my dog to class with me?"

I asked about the personal responsibility/challenge of having a pet to care for while in vet school. Which is why I asked on my own thread in the first place, because I had already seen some of the threads that were "similar" to mine.
 
I did read through them. None of them were what I was asking about. Most of them were related to, "Does my school's housing allow pets?" or "Can I take my dog to class with me?"

I asked about the personal responsibility/challenge of having a pet to care for while in vet school. Which is why I asked on my own thread in the first place, because I had already seen some of the threads that were "similar" to mine.

Pros - companionship
Cons - time commitment. The first two years (for me) were more manageable but third and fourth are too busy and I decided to hold on getting another pet until I'm graduated.

Honestly, people ask"can I do X in vet school?" And the answer is essentially always yes. If you can manage your time, you can care for a pet. But the further you get in school, the harder it becomes. My own advice is to wait until you're done school, but clearly plenty of people bring a pet of some sort and get along fine.
 
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I did read through them. None of them were what I was asking about. Most of them were related to, "Does my school's housing allow pets?" or "Can I take my dog to class with me?"

I asked about the personal responsibility/challenge of having a pet to care for while in vet school. Which is why I asked on my own thread in the first place, because I had already seen some of the threads that were "similar" to mine.

I highly doubt you read all of those threads in 7 minutes. Actually, I'm rather positive you didn't because the first thread talks about the time constraints of vet school starting at around 5-7 posts in. The second linked thread starts talking about multiple things to consider starting with SOV's post. Just because it doesn't jump out and say "pros/cons", doesn't mean the posts aren't discussing them. They very much are.
 
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There are pets other than dogs and cats - I personally had guinea pigs when I was in vet school - I thought they were ideal - no guilt when you have to be away for 12 or more hours a day, yet great for cuddling when you are completely overwhelmed by the workload (which will happen on occasion :)). I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be without any pets in vet school, but dogs and cats not only take more time ( which you have precious little of), but it is also much harder to find rentals that will allow them. I lived in an apartment that strictly didn't allow pets, but the owners made certain exceptions for vet students only (guinea pigs, small birds, for ex.).
 
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I highly doubt you read all of those threads in 7 minutes. Actually, I'm rather positive you didn't because the first thread talks about the time constraints of vet school starting at around 5-7 posts in. The second linked thread starts talking about multiple things to consider starting with SOV's post. Just because it doesn't jump out and say "pros/cons", doesn't mean the posts aren't discussing them. They very much are.

Oh look, it's that thing called using search function again....

Pets coping with their masters in school: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pets-coping-with-their-masters-in-school.782868/

Owning a dog while in vet school: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/owning-a-dog-while-in-vet-school.1049461/

Adopting before vet school including other advice on puppies: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/getting-a-dog-summer-before-vet-school.515491/

I'm doing this not to be snide (it literally takes me ~20 sec), but because I really can't stand it when people just go and start new threads willy-nilly rather than take the time to sit back and read the old ones and, if they still have questions, bump the old ones. It prevents the board from becoming cluttered up with questions that have already been addressed because people are too lazy or not inclined to look back and read up. Especially if you are sure something had been "asked to death" as the OP admitted in this case (and in most of his/her threads actually).
 
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I feel terrible leaving mine alone for hours on end, I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I had a dog instead. :(

The constant companionship is invaluable to me as someone that lives alone (and prefers to live alone). Best roommate ever. Getting your cuddle fix in with a human roommate comes with too many strings.

This is why I got a cat for my cat and then a cat for that cat. Luckily the youngest child is in complete love with his sisters so the chain ended there. I got these nifty rotational feeds (expensive but SO worth it) that feeds them if I am going out of town or going to get home late. They gorge if I free feed.
 
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Pros - companionship
Cons - time commitment. The first two years (for me) were more manageable but third and fourth are too busy and I decided to hold on getting another pet until I'm graduated.

Honestly, people ask"can I do X in vet school?" And the answer is essentially always yes. If you can manage your time, you can care for a pet. But the further you get in school, the harder it becomes. My own advice is to wait until you're done school, but clearly plenty of people bring a pet of some sort and get along fine.

Agreed. If it were me, I'd say "forego the pet" because, especially in 4th year, I keep seeing classmates desperately trying to find someone to take care of their pet while they're away on some externship. And then there's those countless days where you're in the hospital for 14-16 hours (or, in my case, 24 hours last Fri-Sat) with no chance to run home to let the dog out.

That said, there are a LOT of people who talk about how valuable it is to have their pet with them during vet school. And people routinely manage and figure it out. *shrug*

I guess if you just recognize it will occasionally create some hassles that you'll have to deal with ....
 
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Agreed. If it were me, I'd say "forego the pet" because, especially in 4th year, I keep seeing classmates desperately trying to find someone to take care of their pet while they're away on some externship. And then there's those countless days where you're in the hospital for 14-16 hours (or, in my case, 24 hours last Fri-Sat) with no chance to run home to let the dog out.

That said, there are a LOT of people who talk about how valuable it is to have their pet with them during vet school. And people routinely manage and figure it out. *shrug*

I guess if you just recognize it will occasionally create some hassles that you'll have to deal with ....
holy crap what had you in the hospital for that long?? i routinely have 12+ hour days, but 24?? i'd die
 
The worst I had was about two days straight.

7am Surgery rotation day starts, finish at 7-8pm with treatments etc.
Overnight ICU duty from 8pm till 8am (we were assigned 1-2 daytime shifts or 1 overnight in the ICU for almost every small animal rotation in addition to normal duties).
Surgery day 8am -8pm, go home.

Had to hire a petsitter, obviously.
 
The worst I had was about two days straight.

7am Surgery rotation day starts, finish at 7-8pm with treatments etc.
Overnight ICU duty from 8pm till 8am (we were assigned 1-2 daytime shifts or 1 overnight in the ICU for almost every small animal rotation in addition to normal duties).
Surgery day 8am -8pm, go home.

Had to hire a petsitter, obviously.
as a student or an intern? we clearly lead a very plush life at NCSU if thats what your school did to students. interns can get that kind of schedule though
 
I suggest volunteering to foster dogs or cats with your local shelter or animal rescue. That way you could have the companionship of a pet without the long term responsibilities, both now as you prepare to go to vet school and when you are in vet school. Once your foster is adopted, you could hold off on getting another if you know it will be a tough semester or you have extensive travel plans.
 
as a student or an intern? we clearly lead a very plush life at NCSU if thats what your school did to students. interns can get that kind of schedule though

That was as a fourth year student. To be fair, it was uncommon. But certain rotations were notoriously rough with the amount of call and ICU duty - others not so much though and it was nice to be able to recover. There was talk of making an actual ICU rotation so the shifts didn't have to keep getting farmed out to students who were already on other rotations, not sure if it ever materialized.

Overnights were particularly bad because there were no techs. So if a dog coded, all you had was two students who only knew how to do CPR or IV epi at most (although I don't remember if we were authorized to do the latter. We certainly couldn't use the paddles unsupervised, do anything intracardiac and intratracheal, etc). Now they do have overnight techs too, I am pretty sure.
 
I'm a bit concerned about the distributed model of clinics, but at worst any pets will live with my parents.

I doubt the rotation accommodations will allow anything to accompany you. :(
 
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