Friendship was very proud to send eleven of our team members off to veterinary school last fall. Below is a report from Amelia who was the indispensable assistant to our Chief of Primary Care, Dr. Kuehn. We all miss Amelia very much (especially Dr. Kuehn!) but it certainly sounds like she is making the most of vet school - Enjoy!
Kittens are very
fragile creatures. They are born unable to see, hear, or eliminate on their
own. When orphaned or separated from their mothers prematurely, they require
very involved care. At many shelters, kittens prematurely separated from their
mothers are not prioritized and may even be euthanized because of the intensive
care they need and the number of older cats also looking for homes. When I
began veterinary school this past fall, I became involved with a club called
the Orphan Kitten Project, which fosters these babies while they are so
helpless (requiring bottle feedings every two hours at first), until they are
old enough to be adopted.
When I received
the carrier containing my first two foster kittens, I wasn’t really sure what
to expect. These little guys only weighed 10 ounces and fit into the palm of my
hand. I had never seen kittens so small. They looked like little aliens. The
woman who kept them for a few days before me described one of them as “feisty
and demanding;” I wondered vaguely if they were giving me an evil kitten. But
after a day of caring for them, I was completely hooked. Watching them grow was
incredibly rewarding; each day they accomplished new feats that were impossible
for them only the day before (climbing over baby gates, climbing up my entire
body to sit on my shoulder, leaping onto anything really).
A few days later,
one of my kittens got really sick. She began to vomit suddenly and then went
completely limp, like a rag doll. Feeling the profundity of my ineptitude and
lack of experience weighing heavily, I decided to rush to the nearest emergency
hospital. When kittens are so small, they can crash very quickly and there’s
often nothing anybody can do. The technicians quickly took her to the treatment
room. Unfortunately, there were many animals that arrived in emergent
situations at the hospital that night, and we had to wait in the exam room for
several hours, while the veterinarian came in and out three or four times. She
offered a plethora of diagnostic tests and treatment options, all of which I
have heard explained to clients many times (as a prior veterinary assistant at
Friendship Hospital for Animals). Even though everything was incredibly
familiar, it was overwhelming to decide what to do for her. On one side, I had
my boyfriend muttering at me not to spend any money on a kitten I don’t even
own. On the other side, I had a near-death kitten trusted to my care, and felt
devastated at the thought of not doing everything I could for her. Even though
I knew she was receiving excellent care at the hospital, I wondered if she was
cold or lonely in the treatment room.
Fortunately,
kittens can recover almost as quickly as they become sick. My little baby was
back to her normal, rambunctious nature within a few days. Being a client rather
than an employee at a veterinary hospital in an emergency situation taught me
the most valuable lesson I have learned in vet school so far: as a
veterinarian, regardless of how many times you have seen a particular situation
or disease, every single patient is completely unique. Likely, it is the first
time the client (owner of this patient) has experienced
anything like this situation. While these realizations may seem obvious, they
are vital lessons that should be kept at the forefront of a veterinarian’s
minds every day. With this knowledge, a veterinarian can provide guidance to
clients in a truly compassionate and understanding manner, and I hope to be
able to do the same.
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