Creature Comforts

Notoedres cati, aka: the feline Scabies mite

Abdominocentesis on a sugar glider

Bill Nye The Science Guy has been a major inspiration in my life. I was homeschooled so I watched Bill regularly to supplement my schooling (and other animal shows). Maybe I didn't grow up to be a great scientist. But I have become a Veterinary Technician...of science. I'm 25 and i've already started a career of rescuing and now medically helping animals wherever and whenever I can. Bill Nye and his show's influence is the reason I have started up my side project of taking animals to schools and teaching kids why other animals, the food chain, and our environment are all so important to our world. I can't sit by and watch the new generation have all of the knowledge of the world at their finger tips but not use it to learn more about the natural world around them. I hope I can inspire a kid to dive into science the way that Bill Nye inspired me. I can't wait to see how this documentary turns out. #BillBillBill bit.ly/billnyefilm

Coccidia Oocysts -kitten with coccidiosis (1 field of fecal float sample seen at 10x on microscope)

Ovariohysterectomy of what was a Closed Pyometra. (sliced open to show the pus).

Right lateral radiograph of a Closed Pyometra. Unfortunately, since I work nights at an emergency clinic, the owners declined surgery or any treatment at all. Prognosis is very grim for this 2 year old little yorkie if nothing continues to be done.

“Intussusception is a disorder in which one segment of the intestine slides into another, much like the parts of a telescope. The affected segments obstruct the bowel and block blood flow.” - Merck Manual

I caught this little girl in my yard after a few days of looking for her. My neighbor's dog had killed her mother about a week ago. I watched and fed her cat food and chicken for 2 days to make sure she was ok. Then last night, we released her back out to the edge of the everglades where she will hopefully stay away from roads and dogs.

Neonatal Necropsy - The mother had been in labor for 24 hrs and only had this puppy and then the others were already dead when the doctor attempted a c-section. During the necropsy we discovered that a portion of the small intestines were torn out through the umbillicus. The new mother I suppose didn't know her own strength and we believe when chewing off the umbillical coard, she took some of the intestines as well and eventually it killed the puppy. Its a sad story but it made for a very interesting necropsy of a neonate.

We had fun in our lab a few months ago taking rads of my newest pet, Andromeda the Brazilian Rainbow Boa. She was only about 3 months old but even with the size, we were able to get a fun x-ray.

Hello again tumblr universe... I apologize for not posting in a year but I finally graduated and am currently finishing my last clinical rotation over the summer. I will be taking the dreaded VTNE in the fall and will hopefully and finally be a CVT soon after. Though I haven't posted, I have had some fun stories and photos along the way so I will be playing catch-up and posting some of the highlights of the last few months of school adventures. I have also been officially hired at an emergency clinic and will continue to post whatever i can that does not infringe on any legal boundries. Thanks to everyone who's still following!

can't believe it's been 7 years since he's been gone, but I can honestly say Steve Irwin is still my hero. Maybe he was a little reckless at times but his passion and enthusiasm for the animals always made me feel like it was ok to be the weird animal kid when I was little and I think he was a big influence on my decision to work with animals the rest of my life. I just hope the guy's message never dies out. RIP Croc Hunter.

So did my hedgie, Seamus!

We had to put this dog down last week because of its tumor and because of its age. We did a brief necropsy and found that it was a tumor in the spleen that had taken up the entire abdominal cavity and was still spreading. Really crazy, the doctor said he had never seen anything like it.