About My Course.

My course is two years, and will give me a Diploma of Veterinary Nursing at the end of this year. It is a very practical course, and we spend a lot of our time learning things in a hands-on way. There are two clinics nearby who allow students to work in their facilities during their study, which is built in as one of the papers we take. One clinic is a specialist clinic, and this is only open to second-year students, as the work done there involves much more expensive equipment, and much sicker animals. They handle orthopedic surgery, as well as accident victims and other extreme cases. The other vet clinic attached to the course is run as a usual vet hospital, although they conform to Best Practice standards, and are one of very few clinics in the country to practice sterile surgery for animals. We also spent a week last year looking after various rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice and chickens, as part of the Small Animal unit. 

In addition to the work we complete within the program, we are also expected to fulfill externally based obligations in regard to hands-on experience. This year, I am required to complete a number of hours of work experience in an unrelated clinic, which must be completed around course requirements, and in our own time. Lectures and practical work are structured to accommodate this. We also need to complete eight hours in a rescue or wildlife care facility, such as the Zoo, the SPCA, or Bird Rescue. 

I will most likely be referring to time I spend in each clinic during the next year, so this is just to clarify terms:

By external clinic I mean the clinic I am doing work experience at, not run by my course.

By vet hospital I mean the basic clinic run by my course, where I have already spent time last year.

By specialist clinic I mean the specialist clinic connected to my course, only available for second-year students.

The extensive practical parts of the course are inspiring. They show me, on a weekly basis, why I do what I do. Every animal that comes into any of these three clinics is partly my responsibility, and it is for them that I put the work in to my study that I do. I don't want to fail these animals and give them substandard care. I don't want to shame my clinics, and waste materials or lives by inefficiency, or not knowing what I should do in a given situation. I don't want to let my instructors down, by not listening or being lazy, and therefore putting the lives that are in my care, at risk. Understandably, I am not perfect, and I am still learning, but it is both my responsibility and my pleasure to do the best I can by any animal that walks through their doors.

The practical work is also extremely rewarding, however. Last year in the vet hospital I helped the surgeons remove a number of tumors from a Golden Retriever, assisting as the surgical nurse. In a subsequent rotation, the same dog came in to see the vet while I was acting as the clinical nurse helping with consultations, and I got to see how well the surgery had healed over the intervening months, and how happy the owner was that she still had her dog. There were also a number of very cute puppies, kittens, and other animals that came in for routine visits or basic treatments, and I don't recall any clients being unhappy at the amount of attention that these cuties received. In addition, both my external clinic and the vet hospital on site have personal clinic cats, who are always happy to be fussed over by any vet or vet nurse in need of a pick-me-up.

All of the work I have been doing during the last year has made me more and more determined to do the absolute best I can for my clinic and for my clients. I truly feel like I've found my calling in life, and I can't wait for my course to begin so that I can get back into the thick of things. The holiday has been good, and has been a great chance to recharge and refresh myself, and spend time doing other things, but I am ready to head back, and more excited than ever.

A Little Bit of Background...

All my life I've been around animals, and had pets, and wanted to, eventually, do "something" with animals. From age 14 to 17, I worked at a nearby veterinary clinic as a cattery assistant on an after school/weekends basis. That job was my first real foray into animal care on a larger scale than one or two animals at a time, and I loved every minute of it. I still remember a lot of the clients fondly, and have great memories of the regular cats that used to board. The vets (A husband-and-wife pair with two small boys) were very kind to me, and taught me a lot, but my main teachers were the cats I worked with.

Meet The Family.

So now it's time to meet the family, and the reasons I'm doing what I'm doing. These are the animals that I've met or lived with since I was young, who have made big impacts on my life. Pictures will be added as I dig them up. 

Lollyspot

Previously, I've had one cat as "my" pet, who was a gray Ocicat named Lollyspot. She joined my family in 1995, and was a core member until her death at the age of 17 early in 2010. Lolly is one of the major factors behind my love for all things feline, because she was a constant presence in my childhood and adolescence. She even came flatting with me, as an old lady cat of 15, and put up with the indignities of moving with...well, with a lot of noise, actually. She used to serenade us in the car, with a mournful "maouw" every two seconds. Yep, we counted.

Clockwise from left: Fog, Princess,
 Coffee, Sugar, and Tea

I've also been co-Mum to a band of five rats, who were named Tea, Coffee, Sugar, Princess, and Fog, as well as Squiggle, who unfortunately died very young. Although they were only part of my life for a year and a half before housing difficulties prevented me from keeping them any longer, they made a big impact on my love for animals, showing me that even small critters can have big hearts.


Other pets in the family have included Sophie, my grandparent's first dog of my childhood, who was the most placid animal I have ever come across. She was a Golden Retriever, and she also lived to be 17, which is a testament to the fantastic care that she received in life. Sophie has been the champion of my love of dogs, and it's a hopeful dream of mine that the dogs I plan to look after will be as gentle and as kind as she was.

My grandparents also had Katie, a rescued Dachshund from the SPCA, after Sophie passed on. Katie was an affectionate dog, but was sadly plagued with health issues - heart problems, reoccurring gastric issues, and later, cancer. A common joke was that their cheap SPCA find had become a little more expensive than bargained for, but my grandparents never spared a cent treating her concerns, and as such, she outlived expectations by over a year and a half, thanks to their (and their vet's) exceptional care.

Currently they have downsized yet again, and are now caring for a Miniature Dachshund named Tess. Tess is a funny dog. For her small stature, she certainly has a strong bond of loyalty to them, and doesn't hesitate to bark at people many times her size, though she's all talk and will gradually settle down. She's a little bit neurotic, and a little bit shy, but she loves my grandparents dearly, and they treasure her as well.

Max as a slightly younger puppy

My mother has recently purchased a Border Collie pup, named Max. He's around six months old, and is a bundle of energy and fun. He knows a few basic tricks already, though she doesn't plan on doing field trials or extensive training with him. They live near a very large park, so he gets lots of exercise, and has been very well behaved so far.

Indi as a puppy

In addition, my cousin has a Golden Labrador named Indi, who fits the typical Lab mould. She's a bit of a nutter, but good-hearted. Being a year and a bit old now, she might have settled down - but I doubt it!

Zak, nuttiest of nutty Labs

Another pet of major interest was that of my (human) best friend; another Lab named Zak. Zak had been returned to the pet store for being too boisterous, and he certainly lived up to his reputation. He would barrel around their property, jumping up on people in absolute glee, and was another of the friendliest dogs I have come across. He's 13 now, and has a variety of health concerns with joints, lipomas, and some throat problems, but his family takes the best care of him possible, and are prepared that he may not be around for very much longer.

The animals I'm living with currently have also been helpful on my way to vet nursing, though I met both after I had started my course. There's Tish, a former stray, who is a small, compact black and white moggy with a squeaky meow. She had been abused previous to coming here, and is still frequently shy, but responds excellently to kind behaviour. She's about nine.

And there's also Mikey, who is three. He was chosen from the SPCA when he was a kitten, mostly due to his good personality and charming looks. He's a very dapper gentleman, with a gray coat and white mustache. He's a large cat, though there's not much fat on him, and his favourite resting place is draped across the shoulders of a family member - head always on the left.

Last but not least are the animals I shared my earliest years with. Though I don't remember them well, I lived on a farm on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia briefly, and we had all manner of critters running about. From ducks, chickens and geese, to more exotic birds like our cockatoo and Australian parrots, from dogs and cats to rabbits, the polocross and riding horses that were the purpose of the farm, and the various short-lived 'pets' that my eldest brother caught routinely on the property (including a blue-tongue lizard for a single afternoon before it escaped), my early introduction to animals whetted my appetite, and made me want to know more.

These animals have all shaped me in some way, and have all made their individual impacts on how I see the world. Without them I would not be doing the course I am today, and I would not be having as much fun as I am today.

A Girl And Her Cat

Welcome.

My name is Sarah, and I'm a second-year Vet Nursing student, in New Zealand. This is the last year of my diploma, and I've thoroughly enjoyed the learning and experiences of the first year. I'm thrilled to be heading back in a few weeks' time to start my classes again, and chafing at the bit to order my textbooks so I can get some advanced reading in before we start. I am already completing some of my work experience obligations - we are required to complete 120 hours in an unrelated clinic this year - and look forward to working in the on-campus vet clinic and specialist hospital available for hands-on, practical, guided learning in a working environment.

Cats are my primary passion, mostly due to one special feline named Lolly, who lived with me for fifteen years of her seventeen total. We were, truly, a girl and her cat, and by the time I moved out we were inseparable. I don't believe I spent more than six months away from her in the entire span she was with us, and I'm sure we would have been communicating flawlessly, if only I had mastered the art of meowing. In all other aspects, she was the major contributor to my love of animals, and my respect and passion for the creatures that share our homes. More on that later.

The major purpose of this blog is to record my experiences over the next year and possibly beyond, although for client confidentiality reasons I won't be referring to cases by name. I'm looking forward to updating this with my experiences, because I think it'll be interesting to look back on at a later date, and seeing how I've progressed in my professional and personal development. Updates will hopefully be on a weekly basis, as I'm planning on doing one day of work experience a week, unless I have previous commitments to practical work within my course.