Careful what you wish for...

Honorable Mention, Foot in Mouth Disease
Ellen Haynes, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

As veterinary students in busy referral hospitals, we encounter a wide
range of client (and patient) personalities.  Some clients are more
reserved and others seem to want to share more than we want to hear.
Recently, I worked with an older couple who brought their dog to the
Dermatology service because of a chronic skin condition.  During the
appointment, the owners limited their discussion to their dog and his
condition, but as they were getting ready to leave the hospital the
husband turned to me and told me that he wanted to tell me a story.
His wife, knowing immediately what he was going to say, asked if he
was sure it would be appropriate.  With that introduction, I couldn't
possibly resist and the man continued with this story:  Once there was
an old maid who lived alone with only her old cat for company.  One
day, a fairy appeared in her home and told her that he would grant her
three wishes.  Not wanting to waste this extraordinary opportunity,
the old maid thought and thought.  Her first wish, she said, was to
have as money as she could spend for the rest of her life.  As soon as
she spoke, a huge pile of money appeared in front of her.  Then the
spirit asked for her second wish.  The old maid asked to be the most
beautiful woman in the world and immediately her wrinkly, warty face
was transformed and she became a lovely woman.  Finally, she was asked
for her third wish.  After taking time to think carefully, she pointed
to her cat, who was sitting in the corner, and told the spirit that
she wanted the old tom cat transformed into a handsome prince.  As
with the other wishes, this was granted immediately and the
now-handsome prince crossed the room to the now-beautiful woman,
embracing her.  After a moment, the prince stopped and, smirking at
the woman, said, "Don't you wish you hadn't taken me to the
veterinarian all those years ago to have me neutered?"

Hunter's Story

Honorable Mention, Experiences
Stephanie Halley, Michigan State University

It started with an “alternate” letter to Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine.  I was so close, yet so far from vet school I could taste it.  To beef up my application, I wanted more clinical experience and spent a year working at Clare Animal Hospital.  Before work on a snowy in December of 2010 my dog, a 13 year old golden retriever named Hunter, became weak, tired, and had tacky gums.  I took him to work where my boss, Dr. Paul McNeilly, palpated his abdomen and said it didn’t look too promising.  We shaved him for an ultrasound to get a better look at what was going on.  The diagnosis: splenic hemangiosarcoma.  The prognosis was grave and Dr. McNeilly didn’t anticipate him lasting too much longer.  The reason he was so pale and weak was because he was bleeding internally.

I had fully accepted his fate, vowed to make Hunter comfortable in my home, and was overwhelmed with haunting thoughts that if I had gotten into vet school I may have been able to help him sooner.  Days later I received a letter from Michigan State.  On my second application I was accepted but the feeling was bittersweet with my dog still sick.  Five months later, in May of 2011, Hunter was still alive and in good spirits.  The doctors at the practice couldn’t believe it and thought he might be strong enough for surgery if the mass hadn’t metastasized.  After taking radiographs, checking his blood, and getting a second look with the ultrasound Dr. McNeilly made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse and set the stage for my veterinary career.

Click to read more ...

How to round the right way

Honorable Mention, Foot in Mouth
Erica Ward, Michigan State University

To brighten the spirits of my peers on our large animal medicine and surgery rotation, I decided to rap my rounds presentation....

Listen up fellas, I'll tell you the mostest

About a condition called Arthrogryposis.

The calf is born with stiff joints

My rhyme will go over the main points.

It can be caused by many things- from something the cow ate,

To the calf taking up too much real estate.

If you ever see a curly calf

You better move the flag to half staff.

There is no use in fixin' the feet,

We've gotta cut our losses- can't even sell the meat.

This is a bigger problem at beef barns,

A bull can be the culprit at those farms.

The genetic condition is from a recessive mutation,

To solve the problem there should be no hesitation.

It's a 3-point mutation on a single chromosome,

There are many tests to choose from- to each his own,

You see, in Bovine land all the marriages are arranged,

and it would be a pity if calves were born deranged.

So test your heifers and test your bull, 

If they come back positive, it's best to cull.

Now all you Dairy farmers listen up,

This is vital if you want there to be milk for that cup.

Don't let you cows eat Lupine flower,

Keep Bluetonge and Arboviruses away with all your power.

You better pray the calf has enough room,

Or I'll be sending him right to his tomb.

And that's all there is to Arthrogryposis,

Thank you for your attention, I love you the mostest.

Taking a Break

Honorable Mention, Creative Corner
Josh Li, University of Illinois

On voting

Winner, Life as a Vet Student
Tiffany Beck, Mississippi State University

American and Traitor.  These are not two words commonly employed in the same breath in this country. Yet over 236 years ago, this allegation became a harsh reality for 56 Americans with a mere brush of the pen.  By signing the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a company of highly esteemed and well-educated citizens pledged “[their] Lives, [their] Fortunes, and [their] sacred Honor”¹ for the establishment of an independent, separate Nation.  Their promises to this freshly conceived country were not empty.  Nine of the 56 signers died during the American Revolution and never tasted national freedom.  The British captured and tortured five signers, and the homes and lands of many more (17) were ransacked and burned.  But how does this dabbling in colonial history relate to deciding on a candidate for the Office of the President of the United States nearly 250 years later? 

Click to read more ...