Hi everyone, I’m Emily Grace Raphael and I’m in Plainfield, New Hampshire studying small and large animal veterinary medicine at Riverbend Veterinary Clinic.
This week is my final week here and I have a pretty good understanding of what it’s like in the vet world. Monday morning started off with a spay on a big girl named “Pippa”. This time Pippa was actually a girl compared to the other Pippa I saw last week. Spays are far different from neuters. So far, all the neuters I’ve seen were very simple and didn’t expose the animal that much. Spays, however, are a bit more personal. The vet makes an incision and has to dig around in the body to search for the uterus. It’s very fascinating how they know exactly what they’re looking for in the mess of organs and blood. Due to Pippa’s size, Dr. Whybrow used staples to close the incision instead of sutures. Once Pippa was complete, Mary, a little dog with a small lump on her head, had it removed. Mary was spayed as well.
Pippa’s uterus was removed during her spay.
Tuesday was a busy day. Dr. Morrell started with “Haiku” a very kind and gentle cat. Haiku had a lump on his back that was removed. Haiku looked very similar to my cat at home “Cloey”, which was a nice reminder of her. He was a super sweet cat. Once Haiku was put back in his little house, “Mia” a friendly golden retriever came in for a spay. When Dr. Morrell successfully removed Mia’s uterus, she showed me up close what it looks like. She pointed out the ovaries and how to recognize the uterus. On the emotional side of things, an older cat named “Bandit” came in with an awful mouth infection. He had cancer all over his mouth and it was not very pretty. There wasn’t much the vets could do and he was on the older side as well. Bandit ended up being put down. I was able to watch the process this time. Although it was very sad, it was also very educational for me to see what happens during an euthanasia. After lunch, I was able to go on the road with Dr. Jadene Patch. Dr. Patch is a large animal vet who isn’t in the clinic very often. We went to x-ray a horse with an open flesh wound on her upper leg towards the shoulder. Dr. Patch believed there was something in there that needed to make its way out. She was correct. After figuring out the portable x-ray machine (which was a bit of a process since Dr. Patch had never used it on her own and Dr. Megan Robertson wasn’t quite there yet), it revealed a small chip of bone was loose and floating in the leg. Dr. Patch recommended surgery to go in and scrape it out and provided an ointment to help heal the wound. Dr. Robertson arrived right as the x-ray was taken. I ended up going with her the rest of the day. It was a little less than an hour’s drive to the next patient from where we were. Dr. Robertson and I had some really good conversations about the reality of being a vet. She gave me some really good advice about college and things I can do to eventually become a vet. When we arrived at our destination, two horses needed some shots. The two horses were relatively old and had some health issues that Dr. Robertson took the time to explain to me. She explained what shots she gave the horses and the diseases that they prevent. Overall, I learned and saw a lot on that day.
“Red”, the horse with a loose piece of bone in her leg.
On Wednesday, another very kind cat came in. His name was “Buster” and he got neutered. He was very calm and gentle the whole time. Very similar to Haiku, the cat that came in yesterday. Next, “Clementine” a sweet dog had a tiny lump on her back. It was super small and Dr. Robertson said it was probably just a cyst. After the calm, simple patient was a crazy dog named “Miko”. Miko was 12 years old and had a huge, ugly tumor on his front leg. Miko came in for an x-ray but had to be sedated in order to do so. With some extra help, the x-ray was taken and Miko was put back in his kennel. Wednesday was a day for x-rays because after Miko, was a cat who needed an x-ray, then “Dakota” an old pomeranian who hasn’t been doing too good got one too. The rest of the morning and some of the afternoon mostly consisted of taking x-rays.
“Buster”, a very handsome cat.
Thursday I was able to be on the road most of the day with Dr. Morrell. Our first stop was an older horse who managed to tear half her eyelid off. It was still attached but dangling from her eye. Dr. Morrell was able to reattach it back on and it looked good as new by the time she was finished. The process was a little difficult due to the horse jerking her head around but otherwise went very well. This was by far one of the coolest things I’ve seen so far. The next client was a horse who seemed to be skinnier than usual so we went and Dr. Morrell provided the owners with nutritional advice and examined the horse as well. We then went to a boarding stable and updated a few horses on their vaccines. Nothing too exciting there. The final patient of the day was a horse named “Fiddler” who has a very difficult history. Not too long ago, Fiddler nearly died because the bone in his leg went through his hoof. Since then all the vets have been sensitive towards him and monitor him very carefully. This visit was because the owner noticed he’s been sore and he nearly collapsed walking up a short incline. Dr. Morrell did an exam on the hoof that seemed to be hurting him and took some x-rays. Everything appeared to be fine on the x-rays and he was walking fine as well. After the x-rays, Dr. Morrell did an ultrasound on his hind to look at the tissues and joints. Everything there was clear as well. In conclusion, Fiddler appeared to be perfectly fine and there was no evidence of any problems. We ended the day off by getting some ice cream in the rain and headed back to the clinic.
Dr. Morrell reattaching an eyelid.
Friday was my final day at the clinic. The morning started off with “Moose”, a black cat. Moose was neutered and had his yucky ears cleaned. After Moose, a big, smiley dog named “Molly” came in with two lacerations on her side. It appeared Molly had gotten stuck on something that tore her skin in two spots. Thankfully, Dr. Morrell was able to suture the skin back together and Molly was all fixed up. To wrap up my internship, was a gorgeous gray cat, “Maple”. Maple looked like he had a lovely coat, but when you pet him his fur is covered in mats. Maple had a nice haircut to remove all the mats on his back and even under his chin. He also had his ears cleaned and his nails clipped.
“Maple” with his new haircut.
Friday night I stayed in Boston to catch my flight on Saturday morning to head home. I enjoyed my time in Plainfield and got to see and experience lots of cool things. I’m hoping to continue my education in veterinary science and get as much experience as possible.
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