Thanksgiving Break!

Thanksgiving Break is finally here!!! We get a whole week off from classes next week. (Which will be SO nice...I feel like I've been going and going and going) When we return from break, we will have two more full weeks of classes, then three days of finals. Then I will be 1/8th of the way done with veterinary school!

My most recent adventure was a trip to Salt Lake City last weekend to go to the Hogle Zoo. A group of us were able to meet with the zoo veterinarian and tour their hospital and veterinary facilities. I don't have a lot of interest in being a zoo vet (I think it would be cool, but there are so many other things I'm more interested in) but it was a great experience! The animals were very active in the colder weather! The snow leopard cub was running around and playing with his mom's tail, and there were several young animals to see.

The month and half old giraffe calf at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City

Classes have been continuing to go very well. In the last few weeks, several of our classes have drawn all the concepts we've been learning about together. It has been really refreshing to finally see how all of the minute details we've studied actually fit into the big picture and how they will fit into practice. Our anatomy lab today was practicing auscultation on dogs and cats. Burton attended his very first day of vet school so that he could be a part of lab and have his lungs and ticker listened to.

My classmate Colton listening to Burton's heart and lung sounds while I hold.

We have had a few snow storms come through the valley. This area is very beautiful when it snows! And it gets pretty chilly here. In the mornings, it's been about 20 degrees. And supposedly, this fall and winter (so far) have been pretty mild...

Burton playing around in the snow. We got about 5-6 inches at our house at the last storm!

Snow on the last of the fall leaves in Logan

The view of the snow-capped mountains from our house in Hyrum.

Ryann and I are starting the break off tomorrow night by going down to Salt Lake City to see Eric Church in concert at the Maverick Center! Then I will head to Las Vegas on Tuesday evening and spend the rest of the week there. I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner again. Ryann and I have tentative plans to try to go up to Denver for a few days. I believe I will be in Las Vegas for a few days to celebrate Christmas. And I am hoping to be in Reno for New Years. Then the next semester starts January 7th with a very packed schedule!

I hope everyone is doing well and has a wonderful holiday next week!

Cheers

C

Buffalo Soldier

Hey all! I can finally come out of my hole from studying now that midterms are over! All of my grades so far have been good. I am doing well in all of my classes and while the information just keeps coming, the good news is that I am absorbing and understanding it all and am finding more and more often how it can be applied!

A few more exciting things have happened since my last entry: I was recently notified that I received the William B. Gasman Scholarship from WSU! I am very appreciative of this award!

I also had a unique experience just this afternoon. Me and a group of my classmates drove out to Antelope Island. It is one of the Utah State Parks, and is an island located in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. While the island was named for the pronghorn antelope that used to inhabit it, it is currently the home to approximately 700 bison. Once a year, the bison are rounded up for routine vaccination, blood draws, and pregnancy diagnosis. We were able to observe a local veterinarian who is commissioned to oversee and perform these procedures and get a little hands-on experience ourselves! I was able to pregnancy diagnose three bison (all of which were pregnant!). Pregnancy diagnosis involves rectal palpation of the dorsal aspect of the uterus. When a dam is pregnant, structures called cotyledons are present (for nutrient exchange between the dam and the fetus). These cotyledons are palpable in many large animal species and are usually the quick and dirty way (no pun intended) to determine if the dam is pregnant. While we were out on the island we took a few pictures and had a lot of fun!

The view of  the mountains from Antelope Island

Me pregnancy diagnosing a bison cow!

Bison calves waiting to go into the chute for blood draws

Bison bull grazing on Antelope Island

Halloween was pretty mild since our last midterm was that morning. I didn't even have a chance to plan out a costume and dress up. But it was pretty enjoyable to sit down with my awesome roommates for a bowl of homemade chili, a bottle of wine and a scary movie while we passed out candy to the neighborhood kiddos.

I know I am busy as always, but I hope everyone is doing well! I think about my family and friends often and look forward to the next time I see everyone! Of course, please call or text! I love to hear from you all!

Till next time!

xoxo
C