Student Pets

[Emiloo4]

---

Members do not see this ad.

This may be slightly inappropriate that I care about this, but I was wondering if current DVM students would share their school's policy on DVM student pets. If a school allows students to bring their personal pets into the hospital for care, if there are different discounts, or opportunity to use our pets to "learn on" or "practice on" in the hospitals... etc. Not that it is at all a deciding factor in my choice lol, I was just curious about it. There was a post in 2006 about this, but there weren't many answers, and I thought maybe we could get some updated ones... thanks!

 

[spoondiggity]

I was actually wondering how most people transported their pets (say, if they moved across the country)... I may be in a unique situation because I have a turtle that I'm trying to take with me lol

 

[Emiloo4]

I was actually wondering how most people transported their pets (say, if they moved across the country)... I may be in a unique situation because I have a turtle that I'm trying to take with me lol

Yeah I know the feeling, I'll be bringing a pot-bellied pig, two large dogs, and a cat lol. I love turtles 🙂. I will be driving to wherever I get into 🙂xf🙂 so it will be a truckload! 😎

 

[Virginger]

My co-workers mentioned when they were in school that you can receive discounts for your pets... I was trying to decide if I should be saving up to do a dental on my dog before I leave my practice or wait till he needs it a little more.

Also, I know most dogs can be shipped in the cabin. Small dogs and cats can be taken into the main plane cabin if their carrier can be fit under the seat in font of you (last quote I saw was ~$125 per trip).

Not sure about the pot-belly-pig...? Maybe that can be shipped like a larger dog?

 

[Lissarae06]

Vet students at Oklahoma State get a 20% discount for their pets at the VTH. We also get a free heartworm test, check-up, and a year's supply of HWP. They also have a wellness package that includes vaccines with your heartworm test for pretty cheap. I saw you mentioned having a pot-bellied pig. Wherever you move, check your city ordinances. Stillwater does not allow any pigs inside the city limits for example. I would hate for you to relocate only to find out that you can't bring your piggy with you.

 

[spoondiggity]

Yeah I know the feeling, I'll be bringing a pot-bellied pig, two large dogs, and a cat lol. I love turtles 🙂. I will be driving to wherever I get into 🙂xf🙂 so it will be a truckload! 😎

I will be driving anywhere I move to as well, seeing as I need to take my car 😀 I'm hoping to take both my cats and my turtle... not sure how to transport the turtle though because he is aquatic and his water needs to be a certain temperature..

 

[sunnex3]

don't they also have an airline now that transports just pets?

i won't have a cat by the time i start school in the fall, but i'm planning on adopting the blood donor cat from the hospital i work at when her year is up in October 2012 so i would need to ship her to wherever i am if it's not close enough for me to drive back and get her.

 

[lostbunny]

This may be slightly inappropriate that I care about this, but I was wondering if current DVM students would share their school's policy on DVM student pets. If a school allows students to bring their personal pets into the hospital for care, if there are different discounts, or opportunity to use our pets to "learn on" or "practice on" in the hospitals... etc. Not that it is at all a deciding factor in my choice lol, I was just curious about it. There was a post in 2006 about this, but there weren't many answers, and I thought maybe we could get some updated ones... thanks!

One of the schools I was reading about gave discounts to students (exams, food, etc). I think thats fairly common... As for learning on them- someone else will have to produce a response for that- I have no idea sorry 😛

I was actually wondering how most people transported their pets (say, if they moved across the country)... I may be in a unique situation because I have a turtle that I'm trying to take with me lol

Aw thats adorable! I used to work at a reptile place and we took them on the road all the time. We just put them in plastic containers (i.e. rubbermaid) lined with paper/shavings (except for the snapping turtles- we filled it with a few inches of water) and the cover had holes in the top. They only traveled around the city, but there was a cross country team that did tours in the summer. They did long drives around the country but had a few days stop in between so the animals had time out of their carriers.

 

[Minnerbelle]

My co-workers mentioned when they were in school that you can receive discounts for your pets...

It's not universal so I'd check on the vet schools you applied to. At CSU it's like 40% off of services (and I'm not sure if there's discounts on labwork or not). Differing opinions based on who you ask, but rumor has it that the VTH services are so expensive compared to local vets that it might actually be cheaper to go to a local vet (who may also give vet student discounts) even with the discount. I don't really know, because I've never been to any of the local vets. But there's essentially free vaccine clinics and microchip clinics for students. And there are a ton of clinical research projects going on that you could enroll your pets in for different things. And if you cats you want to offer up as blood donors, you get a ton of stuff for free every year.

Tufts is pretty cushy. Up to $1500 a year I think, services are free and there's a 40% discount on everything else?

I mean, it's not something that should make your decision or anything, but it can be really nice when you're a poor vet student who would go hungry to treat your pet. It's nice not to go hungry.

 

[spoondiggity]

Aw thats adorable! I used to work at a reptile place and we took them on the road all the time. We just put them in plastic containers (i.e. rubbermaid) lined with paper/shavings (except for the snapping turtles- we filled it with a few inches of water) and the cover had holes in the top. They only traveled around the city, but there was a cross country team that did tours in the summer. They did long drives around the country but had a few days stop in between so the animals had time out of their carriers.

I usually transport him in a plastic container when I take him to the vet! I am just worried if I have to move some place far away... like across country lol not sure how he's doing to do. I will have to talk to the vet I take him to and see if he has any suggestions

 

[LetItSnow]

This may be slightly inappropriate that I care about this, but I was wondering if current DVM students would share their school's policy on DVM student pets. If a school allows students to bring their personal pets into the hospital for care, if there are different discounts, or opportunity to use our pets to "learn on" or "practice on" in the hospitals... etc. Not that it is at all a deciding factor in my choice lol, I was just curious about it. There was a post in 2006 about this, but there weren't many answers, and I thought maybe we could get some updated ones... thanks!

It's not inappropriate at all.

Like others, I think it varies highly from school to school. Your 'biggest' savings, pet-care wise, might come from the free HW/flea/tick meds you can get, along with discounted food from a couple food manufacturers. Caveat: Those programs are under the microscope at (some? many? most?) schools and have an uncertain future.

Another policy to consider is having animals on-campus. At UMN, we have a generous pet policy that allows us to have our animals in our academic building (they aren't allowed in other typical buildings like the student center, library, etc.), and there are kennels for them during the day. The kennels cost some money, so I don't use them. But when it comes to studying on campus at night, I bring one of my dogs frequently and she just hangs out with me or roams.

At UMN, I'm told we get a discount on (some?) care at our teaching hospital, but because I'm local and already have a well-established relationship with a vet I like - and who opened up her clinic to me for two years to get into vet school - I don't use it, so I can't really say if it's significant. (The free meds are a separate program by the med manufacturers, not the teaching hospital.) Minnerbelle's point about local discounts is valid, in my experience ... you may just need to ask around quietly. When one of my dogs needed an ultrasound, I was prepared to pay the $300 or whatever ultrasonographer fee only to be surprised when he did it gratis after the clinic mentioned I was a vet student.

There's not much teaching that goes on early in your vet school life that would potentially involve your animal at school. I suppose for behavioral or something, maybe. Dunno. But if you're like every other vet student, you will use your dogs as anatomy dummies for studying. One of our anatomy teachers said she'd give extra credit to anyone who shaved down their dog and then drew anatomically correct outlines of the muscles and whatnot. She quickly noted she was kidding, but I think a number of us seriously considered it before remembering we're in Minnesota.

 

[pooter]

Well, I don't have one of my own yet, so my info is a little sketchy. But from what I've figured out, Penn students get care discounted at two different rates--one for emergency services and one for the community clinic. Not sure how much those discounts are, but I think one is a flat discount and the other has some kind of spending limit. We also get free flea/tick/heartworm preventatives and access to the Hills and Purina feeding programs. There are clinical trials that come with perks--one on arthritis at the moment offers free x-rays, blood work, NSAIDs for a certain number of weeks, and a $100 stipend at the end. Those are open to everybody, but they recruit heavily out of the student body.

And, yeah, we're encouraged to practice on our own pets. We learn physical exam skills on "volunteers" and have homework where we had to perform PEs on 2 additional animals. The canine blood draw wet lab that I went to was an extracurricular deal, but it also used volunteers. In return for letting us poke them, we blood typed the dogs and ran free heartworm tests on them.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Well, I don't have one of my own yet, so my info is a little sketchy. But from what I've figured out, Penn students get care discounted at two different rates--one for emergency services and one for the community clinic. Not sure how much those discounts are, but I think one is a flat discount and the other has some kind of spending limit. We also get free flea/tick/heartworm preventatives and access to the Hills and Purina feeding programs. There are clinical trials that come with perks--one on arthritis at the moment offers free x-rays, blood work, NSAIDs for a certain number of weeks, and a $100 stipend at the end. Those are open to everybody, but they recruit heavily out of the student body.

And, yeah, we're encouraged to practice on our own pets. We learn physical exam skills on "volunteers" and have homework where we had to perform PEs on 2 additional animals. The canine blood draw wet lab that I went to was an extracurricular deal, but it also used volunteers. In return for letting us poke them, we blood typed the dogs and ran free heartworm tests on them.

To clarify on Penn Vet Hospital policy...
All services are discounted at 50%, for a maximum discount of $1500 per year. Some clinicians will give you additional free services under the table so to speak. THe community practice has a separate structure to encourage its use.... $10 exam fee, plus discounts. They try to get clinicians to do some stuff for free on a case by case basis, but really it is just for basic vet services.

 

[skittles12]

I know you get a discount here at UTK for hospital services and medications, but I'm not sure how much it is. (My pets are still at home right now.) Also you can get free Hill's and Purina food, and discounts on other brands for small/exotic animals.

 

[dyachei]

I know you get a discount here at UTK for hospital services and medications, but I'm not sure how much it is. (My pets are still at home right now.) Also you can get free Hill's and Purina food, and discounts on other brands for small/exotic animals.

I think its somewhere around 20%. But a lot of clinician's will help you if they can - they don't typically charge for exams, for instance.

 

[EllieGirl89]

Don't quote me on this but I think Ohio State's discount is 20% for students. I also heard about HW tests and flea and tick prevention but I want to say those programs start in the spring so I haven't heard much about them other than that they exist. I have to say though, even when it's not discounted OSU has pretty reasonable prices. When I was a senior in undergrad my Boxer had an allergic reaction to my girlfriend's cologne and his entire head swelled up. I took him in as an emergency and he got examined, poked and prodded, medicated, and sent home on meds. He started to recover but then broke out in hives the next day. I took him in again and they medicated him again and sent him home on more meds. The whole ordeal, emergency visit and all, cost me less than $150. I took him in during normal operating hours so they didn't charge an "emergency" fee, and when I took him in the second day they didn't charge me any exam fee whatsoever since it was for the same problem. I was quite pleased with the service I got and had been prepared to pay much more, so it was a pleasant surprise that the price was so reasonable. The board-certified animal behaviorist we have here also offers an amazing deal on her services that I'll probably be taking advantage of once I get some extra time.

We also get the usual free and discounted stuff from Hill's and Purina. For my critters' regular stuff (exams, shots, etc.) I just go to their regular vet back home. I've got it worked out so they get their annual exams and vaccines during winter break. They usually give me a pretty good discount (i.e. only charging me for vaccines and not the exams) or will do some stuff for free because I help out so much during the summer and on breaks.

 

[nuevaburra]

Another policy to consider is having animals on-campus. At UMN, we have a generous pet policy that allows us to have our animals in our academic building (they aren't allowed in other typical buildings like the student center, library, etc.), and there are kennels for them during the day. The kennels cost some money, so I don't use them. But when it comes to studying on campus at night, I bring one of my dogs frequently and she just hangs out with me or roams.
QUOTE]

That sounds awesome, anyone know if other schools (specifically UW) allow this?

 

[StartingoverVet]

That sounds awesome, anyone know if other schools (specifically UW) allow this?

At Penn pets are allowed in the student lounge, in the old vet building, in the classroom mainly used for 2nd years under the Hospital (B101), but not in the new classroom building (Hill).

 

[Emiloo4]

When I was a senior in undergrad my Boxer had an allergic reaction to my girlfriend's cologne and his entire head swelled up.

I have boxers! They're amazing 😀

 

[Emiloo4]

Another policy to consider is having animals on-campus.

My cousin just got a new job a few days ago at a marketing firm... all of their desks have leash hooks and a large pet bed, their staff lounge has waterfalls for dogs to drink from, and you can bring your dog to work anytime... all day long! They even have a doggie park outside! I'm jealous!! I wish more places were like that!
And the marketing they do doesn't even have anything to do with animals.

 

[Minnerbelle]

There's not much teaching that goes on early in your vet school life that would potentially involve your animal at school.

I think this also depends on the school too. At CSU, the only hands-on stuff we ever did was with student owned dogs during first-year. Physical exams and a whole ton of neuro was done that way. We prob had them in like once a month on average. I think we may have seen a single live teaching animal all year.

 

[Chebanse]

I am also curious if other schools allow pets on campus... Anyone know about CSU?


What do all of you vet students do with your pets during long days of classes? I have been looking at the hours of classes and I am already feeling guilty about leaving my dog alone for so long every day. I even had a moment of thinking that I would have to pass on taking some electives because they would mean that my dog would be alone for 11 hours straight.

My sister went to Western and she said that while there, she and some of the other vet students would get their dogs together at someone's house and leave them in a group so they would have company. They just switched whose house they would take them to. They would also pet sit for each other if they had to travel for their rotations. Do any of you do something like this?

 

[breenie]

That sounds awesome, anyone know if other schools (specifically UW) allow this?

Not during the day, I believe, but at night you can.

Same goes for Mizzou. Technically we're not supposed to, but any night time review sessions is going to have at least 3 dogs in it.

UW doesn't give a discount for students at the hospital, but Mizzou does. We have some clinicians that are rumored to cut you more of a break than others. I think that's pretty typical.

We still get free Purina/disocounted Hills here (Mizzou), and all of the HW/Flea stuff.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I am also curious if other schools allow pets on campus... Anyone know about CSU?

That would be a resounding no. You are allowed to sneak them in from a particular entrance if your dog is scheduled to be coming in as a demo dog for the day, but they have to come in the morning, and you have to drive them home as soon as they're done usually during lunch time. Some people started sneaking their dogs into the cubes after hours, but it's not allowed, and there will always be enough tattle tales to curb such practices.

What do all of you vet students do with your pets during long days of classes? I have been looking at the hours of classes and I am already feeling guilty about leaving my dog alone for so long every day. I even had a moment of thinking that I would have to pass on taking some electives because they would mean that my dog would be alone for 11 hours straight. My sister went to Western and she said that while there, she and some of the other vet students would get their dogs together at someone's house and leave them in a group so they would have company.

I think that's why many students consider leaving their dogs with their parents. It can most definitely be done though. You can always go home during lunch (and there are so many places to live within 10 min of campus). Or you can live with a couple other dog owners and rotate going home for lunch or days you'll each be home after school to let the dogs out. You could most def do something like your sister did, and I'm sure if you posted on your facebook group, some people would be interested. I know someone who kept her dog in her car during the school day, but I wouldn't recommend that.

They would also pet sit for each other if they had to travel for their rotations. Do any of you do something like this?

Pet sitters are very very easy to find in vet school, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. If it's a classmate, a lot of people will do a you scratch my back I scratch yours kinda deal, and/or watch your pup for free just out of goodwill. Even if you reach out to the vet school at large, you'll be able to find someone to take care of your pooch for very cheap.

 

[finnerma]

My cousin just got a new job a few days ago at a marketing firm... all of their desks have leash hooks and a large pet bed, their staff lounge has waterfalls for dogs to drink from, and you can bring your dog to work anytime... all day long! They even have a doggie park outside! I'm jealous!! I wish more places were like that!
And the marketing they do doesn't even have anything to do with animals.

Wow that sounds awesome! Jealous!

 

[EllieGirl89]

At Ohio State it is actually a specific Honor Code violation to bring in your pets to the academic buildings. The only reason your pet could come into any of the buildings is if it is a patient at the hospital, and then it needs to be in the hospital.

The one dog of mine that lives in Columbus with me is crate trained and doesn't mind being in his crate while I'm at school. I also have my girlfriend and a roommate who I live with so we are 3 people with different enough schedules that he almost always gets out at least a couple times while I'm at school.

 

[Chebanse]

Thanks for the info, Minnerbelle. I am not surprised that pets are not allowed in the buildings except for class oriented circumstances especially since first and second year classes are on main campus.

My family lives in Chicago (I live in Denver), so giving my dog up to my parents would be pretty permanent (especially considering how attached they got to him when I moved back home for about 8 months.) I think, as you said, that I will probably have to do some networking with other students. It's good to know that people are generally good-natured and helpful with pet sitting in vet school 🙂

 

[LetItSnow]

At Ohio State it is actually a specific Honor Code violation to bring in your pets to the academic buildings. The only reason your pet could come into any of the buildings is if it is a patient at the hospital, and then it needs to be in the hospital.

Wow, that bites!! I love our policy. Silly as it is, it's comforting to have my dog around with me late at night when I'm sitting at my study carrel wishing I were anywhere but there. (She probably is, too; she's not so found of the waxed floor.)

And during the day, there's always somebody who has a dog or two around for a little 'dog therapy' after a long lecture.

 

[elefante7]

Quick update since our policy recently changed:

Vet students at UW-Madison get a 40% discount on most vet services and products for up to 3 pets.

 

[2016DVM2016]

When I was at my interview/orientation at Western U, a parent asked if they offered discounts for students' pets and they said no. I would like someone from Western to confirm this if possible. I also would like to know if any pets are allowed on Western's campus (I am doubtful). 🙁

 

[Packen]

I THINK our policy is 30% off for students at the VTH, which includes everything since the VTH here also has a general practice component too. We also have the Hills program all the way over here.

As for pets in the teaching building, it is a big NO 🙁 Some of the professors are trying to get that policy changed though. In the words of one of our profs - what kind of veterinary teaching building only allows dead animals inside?? So jealous of those of you that do!!!

 

[2016DVM2016]

My cousin just got a new job a few days ago at a marketing firm... all of their desks have leash hooks and a large pet bed, their staff lounge has waterfalls for dogs to drink from, and you can bring your dog to work anytime... all day long! They even have a doggie park outside! I'm jealous!! I wish more places were like that!
And the marketing they do doesn't even have anything to do with animals.

I dream of having a job like that!!! I am also jealous!!

 

[2016DVM2016]

What do all of you vet students do with your pets during long days of classes? I have been looking at the hours of classes and I am already feeling guilty about leaving my dog alone for so long every day. I even had a moment of thinking that I would have to pass on taking some electives because they would mean that my dog would be alone for 11 hours straight.

My sister went to Western and she said that while there, she and some of the other vet students would get their dogs together at someone's house and leave them in a group so they would have company. They just switched whose house they would take them to. They would also pet sit for each other if they had to travel for their rotations. Do any of you do something like this?

I am glad someone brought this up. I have been worrying about having to leave my two dogs alone for long periods of time for over a year now. That is if I am accepted to vet school this year. My one dog developed severe separation anxiety and a crate phobia after moving cross country. I do not have any family in CA to help watch them so I have been looking into hiring a pet sitter, but of course it is expensive.

 

[primatevetjess]

At Davis we get a 20% discount at the VMTH, but it doesn't cover any blood work. We used to have a much better discount (80% off, up to $1400 in a year), but budget cuts suck. Still, at least it's something. We also have the Hills program, and get up to 40 pounds of food for free every month. I have quite the back stock of cat food 😀

Animals are allowed inside our teaching buildings - during the day they're supposed to stay in crates in the homeroom, but late at night while studying everyone has their dogs in the study rooms with them.

Edit: I forgot to add that there are a lot of opportunities to learn on our pets in club wetlabs. We have canine ultrasound, feline ultrasound, dog aggressive training, acupuncture, etc. wetlabs. Then we could bring our dogs and cats during actual labs within the curriculum for neuro physical exams and ophthalmology exams.

 

[SocialStigma]

We're allowed to bring our pets to the teaching hospital, but no discounts. We get a free bag/12 cans of Iams food per month. There's always at least a couple of dogs in our class (a few people are fostering service dogs), but sometimes we bring in our own pets for fun too. We also use our own pets in wet lab demonstrations (eg. bandaging lab), neuro exam lab etc.

Re what to do with pets during long days of classes: I live close enough (3-4 min walk from school) that I can come home during the lunch hour (12:30-1:30) to let out the dog. I'm now looking for a new place to live for next year and one of my requirements is that it's <10 min walk so that I can come home during lunch.

 

[SnowyRox]

More on Penn...

Pet Appointments at Ryan: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/Educationa...ppointmentsforyourPet/tabid/1002/Default.aspx

Official Pet Policy: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/Educationa...sInfo/SchoolPolicyPets/tabid/632/Default.aspx

And when I interviewed the students were talking about the free food given out. I think it's Purina?

 

[hopefulinva]

I know student pets are not allowed in VMRCVM's building (the pre-vet club at VT recently got in trouble for bringing their own animals into the building, not realizing it was a violation of the school policy =/ ), and I'm pretty sure that applies to after-hours too (since the pre-vet club meets after-hours).

And I think this question came up during an orientation session for Illinois, and I think the answer was the same - animals are not allowed in class - but I'm not entirely sure about that one.

I don't know anything about discounts, though. Sorry! =)

edit: Although during the post-interview tour at VMRCVM, they did mention something about free pet food from Hill's and... maybe Purina? Something like 1 large bag a month? So there's at least that, haha.

 

[Emiloo4]

Anyone from UF want to add?? Please? 😀

 

[jmo1012]

idk what the actual percentage is, but i know there are huge discounts at our VTH for students along with prices already being substantially lower than in the US. We have Hills at greatly reduced costs (i think the small charge covers shipping/customs), and 2 pets per year free heartworm prevention from any of 5 companies.

we use our pets all the time for teaching purposes

 

[bunnity]

More on Penn...

Pet Appointments at Ryan: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/Educationa...ppointmentsforyourPet/tabid/1002/Default.aspx

Official Pet Policy: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/Educationa...sInfo/SchoolPolicyPets/tabid/632/Default.aspx

And when I interviewed the students were talking about the free food given out. I think it's Purina?

We get free Purina and Hill's, and free heartworm / flea meds from all the major companies (Frontline/HG, Revolution, Advantage, Capstar, and more). We get a pretty sweet deal.

Our student discount is a flat 50% off up to $1500 off, and after that you pay full price. There is also a "community practice" for things like vaccines and ear infections that is cheap and does not count toward your $1500 limit.

Pets are not allowed in most buildings although there are some special snowflakes who insist upon bringing theirs to classes. 🙄

 

[dvmdreamer]

I'm excited about this saving money idea... just curious, does anyone know if any horse feed companies have programs for students?

 

[Katie8]

Does anyone know is NCSU has pet food incentives or any type of animal care benefits? (local vets discount for being a vet student, etc)

 

[SnowyRox]

I'm excited about this saving money idea... just curious, does anyone know if any horse feed companies have programs for students?

I sawa bunch of purina outside lockers at wisconsin so i think it is sometimes included. Purina wouldnt be high on my list of foods i would like to feed to my horse though.

 

[dvmdreamer]

I sawa bunch of purina outside lockers at wisconsin so i think it is sometimes included. Purina wouldnt be high on my list of foods i would like to feed to my horse though.

Not to start an off topic discussion, but I'm curious as to why?

 

[squeegee]

I'm excited about this saving money idea... just curious, does anyone know if any horse feed companies have programs for students?

CSU does, though i don't have many specifics because i usually delete those emails 😳 i think the company is Nutrena? you basically fill out a quiz every month and if you get higher than a certain % you can get a free bag of feed at the feed store in town....something like that, anyway!

 

[RadRadTerp]

My dog is in the blood donor program at the teaching hospital, so he gets free vaccines and annual exams, as well as HWP and flea preventatives. It doesn't cover costs outside of that, so I had to take him to a local clinic for treatment of a puncture wound he got running into a tree last summer, but they gave me a great student discount and a prescription of antibiotics from the local grocery store ($4 for 3 weeks of cephalexin!). If it wasn't for the blood donor program, I would just go to a local clinic because it's a quicker vet visit. As much as I'd want to help 4th year vet students get some practice, I also don't have time to give them 2.5 hours for an annual exam when I have 3 exams of my own to worry about that week.

As far as food is concerned, I use the Purina University program to get a 34-lb bag of food every month while school is in session and it lasts me through the summer since my dog only eats 3/4 of that each month.

 

[moocow1987]

Great thread! Anyone know anything about Cornell?

 

[that redhead]

At AVC we can "register" up to two pets at the teaching hospital. We get like a 20% discount on our bill. I registered my dog but when I needed someone to see her last fall, they told me they had no one there except a resident and it was "emergency-only" for the whole week. I was miffed. So I asked the receptionist if she had any other places I could call and she gave me the number to her own vet. I use them instead of the school and they give me a little discount since I'm a vet student anyway and I really like them. I'm not crazy about the idea of just dropping my dog off for the day while I'm in class; I prefer the more traditional go in, talk to vet, etc, go home. A couple of my classmates have used the teaching hospital for their pets and really like the doctors, but now that my dog is seeing another vet, I'm not going to just switch her over. So.

As for "practicing" - the most I've seen is that you can volunteer your dog for a club's wet lab and bring them in for it. I've seen positive training, osteoarthritis studies, ultrasounds, etc. And of course you can practice stuff at home. But for things like blood draws, surgeries, etc, we have teaching animals.

 

[that redhead]

I was actually wondering how most people transported their pets (say, if they moved across the country)... I may be in a unique situation because I have a turtle that I'm trying to take with me lol

I transported my dog from DC to Canada. I drove her with me (she's only 25lbs, sleeps in the car) since I was driving anyway. All I needed was the rabies paperwork, although the border dudes didn't even look at her, so she could have been a rabid moose for all they cared 🙄

Interesting thing about turtles is you aren't supposed to have them as pets in PEI unless you have them registered with our exotics vet on her permit. So I would check up on laws about owning turtles where you're going and maybe hop onto the school's permit if necessary.

 

[smilesoup]

At Tufts, all physical exams and initial consultations are free. Procedures and medications are 40% off, and as someone mentioned up above, you are allowed to save up to $1500 per year. A classmate of mine had a dental cleaning (no extractions) done at Tufts for his dog for about $250 with the discount included.

As far as food goes, we get one bag/case of food per month free from Purina, as well as up to 40 lbs (I think) free from Hills per month. Also, we get free flea/tick/heartworm meds. Pretty sweet deal, imo! 🙂