Another week another dissection

Well its back to Anatomy class practical where we had to dissect yet another cat.

Poor kitty was probably from the shelter and came to our labs as an extension of his life.

Photos later but our goal for today was to identify all the organs under the diaphragm and yes this means opening him up, pulling out each and every part (well not out out but shifting his organs around so we can see what is hiding behind).

More to this post later this week but honestly, no one tells you before going to vet school how stinky the animal cadavers can get!

Dissections, decisions

2nd year of vet school and there isn't as many posts because we are not going out to the farms so far.

Just to clarify, this is the 2nd year of my Bachelor of Veterinary BioScience and as part of the bridging programme, I will start the Doctorate of Vet Medicine next year hence some of the stuff that I do now tends to be more science based.

The nice thing about this year is that we do cover a quite a bit on anatomy and anatomy practicals mean having to
1) Dissect animals (so we would know what to expect within the animals in future).
2) Decide if this is really for us (it's not a joke, if you can't bear to dissect animals or you faint at the sight of blood, this is good time to transfer degrees)


We started off with a cat dissection practical which allows us to familiarise ourselves with the position of the various organs, the digestion tract, gastrointestinal tract, the position of the diaphragm, thoracic cavity etc.
(OK here is the part where I will post some pictures of animals all cut up, if you can't take this, maybe move on to the next blog?)

I think I did pretty well with the cat dissection practical - we cut up the cat pretty well and it wasn't too messy.

Another disclaimer (this post is just FULL of it!), all animals you see here were ethically sourced. They were not put down for our purposes, they would still be put down at the end of the day, we are just extending the usefulness of their life.

Our next Anatomy class was on muscular skeletal system.

This time around we were only dissecting chicken wings (seriously its the same ones you buy from the supermarket, we just had to dissect and look at the different muscles and tendon, not the most exciting).

The rest of the animals were shared stations which allowed 3 classes (we are talking 300 students or about there) to view these specimens and not waste them.

The demonstrators for this module are superb! They answer any of our questions, they help procure and prep the animals and so super nice and approachable.

Here we have the horse's leg cut in half to show us the joints

And the musem have very cool specimens that have been preserved for students like us

Honestly I'm having a blast in school so far, it has been fun (but very full on).

Til the next post.

Pre-dog research

My own thoughts on what people should consider doing research on prior to getting a dog.

Owning a dog is something that most people wish to do once they have enough time and money or their own pet-friendly apartment. Prior to adopting a dog, it is always useful to do some research on the dog's breed. Even if the dog is a mix breed, if you are aware of what breed mix it is, it will give you an idea of the energy level of the dog. This information will also make it easier to determine if the dog will be suitable for your lifestyle.

There are tons of research online with regards to dog breeds and how do they fit in various family units e.g. with or without children, living in an apartment or not, do you have an active lifestyle etc.

Animal Planet has this great series called Dogs 101 (they also have Cats 101 as well) and its quite interesting what they tell you on each breed.

Besides all that before you buy or adopt a dog, here are a few useful things to take note of:

·      Where is your nearest veterinary clinic

o   With regards to the clinic, even if you choose to go to another clinic, knowing where the nearest veterinary clinic will allow you to gauge where you can go in an emergency.

·      Where is the nearest / nearest dog boarding house/ puppy daycare

o   Nowadays with our busy lifestyles, it is not uncommon to go on holidays or be busy with work. Knowing that you have an option to place your dog in daycare or a boarding house if you are away would definitely provide you with some flexibility.

·      Where is your nearest pet store or pet supply store.

o   Knowing where the nearest pet store is will allow to plan your schedule with regards to buying of your dog’s necessities such as toys, food, leashes etc.

·      Where is the nearest dog run/ dog park

o   One of the best things about owning is a dog is spending time with your dog at the park or planning meet up/ play dates with other dog owners. Being aware of where the nearest dog run/dog park is will definitely help and even friends who don't own dogs can also join you at the dog park

When I adopted my mix breed dog Hunter, I did do all the research mentioned above and to be honest, with the internet these days, its pretty easy to get reviews, feedbacks and suggestions as to where to go. It definitely made it easier for me to decide which veterinary clinic I would prefer to go to which was convenient for me and finding out the nearest dog park was rather helpful in bringing Hunter out to burn off all his puppy energy.

In case you were wondering what happened to me, I'm out of school and home for the holidays. I spent 6 weeks volunteering at a veterinary clinic and I do want to post some stuff on it. This blog kinda serves two purposes, one to share what I know with whoever is interested and two kind of a record of what I've done as well.

Besides volunteering, I've been working at a retail shop and bingeing on dramas and meeting with friends.

Til the next post :)