Hello! My name is Kira Galbraith and I am doing my Pinternship at Forest Park Animal Hospital in Panama City, Florida. My first day was June 17th. I met three important people at the animal hospital: the manager, Rhonda, the owner of the practice/the lead Veterinarian, Dr. Favolaro, and the other Veterinarian, Dr. Baker. Report time is at 7:30 am. At 8 am Dr. Baker begins surgeries and Dr. Favolaro opens the practice at 9 am.
Monday morning I observed two scheduled surgeries: a small dog spay and a enucleation. An enucleation is the removal of the eye, and in this case the surgery was performed on a chihuahua that scratched it’s eye and had no care leading to a ruptured cornea.
Two dogs were euthanized and returned to their owners. My first day in a real Veterinary office taught me that doctors have to adjust their treatments based on the owners and the doctors have to multitask under great pressure.
Tuesday, I observed Dr. Baker cut into a neutered dalmatian’s urethra. Monday we inserted a catheter and extracted 3 cups of urine that accumulated over 4 days. The canine was experiencing stones blocking the passage of his urinary track, causing him to experience pain, leading to Dr. Baker surgically creating a vagina for the dog so he could by pass the stones. Tuesday was the first time Dr. Baker performed this procedure. Her willingness to go out of her comfort zone and research the surgery taught me the importance of dedication she had to saving this animals life. Following the surgery I was trained to test fecal exams, draw up different vaccinations, and fill prescriptions.
Wednesday came around and I was amazed by how much I’ve already learned. While doing a canine fecal test I came across a type of worm. Using the resources they provided me I then could identify the worm as a hook worm.
Later in the day I learned how a Vet Tech and a Vet do dentals. A dog or cat dental is the same procedure that a hygienist uses on their patients. In most practices the Vet puts the animal under –giving the animal enough gas to their body causing them to be intubated, or become unconscious– and the Vet Tech does the cleaning of the teeth. Teeth had to be pulled due to the roots of the teeth being eaten by the tartar. Wednesday, I learned how the Vet Tech’s role is essential in the office.
Thursday followed with an odd case. An owner brought in a aggressive female dog that needed her teeth done and needed her vaccinations up to date. To intubate the dog the vet techs needed to use a mussel. This particular dog was hard to mussel because there was so much hair on this dog they could not see where its mouth was. After the dog was finally under, the owner was called and we asked for permission to shave the dog. We aren’t certified groomers but it was in the dogs best interest to shave her. It took four people, three with clippers, to shave the dog in one hour. I was taught there is no proper agenda in the veterinary field when this twenty-five minuet appointment turned into a hour and a half appointment.
Finally Friday!! A vet tech brought in her rottweiler that had a severely infected
toe. Dr. Baker decided to amputate the toe. After going through the struggle of getting the 130lb beast onto her table she then opened the toe and cut off the toe at the joint. To the left is a picture of the toe dangling at the joint and the picture to the left is an xray taken after the surgery.
Through out the week I observed many surgeries and was taught many vet tech duties: preparing a room (drawing up vaccines and getting the correct paper work), filling medicine (printing out the medicine labels and putting the right amount into pill bottles), inserting fees into the computer (using a specific program built for that animal hospital), and restraining 
animals. My first week was busy and a wonderful learning experience and now I am excited to see what is to come.
While out of the office I got to go on a deep sea fishing trip with my second cousin and my great uncle on Sunday. It was hot and too early….4 in the morning. The trip turned out to be a great experience and provided nice fish the following two nights along with some soar muscles. 
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