Chronic Quadriceps Contracture in an Adult Cat

Winner, Cases/Abstracts
Ashley Nichols, Ross

Cloe is my three-year-old, spayed, Domestic Short Hair, feline that was adopted in 2010 at the age of one. When Cloe was adopted from the shelter, she displayed a hind limb deformity. The right hind limb deformity resulted in a permanent extension of the right hind limb (Figure 1). It was suggested by the shelter that the “cat was abused or hit by a car prior to arrival.” Subsequently, I have not seen nor taken any radiographs of the right hind limb. Since 2010, there have been no clinically observable changes in the condition of the right hind limb and Cloe has been up to date on all medications, and vaccines. On December 17^th, 2012, Dr Paula A. Schuerer DVM saw Cloe as a new patient. She was seen for a physical exam and baseline radiographs.

Physical Examination

Cloe’s weight, 9 lbs, and body condition score (3.5/5) put her in the overweight category.  Nevertheless, with exception to abnormalities being in the muscular skeletal system, the rest of physical exam findings were within normal limits. Examination of Cloe’s movement demonstrated an abnormal gait. Yet, she had no difficulty in moving around the exam room, including an attempt to jump off the exam table. When in a sitting position, it was observed that Cloe’s right hind limb was in a fixed position and abnormally protruded from the body.

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Winner, Experiences
Michelle Sanborn, writing as FARM Club Publicity Commissioner, UC Davis

In California, not many veterinary students are interested in a career in food animal medicine. Most students have very little food animal experience; many have never been to an actual farm or handled a large animal. The Food Animal and Reproduction Medicine (FARM) Club at UC Davis is the club that encompasses students with bovine, small ruminant, and swine interests. UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has about 130 students in each class. Each of the students must pick a species interest, which allows the student to focus their education in their 3^rd and 4^th year. There is an average of 3 students per year that track solely food animal medicine, though there are others who choose mixed animal. Even with the small number of students tracking food animal medicine each year, our club has many student members who are interested in learning more about food animals. We have a tight network with UC Davis students, California, agricultural organizations, food animal veterinary organizations, and local media and community that have led us to a huge victory for our small club. We would love to share our story with other veterinary students.

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Dangers at Both Ends

Winner, Foot in Mouth Category
Jenny Heath, Mississippi State University

An unrelated, yet adorable, picture of our story's hero holding a cotton top tamarin monkey while on externship in Jackson, MS.It was a dark and stormy night in the equine corridors.  The time…3 A.M.

An exhausted vet student is trudging outside in the darkness. She is trying to reach the outer grounds of the complex, set on her mission. (Yes, this is already playing out like Jurassic Park in my mind. Just go with it.)

As she finally reaches the top of the hill, a long line of dim musty stalls greets her. It is very dark and deserted, the kind of quiet that you can only find in the dead of night, when even the owls have started to sleep. Thunder rumbles in the distance, and the animals themselves seem to sense the impending danger that looms on the horizon. They jitter and snort, stamping their hooves and tossing their manes in a nervous frustration.

The student walks cautiously, every nerve in her body suddenly hyperaware of her surroundings. She is alone, tired, and unexpectedly frightened here in the shadows. She fumbles for the light switch on a long metal post. It clicks up with a loud snap, and after a moment there is a fluttering and flickering of light above her. The bulbs are dim as they try to warm up, and she peers through the faint rays into the pitch black courtyard beside her. There is nothing but stillness. Occasionally a rusty gate creaks in the wind that is blowing in from the distant storm. The eeriness is astounding, and the student shakes herself a little, trying to rid the nervousness that has begun to seep into her bones much like her equine companions.

Have a painted a scary enough picture for you yet? Hmmm? Well get ready cause it’s about to get REAL.

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Winner, Creative Corner
Mandy Valin, Ross

The Weight of a Heart

Winner, Life as a Vet Student and Overall Best Entry
Lea Mehrkens, UC Davis

Today I held a dog’s heart in my hands.

I did not hold a dog’s beating heart. I did not massage said heart back to life. This heart was from a dog who had been dead for five years. By the time I found this heart, it was an old, preserved specimen in a library of macabre, floating organs. It was one jar unceremoniously stacked amongst many. The label read, “Bernese Mountain Dog. 5 years, 2 months. Female.” I winced when I read the word “female”. This dog was a male. He was my dog.

I don’t know why I expected to recognize it right away, why I thought that there would be some reflection or semblance of the dog I loved and grew up with in that heart. There wasn’t. In fact, the only reason I found it was because I recognized my own name on the jar’s label. This was a shock in and of itself; as a first year veterinary student, you really don’t expect to find your name on a jar nestled in the depths of Pathology.

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