One of the questions that I commonly get asked as a tour guide
is "Do vet students have time to do anything other than study and
take tests?" Well, yes and no. We are in class from
roughly 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, but some lucky students have
shorter variations of that schedule. Then we all go home and
study. This might sound rough, but it's what we need to do to
become great veterinarians. I would say about 90 to 95% of
the vet students in this school have dreamed of becoming
veterinarians since they were little kids, and all of us have
worked hard to get to where we are now. We have a passion for
working with animals and a devotion to helping both animals and
their humans. But as with any "job" it's easy to get
overwhelmed. This is why each and every veterinary student
finds a way to let loose and enjoy themselves on a regular
basis. Personally, I have two handsome cats at home to play
with - well, one plays fetch and one just cuddles and looks pretty
(but that's just fine with me). I take dance classes at
the student recreation center and make time on the weekends to
practice dancing. I even perform at a few cultural events
around town. And I love just going for walks, going to
the movies, and hanging out with friends. I spent last night
(Halloween) handing out candy to the kids in the neighborhood,
watching sappy love movies with friends, and trying to prevent a
basset hound from gnawing on a dachshund's head - friendly gnawing,
but still slobbery.
And now that I have you thinking that that veterinary school is
"all work and no play," you'd be surprised to learn that we get to
interact with animals regularly. For example, one of my
electives is Exotic Hoofstock Management, where we learn about all
the different hooved species, how they are all different, and how
to manage them from a veterinary standpoint. As part of this
class, we visited the Houston Zoo two weeks ago, and watched their
veterinarians perform TB testing, blood draws, and vaccinations on
both a Kudu and a Bongo. We were also introduced to the new
giraffe exhibit and got to meet all of the giraffes. Imagine
scratching a 15 foot tall giraffe on the head and letting her
nibble at your shoes while learning about how the zookeepers take
care of the entire group on a daily basis. During lunch, we
enjoyed two lectures, one on chimpanzees and one on sun
bears. The day ended with watching the zoo's new baby Asian
elephant, Tupelo, take a bath in her water bowl. This past
week, we learned how to de-antler deer and actually got to work on
one of the Wildlife Center's white tail deer.
Another amazing thing about veterinary school is the unique
opportunities that randomly occur. One day after a lecture on
trimming cattle hooves, we were given the chance to stay after
class and practice on two dairy cows that needed a hoof
trimming. In less than an hour, ten of us went from just
seeing pictures to interacting with animals and getting our hands
dirty. Another day, after learning several basic cattle
skills, we had a little free time and went to visit the neighboring
research goats. About 12 kids (baby goats) had recently been
born, and we just had to interact with them. We had an
impromptu lecture on goat herd management and how to do a quick
physical exam on a goat.
Veterinary school is full of challenges and opportunities.
We make the most of each day - whether it's through learning and
studying, or goofing off and sleeping.