Weekly Reflection #2

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Weekly Reflection

 

            As I had gotten used to being around a veterinary hospital the first week, this second week I learned more about how to deal with the people coming for appointments, as well as how to care for the animals.  It was hard to deal with people who were not exactly the best people to own a pet, for instance, when people would bring in a dog that was so untrained it would snap at the vet or the assistant.  The owners, a lot of the time, would just laugh off the dog’s biting as if it was not serious, when in reality, a dog bite can be very serious and is nothing to laugh at. 

This week I also learned more about taking care of the baby kittens and their mother who had been abandoned and were now in the Avalon Animal Hospital’s care.  One of the kittens was much smaller than the others, and because of this, it did not get as much food (mother’s milk) as it needed.  We tried everything we could to get it to put on weight.  We separated it from its mother and siblings and put it in its own crate with warming blankets and a feeding tube so that it could put on more weight.  In the end, nothing worked and it passed away, leaving us with only four kittens.

            This week I really enjoyed what we were doing.  I loved meeting all the new animals in appointments.  Also, it was especially fun taking care of the kittens and their mother.  I realize I was especially asked to help keep the company of the mother cat  because she had just gone through so much and deserved a little pampering.  It really surprised me when a dog was brought in one day to be put to sleep; I forgot that vets also have to do jobs like that.  I have benefited from this week by knowing more about how to interact with patients, both the animals and the humans that bring them.