License

For those of you who haven't seen my tweet, my Veterinary Technician License has arrived. When I got home from work on Friday you could've knocked me over when I saw it. It only took 8 days to get to me. It was a pleasant surprise, as I had though it'd take a month or so to arrive. That's cool with me.

Of course I didn't expect a choir to sing out or balloons to fall in celebration, but I did hope for a sense of relief or.....something. I have to admit that I feel no different than the day before I got my license. It's just weird. As I stated in a previous post, my college experience/graduation was unconventional. I can only interpret my reaction, or nonreaction for that matter, because of that. I graduated, but with no pomp and circumstance, then 2 months later received a piece of paper they call a diploma. At that point signing up and passing boards was on my mind. I signed up, studied, and then took boards 3 months later. There was no relief at that point because I didn't know if I had passed. Then another 2 months and I received notification that I passed. A week later I received my license. The whole experience wasn't exactly a whirlwind...it was dragged out over 6 months.

I'm glad, thrilled, happy that I passed and I am now licensed. Given I've worked toward this for approximately 7 years, I better be content, right? Damn, 7 years. You know, I could've been a doctor......BUT, that's beside the point. Considering I did that while moving between 3 states, changing jobs at each move, paid everything all out of pocket, without loans, while working a 40+ hour work week, at an almost full-time school schedule, I should be proud. I am. I just wish there was that huge sense of relief I had been looking for. Guess I've just been decompressing over the passed 6 months and am already geared up for a new challenge to present itself. Soon enough.

It's Okay, I'm A Vet Tech

I remember throughout my entire experience I lost count of how many times I said, "I'm a vet tech." Looking back I see myself as a dork, but at the time all I wanted to do was let the nurses/doctors know that I knew exactly what they were talking about and they could speak their regular jargon and stop asking, "Do you understand?" Of course they had no idea of what I do on a daily basis...so anytime I said, "I'm a vet tech." I also had to explain what I do. Actually, I don’t think most people know what I do or what my profession entails. I don’t just put a client in an exam room and get a history. True, I do that, but not just that. I’m not just a nurse to animals, but a radiology technician, dental hygienist, phlebotomist, lab technician, anesthesiologist, surgical nurse, and then some, all in one person. I remember seeing the looks on their faces after I said that. I'm still not sure if they were surprised or they just thought I was making it up.

On a side note, this was my first major medical experience while being a tech. It definitely changed my perspective on the whole experience. I am also surprised to say that although I respect all individuals in the health care field for what they do, I found that they are so limited in their knowledge outside of their specific field. I'm not saying they're stupid by any means...that's far from the truth. They know what they're doing. But, for instance, the nurse didn't know what tubes were used for what lab test until the phlebotomist came in and collected more blood and explained. Not to toot my own horn but I do all of those things, know how to do them, why I do them, all on multiple species while getting bit, scratched, and kicked…..and at a fraction of the income of just one of those professions. Ha! Sad, but I remind myself that I don't do it for the money.

Associate In Applied Science

It's finally arrived. My long awaited piece of paper they call a "degree." It's nothing special and it still hasn't hit me that I actually earned a diploma. I think that's because I never had a definitive ending point, such as a ceremony. This wasn't your typical college experience and I won't ever have that picture of a ceremony in my cap and gown with my diploma. But that's okay though. I've never lived my life in a typical fashion, following what others did, so I didn't see why that should change how I earned my degree.

My road to becoming a registered technician is not over. It technically will never be over, since I have to keep up with continuing education. However, at this point, although I hold a piece of paper in my hand, I'm not "legal" until I take the national examination to become a registered technician (RVT). That's coming soon enough. In the meantime I'm going to study my ass off and pray that I pass, and also soak in the fact that I have a degree.

Parvo Sucks

It's parvo season. This time is never fun. It means vomit, diarrhea, disinfect, and repeat at work. In addition you deal with dying animals and people that don't have money to treat the animals. It's such a tough time. This year isn't any easier and if anything the strain is more virulent. On average we're seeing 3-4 cases a day and that doesn't even include those that call in and don't make an appointment. We're constantly dealing with individuals that are calling thinking their pet has been poisoned. Of course they haven't been poisoned. It's parvo. People aren't getting their puppies vaccinated and oftentimes when they do, they give one vaccination...not enough to provide enough immunity. It definitely takes an emotional toll on us. You know you want to provide for the pet but 9 times out of 10 the people don't have money. Just as with human children, it seems that the ones that shouldn't or can't afford to reproduce also have the most dogs and don't take proper care of them. So you're between a rock and a hard place. You try to go through the motions and not try to identify too much with the pet or you'll just crumble. On the other hand there's no denying that you need to help the poor things. You even have the thoughts of, "maybe the pet will be better off in the long run if they do pass." Horrible, I know. But so true. Then, dealing with the humans you wonder if they honestly don't know what they're doing or if they are plain ignorant. The people come in crying saying, "They're like our child." Of course they are, but don't you get your children vaccinated? As with everything it's trying to find the happy medium. Go to work, do my job, have compassion (but not too much), and go home.

So, FYI...parvo is VERY bad here in Sandusky. If you have a puppy that's not vaccinated, get it vaccinated ASAP. If you have an adult dog that's not current on vaccinations, get it vaccinated ASAP. Even adult dogs that are current on the vaccination can run the risk of contracting the disease. Of course this is rare but all vaccinations aren't 100%. And even if they were to contract the disease the severity will be much less. Parvo sucks but it's a preventable disease.

An Answer To My Problem

So, this is the deal. I found a cheap CE option that's local. Problem is that it's next week....half marathon's next week. I had originally ruled it out because of the marathon. And if it weren't for Doc saying, "You might want to look into it...." I wouldn't have reassessed the situation. Actually, he wanted me to drop out of the Half just to attend the conference. He said, "I think you have to get your priorities straight." Right.....my priorities are straight. I haven't put my heart, soul, sweat, and pain into this only to come up empty handed. Yeah, so what if "there are a million other races that come around." This ones mine. I claim it and I'm not going to give it up. Not to mention I'm not going to be out our entry fee $ either. So, instead of attending the whole conference I'll attend Thursday and Friday, getting 9.5 hours toward my 16 hour requirement. Then I'll make the rest up with odds and ends here and there that I've found. I already have 3 more hours lined up. Good to go. And as stated in my previous post, the school will work with me in regards to the time I'll be down in Texas and not here working. Meaning, I'll just use my time down there towards my 20 hour requirement for that specific week if need be. Whew. After looking at the situation and moving things around I've saved around $1000. Of course I still need to pay for my trip to Texas, etc. but that was already in my plans.

But the conference along with my first week of school (and getting my first week's assignments done), a doctor's appointment, a hair appointment, going up to Cleveland Saturday, and then the half marathon Sunday it's looking like a hectic week. Not to mention, even though I'm going to taper my running I still have to fit in some running and time to pack. Hopefully I'll fit in more miles than I have so far this week. With the not so nice weather and a pounding heading yesterday (when I say pounding, I mean darn close to a migraine) I haven't run since Sunday. Ouch. Gotta get out there. Tonight's not looking to promising but I got to try.

Trying To Figure It Out

My summer semester for school's just about to get started. Of course, that brings along it's own frustrations. I'm only taking 3 classes, but it looks like it may be a challenging semester. Not necessarily the information in the classes but meshing the classes and my schedule altogether. Let me explain....

Looking ahead I know I'll need to travel down to Texas for approximately a week. This is to fulfill my large animal requirements for the program. I'll be taking what they call a Fast Track Lab. It was either that or ride around an entire semester with a large animal vet. Considering I still need to work and make money and also maintain my current position of employment, this isn't an option. So going down to Texas is the only way. However, I'm not sure how long I'll be down there or when I'll be down there until after the semester starts (May 12th). They have to first see how many people are in the class and what the actual campus schedule is before scheduling the lab. This causes a possible conflict at work considering the summer months are considered our "busy" months, along with another coworker going on maternity leave in the summer. Add on to that the cost of flying down there, paying for a hotel/car, etc. This will get kind of costly. I had dealt with the fact of paying for it, but then here comes another thing....

I will be taking a Cooperative Education class. Basically, a co-op. I think this is kind of uncalled for given that my entire time while in the program I've been "co-oping" or having on the job training. In addition, I need to fulfill 16 hours of continuing education (CE). This is plain ridiculous. I'm in school and I have to have CE? Not only that, but I have to pay for it. Not to mention, my first year of being Registered in Ohio doesn't even require that I have CE considering I'll have been right out of school. Being in Ohio it's not like I have all that easy access to any major conferences (this time of year) and in searching online for days I came to the conclusion that I'll just have to fulfill it by flying to Myrtle Beach and attending a conference. Once again, how am I going to pay for this? Not to mention, with the Texas trip, our cruise in the fall, and then this I'll most likely have no vacation time to use. Okay, so I just figured I'll have to deal with it. So much for a stimulus check.

Then I signed online yesterday to find that information has been posted for this class. Good to go. I started reading to find that my CE can be almost anything I want. I could sit and talk to Doc for an hour a week and have it fulfilled. That's cool, even though I was just warming up to the idea of Myrtle Beach (it's still not out of the question). Then, that's when I got blindsided. As stated above I must fulfill 240 work hours total for the summer. That comes out to 20 hours per week. Piece of cake. I do around 44-47 hours average per week. But wait! What about when I have to go to the fast track lab?? I shot a quick email to my professor and finally received an email back today saying that I must fulfill a minimum of 20 hours per week. I can't use overflow from one week to the next. And if not, I don't pass the class "No exceptions. Sorry, that's the requirement and it's out of my hands" Whoa, whoa, whoa. So what, are you telling me?? I have just called him and left a message. Now, there's a chance that this Fast Track Lab may be just a 4 day weekend type thing that wouldn't interfere with my work hours too horribly, allowing me to fulfill my requirements. However every document I have says that it can be from 4-7 days depending on the amount of students involved. So, it looks like if it's closer to the 7 day type of deal I'm screwed. This truly frustrates me given the fact that I wanted to do the large animal class last semester (as did my employer) but the school advised me not to take my classes in that order and that I should wait for the last semester. Right. Way to advise. I could be (and hope) that this seems like a bigger thing that it actually is, but still, it's frustrating given that I'm so close to the end and this could easily turn into me having to take another semester.

Update: Just got off the phone with my professor. Looks like they're going to work with me in regards to me going down to Texas/Co-op. So no need to worry about that. As for the CE, I'll have to figure something else out.

My Vet Tech Side

Hello Everyone. I've recently had the bug in me to post something on here about potential foods that can cause toxicity in animals. Just recently they've discovered Xylitol (artificial sweetener) is VERY toxic and this gave me the final push to post this type of stuff on here. I know some of you may not have dogs, but I know that some do. Considering pets are part of my entire life, whether it be my own kids or my work life, I feel it's important for me to pass this information on to you. I feel quite confident in speaking in regards to the subject of toxicity, however, considering there are already articles out there that put the ideas into layman's terms, I figured that'd be the best way to go. I hope that someone finds this helpful, as I know I have. With the ever changing diets that we have (trying sugar-free foods, etc) it's important that we're aware of not only what is safe for us, but also our furry friends.

The Wrath of Grapes

Dr. Means is a veterinary toxicologist at the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, Illinois.

Discover why grapes and raisins prove toxic to dogs.

Magoo was a big, playful Labrador retriever who often got himself into some sticky situations. Usually, his escapades were harmless. But one day, he managed to snag a box of raisins from the pantry and ended up eating an entire pound of the sweet treats. Other than being exasperated by Magoo's behavior, his guardians didn't think much about it. They knew that lots of people shared grapes with their dogs and often used raisins as training rewards. So it hardly seemed the kind of emergency that required a call to the veterinarian. In fact, if Magoo's parents had called the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) just a few years ago, they would have been told not to worry about it.

Through the Grapevine
Enter the APCC AnToxTM database, a computerized system that contains nearly 500,000 animal-related medical conditions and that enables veterinarians to quickly identify toxic-substance exposures, recognize clinical signs and administer proper treatment. By tracking cases in this registry, similarities in animal medical conditions nationwide can be logged and syndromes can be identified.

Around 1989, the APCC began noticing a trend in dogs who had eaten grapes or raisins: Nearly all developed acute renal (kidney) failure. As more cases were reported, enough data was generated in the database to help veterinarians identify and treat dogs at risk. In all of the cases, the ingredients for potential acute renal failure were the same. Whether the ingested grapes were purchased fresh from grocery stores or grown in private yards didn't seem to matter, nor did the brand eaten. And the ingested amounts varied considerably, from over a pound of grapes to as little as a single serving of raisins. The cases weren't from any specific region, but instead came from across the United States.

The database showed that dogs who ate the grapes and raisins typically vomited within a few hours of ingestion. Most of the time, partially digested grapes and raisins could be seen in the vomit, fecal material, or both. At this point, some dogs would stop eating (anorexia), and develop diarrhea. The dogs often became quiet and lethargic, and showed signs of abdominal pain. These clinical signs lasted for several days -- sometimes even weeks.

When medical care was sought, blood chemistry panels showed consistent patterns. Hypercalcemia (elevated blood calcium levels) was frequently present, as well as elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and phosphorous (substances that reflect kidney function). These chemistries began to increase anywhere from 24 hours to several days after the dogs ate the fruit. As the kidney damage developed, the dogs would produce little urine. When they could no longer produce urine, death occurred. In some cases, dogs who received timely veterinary care still had to be euthanized.

Why did the fruit cause the dogs to become ill? No one knows. Suspect grapes and raisins have been screened for various pesticides, heavy metals (such as zinc or lead), and mycotoxins (fungal contaminants) and so far, all results have come back negative. In the cases where the grapes were grown in private yards, owners confirmed that no insecticides, fertilizers or antifungals had been used on the fruit.

"Raisin" the Success Rate
Even though the exact cause of the renal failure is unknown, dogs who ingest grapes and raisins can be treated successfully to prevent its development. The first line of defense is decontamination. Inducing vomiting in recent ingestions and administering activated charcoal helps prevent absorption of potential toxins. Dogs should be hospitalized and placed on intravenous fluids for a minimum of 48 hours. A veterinarian should monitor blood chemistry daily for at least three days following the ingestion. If all blood work is normal after three days, it's unlikely that kidney failure will occur. If a dog shows evidence of renal failure, fluids must be continued, and other medications should be used to stimulate urine production. Some dogs may need peritoneal dialysis, a process where the peritoneum (the membranes surrounding the abdominal organs) is used to filter waste products that are normally filtered by the kidney.

Thanks in part to the AnTox database, grape or raisin ingestion can be easily identified and treated. Today, a dog can make a complete recovery from this potentially fatal condition.

As previously stated a newer artificial sweetener that has been introduced, Xylitol, has also been proven toxic:

No Sugar Coating: Products Sweetened With Xylitol Can Be Toxic To Dogs
-Number of 2005 Xylitol-Related Cases Up More Than 150% Over Previous Year- Sugar-free Chewing Gums, Candies, Baked Goods Among Products

Urbana, Ill., August 21, 2006—The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center cautions animal owners that xylitol, a sweetener found in certain sugar-free chewing gums, candies, baked goods and other products can potentially cause serious and even life-threatening problems for pets.

“Last year, we managed more than 170 cases involving xylitol-containing products,” says Dana Farbman, CVT and spokesperson for the Center. “This is a significant increase from 2004, when we managed about 70.” Barely halfway into 2006, the Center has already managed about 114 cases. Why the increase? “It’s difficult to say,” Farbman states. “Xylitol products are relatively new to the United States marketplace, so one possibility may be an increase in availability.”

According to Dr. Eric Dunayer, veterinarian and toxicologist for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, dogs ingesting significant amounts of items sweetened with xylitol could develop a fairly sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression, loss of coordination and seizures. “These signs can develop quite rapidly, at times less than 30 minutes after ingestion of the product. Therefore, it is crucial that pet owners seek veterinary treatment immediately.” Dr. Dunayer also stated that there appears to be a strong link between xylitol ingestions and the development of liver failure in dogs.

While it was previously thought that only large concentrations of xylitol could result in problems, this appears to no longer be the case. “We seem to be learning new information with each subsequent case we manage,” says Dr. Dunayer. “Our concern used to be mainly with products that contain xylitol as one of the first ingredients. However, we have begun to see problems developing from ingestions of products with lesser amounts of this sweetener.” He also says that with smaller concentrations of xylitol, the onset of clinical signs could be delayed as much as 12 hours after ingestion. “Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that even if your pet does not develop signs right away, it does not mean that problems won’t develop later on.”

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center strongly urges pet owners to be especially diligent in keeping candy, gum or other foods containing xylitol out of the reach of pets. As with any potentially toxic substance, should accidental exposures occur, it is important to contact your local veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center for immediate assistance.




For more information on keeping your pet safe and for a list of toxic plants, foods, etc. check out the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

First Up, Pin The Leg...Second, Splenectomy

Yesterday was a crazy day. I must say everything was pretty normal until surgeries hit at work. We ended up having to pin a dog's leg due to it having a fractured femur. Since it was right above the knee and not midshaft a pin was the best way to go. This was not a normal sized dog though. This was a 10 week old jack russell puppy that was only 5 pounds. Big dogs are hard to pin just because of their size. But small dogs have their issues too...for instance 1/4 inch difference could mean whether your in or out of the bone. So it was pinned. Good to go. We went to take postoperative radiographs. No go. Pins weren't lined up. Okay, start all over. Hang the leg, rescrub the surgical site.....basically do the entire surgery over. The pins ended up perfect. Let's hope the puppy and the owners are good at taking care of the leg. Then a coworker came in with her dog. It just didn't look right. She was lethargic, not eating for a day, and her gums were pale. And when I say pale, I mean totally white. We immediately grab blood work on her and I get that running while they take radiographs. Oh crap. A mass shows up on her radiographs. Looks like on the spleen. Should we do surgery or not? Can Doc do it or not...due to him having such a long day. The decision's made. We'll do the surgery. So we get started. First cut. Wham. Blood everywhere. She's bled out. Well what are we going to do with all of this blood? Why not use it for her. So we grab syringes and start sucking it all up and make a mixed bag of fluids with blood to autoinfuse her. Mind you we must keep sterile during this entire procedure. The amount of blood was crazy. You should've seen the surgery suite floor. I tired to clean up as much as I could as they continue into her and find that it looks as though it was her spleen. Possibly a cyst that hemmorhaged. They perform a splenectomy. By the time we're done it's about 7:45pm. It's decided that she should probably be taken up to the emergency clinic in Elyria just to be safe and cover all of our bases. That way my coworker wouldn't have to worry during the night and they'd have all the necessary supplies. She asks if I'd go with her to ride in the back. I said definitely, no problem. And off we went. The rest of the night was quite normal, but we didn't get home until around 9:45. That was a long day considering I had gotten up at 6am and been to work by 7:45am. Ahh, it reminds me of being in New Orleans....just like the good ol' days. I must say I don't think my body is quite as used to it as I was then. I'm quite tired. And as usual I could hardly sleep last night with crazy work dreams going on in my head. But tomorrow is a day off to get things done. I may just have to take a Tylenol PM in order to have a good nights sleep.