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LetItSnow said:
Absolutely zero idea whether this is really a part of it, but the ECC docs around our hospital swear that it's partly because a lot of people go into fall with a declining animal that they intend to put down, but they want to wait until their kid who is away at college comes back for winter break to say goodbye to it. Or the kid is at home but they don't want to do it when school is on. Obviously that would apply only to certain families with certain-aged kids, but I could see it making a bit of a 'bump' in the statistics to explain <some> of it.

The one thing I do know is that I've heard the same thing from many, many practicing vets.
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That's actually how we do it with our family. Our 13 year old Dachshund was declining pretty fast, but I was away at school. We were able to keep him pretty comfortable until I was able to come home for a three or four day weekend. That way we were all with Butch when he passed. We try to arrange "our losses" to a time so that we can have as much of the family there with the pet when they go.

Second rant in one week: Going over to the pre-med area where they are talking about pediatricians not getting enough compensation for their work, while saying that the average is something like 120k a year with it being upwards of 500k depending on hospital and area. Then I look at ER vet salaries in my area that average 65k to start, 85k for long term work, and 150k for the top salary. Y'all think you ain't getting compensated enough?!
 
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LetItSnow said:
Absolutely zero idea whether this is really a part of it, but the ECC docs around our hospital swear that it's partly because a lot of people go into fall with a declining animal that they intend to put down, but they want to wait until their kid who is away at college comes back for winter break to say goodbye to it. Or the kid is at home but they don't want to do it when school is on. Obviously that would apply only to certain families with certain-aged kids, but I could see it making a bit of a 'bump' in the statistics to explain <some> of it.

The one thing I do know is that I've heard the same thing from many, many practicing vets.
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I'd believe this. When we were talking about potentially putting our dog down, we were going to do it after Christmas since both my sister and I would be home from college/vet school. We ended up deciding it wasn't his time yet (quality of life was still good), but I definitely get the reasoning.
 
I've had this cat (I named her Shizzle) visit my house at the back door everynight for the last year or so.
axg1y.jpg

She first started showing up when we had those real subzero days last winter. She is pretty friendly except for being touched or held. She does not like to be held and pretty much becomes the Tasmanian devil when you try to pick her up. I've left food out for her from time to time.

However, she showed up tonight with a limp and I was curious about it. I was able to get a picture of her leg. It looks pretty bad. But I don't know how bad. I need advice on what to do to help her so she can be okay. I could try to restrain her but am not sure I'd be able to get her again. I'm going to have to call for help tomorrow. But I wanted to gather some thoughts or suggestions?
21oufky.jpg

zuqrs0.jpg

 
Hate to break it to you but that's not a limp. She's not using the limb at all, which to me says she needs to go to a vet. I feel like it generally has to be pretty bad for most animals (especially a tough outdoor cat) to show pain that obviously.
 
You know you're a vet student when a) your cat (at home in NJ) decides to get a foreign body on the morning of your first final and b) your vet friend offers to let you cut your own FB cat. Oy. We're trying the endoscopy route first. Keep your thoughts with the boy in my avatar please <3
 
If she is not your cat, you can call animal control and they will take her to the shelter, where she will hopefully receive appropriate treatment. However, you should NOT handle this cat! If this cat bites you, there is no way you can prove she is rabies vaccinated. If she bites you, she will most likely be euthanized and her brain submitted for rabies testing.
 
LetItSnow said:
Absolutely zero idea whether this is really a part of it, but the ECC docs around our hospital swear that it's partly because a lot of people go into fall with a declining animal that they intend to put down, but they want to wait until their kid who is away at college comes back for winter break to say goodbye to it. Or the kid is at home but they don't want to do it when school is on. Obviously that would apply only to certain families with certain-aged kids, but I could see it making a bit of a 'bump' in the statistics to explain <some> of it.

The one thing I do know is that I've heard the same thing from many, many practicing vets.
Click to expand...
But then there should be a corresponding increase in the spring.
I guess it it could be multi-factorial... kids away, animals not doing well with oncoming winter, failing finances, etc. But I don't find it hard to believe the worst of people: too busy, wanna buy a new gi joe instead of treat.
 
NStarz said:
You know you're a vet student when a) your cat (at home in NJ) decides to get a foreign body on the morning of your first final and b) your vet friend offers to let you cut your own FB cat. Oy. We're trying the endoscopy route first. Keep your thoughts with the boy in my avatar please <3
Click to expand...

Good luck!! My boy had a foreign body (tulle skirt...) and had to have an enterotomy 2 weeks before I graduated vet school and moved 3,000 miles. Talk about stress!! They also offered to let me scrub in, but I declined - I couldn't handle it if something went wrong during surgery. Hopefully your boy can be fixed with endoscopy!
 
I know she needs help but was debating whether to take her in myself or call. You're right. I don't know if she's been vaccinated for rabies so I will call animal control. Took a video of her when she showed up this morning before I left for work, but as soon as I opened the door she ran away. She looks a lot better..I think. She is putting weight on it and that wound wasn't weeping.
 
so in my panic induced flurry of match applying last night, i applied to a program i didnt actually want to apply to. now i either have to live with applying to 9 programs or spend a lot of money to add additional apps. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
 
StartingoverVet said:
But then there should be a corresponding increase in the spring.
I guess it it could be multi-factorial... kids away, animals not doing well with oncoming winter, failing finances, etc. But I don't find it hard to believe the worst of people: too busy, wanna buy a new gi joe instead of treat.
Click to expand...

I think there are potentially a lot of factors as well:
-Caring for animals with mobility issues during the winter. My area gets a lot of snow and ice and it is both harder for the pet to get around and harder for the owner to help carry them. It's also realistic that people may not be able to get to the vet due to snow and are worried that the animal will suffer at home without accessible vet care.
-We also have a lot of outdoor pets as patients (judge if you want, but usually it's cats that just showed up at someone's door one day and never acclimated to indoor life) and people worry about how they would fare during winter when they are not totally healthy.
-People perceive their pets as enjoying summer more and I often hear things like "hopefully she'll make it through one more summer" so people may be more "ready" in the winter.
-People tend to visit each other more this time of year and that means someone who hasn't seen the pet every single day may come to the house and notice that the pet has gotten really thin and give their relative a little push to have the animal treated and/or euthanized.

I am of the opinion that some people are jerks, but that most people are doing their best and that we can't let the jerks get us down or stop us from giving the non-jerks the benefit of the doubt. Granted, I also do not work emergency and I feel for those of you that do; I think it's a lot more in your face for emergency vets and you don't get the benefit of long term relationships with clients.
 
OneGrainOfSand said:
I know she needs help but was debating whether to take her in myself or call. You're right. I don't know if she's been vaccinated for rabies so I will call animal control. Took a video of her when she showed up this morning before I left for work, but as soon as I opened the door she ran away. She looks a lot better..I think. She is putting weight on it and that wound wasn't weeping.
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I would have an honest talk with animal control. They may have the resources to treat her or they may just put her to sleep. It depends a lot on where you live.
Do you think you could get the cat in a carrier with food? That way you could get her to the vet without touching her. They may need to sedate her to really get a look at that wound though. And yeah, don't get bitten whatever you do.
 
bunnity said:
I am of the opinion that some people are jerks, but that most people are doing their best and that we can't let the jerks get us down or stop us from giving the non-jerks the benefit of the doubt. Granted, I also do not work emergency and I feel for those of you that do; I think it's a lot more in your face for emergency vets and you don't get the benefit of long term relationships with clients.
Click to expand...
This is well said.
I knew there was a reason I like you.
 
Rarely have a complaint about my landlord as he's pretty awesome, but I don't appreciate having three rent checks deposited all at the same time. I was little surprised to see how much I'd dropped from the other day. Luckily I have enough money in my account so there won't be any bouncing checks/overdrawing, but I'd be screwed if there was an emergency.
 
Not really a rant, just a sad. A very sad, sad.

I had to put my best friend down a couple months ago. She was with me for 12 long years and got me through some really tough times. I still can't think about her without crying and I'm not the crying type.

I was perusing facebook just now and this was in my newsfeed. It caught me completely offguard. 🙁

To my dearest friend.
I stood by your bed last night; I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying you found it hard to sleep.
I spoke to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."
I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops today; your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.
I was with you at my grave today; you tend it with such care.
I want to re-assure you, that I'm not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you; I smiled and said, "it's me."
You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It's possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew...
in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over... I smile and watch you yawning
and say "good-night, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out...then come home to me.
 
wolfspeaker said:
Not really a rant, just a sad. A very sad, sad.

I had to put my best friend down a couple months ago. She was with me for 12 long years and got me through some really tough times. I still can't think about her without crying and I'm not the crying type.

I was perusing facebook just now and this was in my newsfeed. It caught me completely offguard. 🙁

To my dearest friend.
I stood by your bed last night; I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying you found it hard to sleep.
I spoke to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."
I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops today; your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.
I was with you at my grave today; you tend it with such care.
I want to re-assure you, that I'm not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you; I smiled and said, "it's me."
You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It's possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew...
in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over... I smile and watch you yawning
and say "good-night, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out...then come home to me.
Click to expand...
Sorry about your 'friend'.
This was very touching.
My cat is not doing well so I can really empathize.
 
Respiratory Physiology. Hate. Hate. Hate. :boom:
 
DVMDream said:
Air goes on, comes out as CO2..... the end.. 😀

(somethin' somethin' about tidal volumes and other random volumes and ventilation/perfusion)
Click to expand...
If my exam was the simple, I would be much much happier. 🙂

WAYYYYYY too much physics and complicated equations for my taste... It's all confusing and nothing is sticking at all. Just ugh.
 
Ashgirl said:
If my exam was the simple, I would be much much happier. 🙂

WAYYYYYY too much physics and complicated equations for my taste... It's all confusing and nothing is sticking at all. Just ugh.
Click to expand...
Yep, it is basically the worst thing ever. I tried to warn you guys... I really did. But you can't even imagine how painful it is until you try to figure it out. And that is a waste of time because it never made sense to me the way it was presented to us.
 
Rainheart said:
Yep, it is basically the worst thing ever. I tried to warn you guys... I really did. But you can't even imagine how painful it is until you try to figure it out. And that is a waste of time because it never made sense to me the way it was presented to us.
Click to expand...
It's very, very painful! I have no idea why it's this hard, but I'm pretty sure if I don't figure this out by Friday this is going to be my first failed exam in vet school. I retyped the notes, looked at extra notes/questions, read 3 of the recommend textbooks, and looked up videos. Still nothing (at least not in the level in detail they want us to know it...)

I'm just hoping that by some miracle even a flickering lightbulb will come on before the exam.
 
Ashgirl said:
It's very, very painful! I have no idea why it's this hard, but I'm pretty sure if I don't figure this out by Friday this is going to be my first failed exam in vet school. I retyped the notes, looked at extra notes/questions, read 3 of the recommend textbooks, and looked up videos. Still nothing (at least not in the level in detail they want us to know it...)

I'm just hoping that by some miracle even a flickering lightbulb will come on before the exam.
Click to expand...

Well I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and your class. I just kind of gave up trying to learn it and just took my D I got on that exam (which has been one of the hardest exams I have taken so far... with a few exceptions). The final was better since it was only 1/4 respiratory phys but still... it's just an awful subject that I never wanna go back to. Whenever I see the professor after we go into the auditorium for Path... he just makes me cringe.
 
My little rant in 3 simple steps. 1) water heater busted, 2) landlord shuts off water, 3) no water until at least Thursday, possibly later.
Yuck.
 
I feel like vet school biochemistry is eating my soul....who knew ANYTHING could be this hard??????

everything else combined is a cake walk in comparison to this class......
 
wolfspeaker said:
Not really a rant, just a sad. A very sad, sad.

I had to put my best friend down a couple months ago. She was with me for 12 long years and got me through some really tough times. I still can't think about her without crying and I'm not the crying type.

I was perusing facebook just now and this was in my newsfeed. It caught me completely offguard. 🙁

To my dearest friend.
I stood by your bed last night; I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying you found it hard to sleep.
I spoke to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."
I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops today; your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.
I was with you at my grave today; you tend it with such care.
I want to re-assure you, that I'm not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you; I smiled and said, "it's me."
You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It's possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew...
in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over... I smile and watch you yawning
and say "good-night, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out...then come home to me.
Click to expand...

I saw that not long after I had to put my old lady down. It's been a year and a half now and I still miss that little dog, but it's a sweeter kind of sad, if that makes sense. Hang in there.
 
So I posted in the pets about my sister's dog getting attacked last night. The dog is doing okay, but she's got bite wounds on her neck. My sister took her to the ER as was appropriate. It look slike she was cleaned up and bandaged. What really irks me is that she was sent home on just tramadol and cefpodoxime. There is fairly good evidence that tramadol does not provide adequate pain relief in dogs. I understand she is an older dog (11 yo Boston), but would a week or so of NSAIDs really killed her. They'd help with inflammation and the pain instead of just gorking her.

Also who puts dogs on oral antibiotics and antifungals for a first offense ear infection?

Can't wait to graduate and be my family's vet.
 
FutureEquineVet2018 said:
Also, are we the only vet school that actually has biochemistry after we had to take it for admission?
Click to expand...
nope. Penn has biochem as a core 1st semester course, and it is the biggest credits in 1st semester (anatomy is more overall but is 1.5 semesters).
Personally I liked that class, but that's me.
 
Yea I'm at VMRCVM (actually we're not supposed to call it that anymore. Now it's VA-MD CVM, no more regional). We have it as 1st semester core. It's only 2 credits but WAY hard.
 
I heard rumors of the infamous Biochem course at VMRCVM when I went to Tech for undergrad...
So glad that it was not that way at Mizzou and our 'Cell bio' (biochem) class was the easiest class we had that semester
 
Rainheart said:
I heard rumors of the infamous Biochem course at VMRCVM when I went to Tech for undergrad...
So glad that it was not that way at Mizzou and our 'Cell bio' (biochem) class was the easiest class we had that semester
Click to expand...
Easy is relative 😛 But I agree, compared to other classes it's not too bad.
 
Ashgirl said:
Easy is relative 😛 But I agree, compared to other classes it's not too bad.
Click to expand...
Relative for vet school, yes! But you usually have that one 'blow off' or 'easy' class per block... usually. That usually results in studying the night before because you are too concerned about everything else.
 
orcagirl said:
So I posted in the pets about my sister's dog getting attacked last night. The dog is doing okay, but she's got bite wounds on her neck. My sister took her to the ER as was appropriate. It look slike she was cleaned up and bandaged. What really irks me is that she was sent home on just tramadol and cefpodoxime. There is fairly good evidence that tramadol does not provide adequate pain relief in dogs. I understand she is an older dog (11 yo Boston), but would a week or so of NSAIDs really killed her. They'd help with inflammation and the pain instead of just gorking her.

Also who puts dogs on oral antibiotics and antifungals for a first offense ear infection?

Can't wait to graduate and be my family's vet.
Click to expand...
I don't know any vets that don't use tramadol... I don't think anything is set in stone about how well it works or doesn't. And I would have not used NSAIDs (at least right away) if the dog was dehydrated or shocky or had recently been on steroids or wasn't eating well.
The orals for ears thing would only make sense if the dog also had skin disease, otherwise yeah that's weird.
 
So my upstairs neighbor left me a note apologizing for all of the floor shaking/squeaking that goes when she exercises, because she's been trying really hard to get in shape over the past year. Now I feel like a horrible person because she probably heard me when I yelled at my ceiling last night about my whole apartment shaking. Granted, it's not the first time I've yelled at my ceiling in an attempt to release frustration, but it was perhaps louder than normal (we'll just blame finals week for that). I feel bad, because I totally get it and don't want to be like, oh my god it's so annoying just stop being healthier, please. But it is SO ANNOYING. Moreso because she has bad timing and always seems to do it the night before an exam when I'm stressed and trying to stay in the zone, and I tend to get really thrown off by any sort of outside stimuli not in my control and that I can't drown out with music (ie, cars blasting loud music outside and car alarms going off and bad mufflers rumbling in the garage below me and children screaming). I wish she could just find an exercise program that involves less jumping.
I really hope she didn't hear me yelling at her, because that means she probably hears me when I yell at my cats or my computer several times a day. And that probably makes me a really annoying neighbor, too.
 
bunnity said:
I don't know any vets that don't use tramadol... I don't think anything is set in stone about how well it works or doesn't. And I would have not used NSAIDs (at least right away) if the dog was dehydrated or shocky or had recently been on steroids or wasn't eating well.
The orals for ears thing would only make sense if the dog also had skin disease, otherwise yeah that's weird.
Click to expand...

I guess that makes sense. It's just the recent studies say the effective metabolic is only a minor metabolite in dogs and that it can take up to 2 weeks to manage pain. Our pharmacology professors hate the drug.

I'm just hoping that my sister leaves the dog at home when she goes back for the holidays.
 
orcagirl said:
I guess that makes sense. It's just the recent studies say the effective metabolic is only a minor metabolite in dogs and that it can take up to 2 weeks to manage pain. Our pharmacology professors hate the drug.

I'm just hoping that my sister leaves the dog at home when she goes back for the holidays.
Click to expand...
yeah but remember that every dog is an individual. i've seen dogs well controlled on tramadol at the lowest effective dose immediately after admin and others not respond.

heck, it does nothing for me but certain people seek it out and abuse it
 
dyachei said:
yeah but remember that every dog is an individual. i've seen dogs well controlled on tramadol at the lowest effective dose immediately after admin and others not respond.

heck, it does nothing for me but certain people seek it out and abuse it
Click to expand...

Agreed. And I think it can be a great additional therapy,or even primary for chronic issues. I just wouldn't reach for it first for a traumatic injury.
 
dyachei said:
any time. Seriously.

It's important to remember how different the "ivory tower" can be from general practice
Click to expand...

Agreed. The GPs I worked with sent their patients home with NSAIDs more than tramadol.
 
bunnity said:
I don't know any vets that don't use tramadol... I don't think anything is set in stone about how well it works or doesn't. And I would have not used NSAIDs (at least right away) if the dog was dehydrated or shocky or had recently been on steroids or wasn't eating well.
The orals for ears thing would only make sense if the dog also had skin disease, otherwise yeah that's weird.
Click to expand...
for better or worse, the folks at NCSU are pretty darn anti-tramadol, but they're probably the only ones i know of that veryyyyy rarely prescribe it
 
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