Cold Winter Evening

By: Megan Keplinger

Class of 2011, Iowa State Univeristy

There's no denying it, the snow is coming soon (if it hasn't already).

MSPCA-Angell Pathology Externship

By: Jolene Carlson

Purdue University, Class of 2011

I participated in one three week off campus block at the Mission of Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA)—Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, MA during June & July 2010.  MSPCA-Angell is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1868, making it second-oldest humane society in the United States.  Angell Animal Medical Center is a fast paced world class emergency hospital in Boston, MA.  I worked in the Pathology Department with Dr. Pam Mouser and Dr. Patty Ewing, both ACVP boarded pathologists.  During my time there, Angell clients were allowed to submit their deceased animals for a free educational necropsy performed by me with oversight from Dr. Mouser.

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Little-ones need love too

Happy Thanksgiving!

By: Alicia Agnew

Class of 2013, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

Max and Alex were two hamsters who came into the clinic.  When I first came into the room I saw a pleasant woman with two children fussing over a video game.  Alex was rolling around in a little hamster ball.  When setting him out on the blue towel on the examining table I could see that his arms were filled with pus.  His illness was put in the shade when Max was revealed.  Max was rolled out of a small carrying cage.  Rolls of fat hit the ground.  A huge puffy face waddled across the table.  Never in my life have I seen an animal so disproportionally fat.  My first impression was that a genetic defect had his legs stuck inside his body.  Q-tips revealed that the rolls of fat had fallen around his paws so he was unable to touch the ground, instead moving against his skin giving the appearance that he had no legs.  His cheeks were solid masses that extended beyond his width.  My diagnosis of a tumor was incorrect, as the vet was able to push out a rotten mass of half-chewed foods.  Stinky smelling sunflower seeds scattered on the table’s surface.  Max went home on a diet while Alex received some antibiotics.  They came back a week later for a recheck where both were doing much better.   Even little guys need love and care too!

Bringing new meaning to the word, "s***head"

By: Dana Cannon

Class of 2013, Ross University

While I was on a VIDA trip in Nicaragua, this Brahman calf was behind his mom in the stocks and his mom just couldn't hold it in!  How unfortunate, but a very good laugh!

 

South Africa Field Experience

y: Michael Lovasz

Class of 2012, Ross University

Did you know that Echinococcus is commonly found in the fur of the leopard?  I do now. This is just one of the many interesting facts that I learned while doing a two week externship in South Africa last April. A group of four of us were about to start our third year of Veterinary School and we were very eager to apply what we already knew, or believed we knew, to the field.

In our first week we had the rare opportunity to assist in Cape buffalo herd management in the Red Zone. These animals were either infected or acting as a buffer zone to animals infected with Foot and Mouth Disease, Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, and Corridor Disease (Theileria parva). Tuberculosis is a huge concern in South Africa because it affects populations throughout the ecosystem. It effects the immunocompromised humans, which is an immediate concern, and tuberculosis has also decimated the lion population.  The value of a disease-free buffalo is about ten times greater than an infected one. While the story of tuberculosis in buffalo, lions and man is interesting, this article is going to focus on my time with leopards, and their story is an unfortunate and sad one.

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