Life and Veterinary Adventures

Last month I started a new job. While I really liked the hospital I was working at, it had a few too many management and employee issues that it couldn't quite sort out. It also left me feeling very stressed and drained. I was lucky to get an offer to work at a practice with a vet I used to work with at my last job. Everyone at my new job is very friendly and appreciative. I actually get to sit down and have a break during long shifts, and the practice is closed 2 days a week. I'm so happy I made the switch. I'm far less stressed out, and I'm not completely drained of energy when I get home from work. (My scrubs aren't ugly and I get to work with one of my favorite area rescue groups, too!) Hooray for new beginnings!

This year, Tristan and I stayed in the city instead of traveling in a big triangle to see our families in a short period of time. We missed them, but it just made more sense for us, the dogs, and our finances, to stay home. Our lovely friends, Megan and Anton, invited us to their home to have a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Our friend Corey also joined us. We had a great evening listening to music, watching the parade, and eating some of the best Thanksgiving food I've probably ever had. (The Dangs know how to cook!) We also played a few games that made us all laugh extremely hard. I'm so thankful to have friends like these.

In September, I volunteered with the Humane Society of the United States' vaccination and spay/neuter program called Pets for Life with my coworker, Angela. The Humane Society is such a great organization and I love how hard they work to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to get vet care for their pets. I worked in the "reactive" dog line with a vet from a local ER hospital vaccinating the dog or human aggressive animals. It was pretty amazing how many pets were getting vaccinated and leaving the house for the first time! We also educated owners about the importance and the benefits of spaying and neutering. Note: This is a post I had saved in September and forgot to share!

Surprise, surprise... I've been ignoring my blog again. I think I'm going to cue up a few posts to prevent any more cobwebs from forming over here. So I last left you with a post about Cookie having some GI upset. It actually continued for about a month, while I experimented with different medications and continued to use some, until a vet I worked with suggested to change her diet. I had not thought about that because she had been eating the same puppy food for months with no issues. I gradually transitioned her to a new food with a different major protein, and sure enough, I saw an improvement. (I'll spare you the details.) I discontinued her meds, and she's been back to her old self ever since. Cookie just turned 1 year old this past month! Her big sister, Honey also had a birthday and turned 3. They grow up so fast...

Cookie got sick this past weekend, and we spent a great deal of time taking care of her, cleaning up after her, bathing her, and figuring out a way to get her to and from my work. I was concerned that she ate too much of her rope toy, but after taking some x-rays of her, everything looked fine. I gave her some fluids, got her on a couple meds, and fed her a bland diet for a few days. I'm happy to say that she's fully recovered today. Phew. She's been super cuddly lately, which is more of Honey's thing, but I'm enjoying the extra love. Maybe she's trying to say, "Thanks, Mom!"

This wonderful little ice cream shop called Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams just opened up in Chicago last weekend and on the eve of their opening day, they held a free ice cream night! Tristan, Megan, Veronica, and I had to go get some of this ice cream that we've heard such wonderful things about. We waited outside in line for well over an hour, but it was so worth it. It was some of the creamiest, most flavorful ice cream I've ever had. Amazingly enough, Veronica and I got to have more of this ice cream just a couple days later at Riot Fest when we spotted the Jeni's truck! We thought it was a pretty good excuse to have dessert before dinner. Seeing some of my favorite bands from my teenage years just a few steps from home afterwards was another special treat. Brand New AFI If Jeni's or Riot Fest are in your city, check 'em out!

I've been at my job for one year now. I've learned so much in that year that I didn't learn in school. I've become much more confident in my technical skills as well. Everything really just takes time, patience, and practice. I'm not afraid to try to place a catheter in a dehydrated kitten anymore. I'm not too much of a wimp to place a muzzle on an aggressive dog (within reason, of course) and surgery isn't nearly as scary as it once was. I've been lucky enough to work with some really amazing vets, techs, and kennel staff, who have made the transition from school to work not so bad. Don't get me wrong, there are days that are really difficult and make me question my career choice. Sometimes I just have too much on my plate and get overwhelmed. Sometimes I feel like I just don't make enough money for the things I have to put up with. At the end of the day, I just have to remind myself that it's not always about the money and that I...