Two down...

... an awful lot to go.

Finished Block II, finally, and now it's off to distributions on Monday. The final wasn't nearly as exciting/stressful as Block I so I don't have any entertaining stories this time (other than the windchill being -10 degrees F... go ahead and laugh, all you people in reasonable climates...), just your basic reasonable multiple-choice exam. Woo.

For those wondering why the heck I just took a final when most college/grad students aren't even back in school yet, I can attempt to explain Cornell's schedule... but be warned, it's been known to make peoples' heads explode.

- There are seven foundation blocks (numbered 1-7), plus neuroanatomy and parasitology, that you must pass.
- These blocks are set lengths that are not the same as each other, and do not care that large vacations land in the middle of them.
- Block VII runs for 2.5 years, and is broken up into a, b, c, etc.- each segment runs alongside another foundation block (Block I with VIIa, II with VIIb, and so on)
- Block II runs right over the 2-week winter break, 3/4s before and 1/4 after... which is why I'm here.
- To make life interesting, there are things called "distribution periods" in the spring (where we take elective- i.e. "distribution"- classes). They are labelled A, B, C, and D, and they are the same time for all classes.
- Distributions can be A, B, C, D, AB, CD and there might even be some ABCDs. Head hurting yet?
- Several distributions don't even have to be completed in the distribution period- you have a year to complete the requirements. There's at least one held in the fall, when there is no distribution period.
- Neuroanatomy is not a distribution, but you have to take it in the AB period of your first year.
- Block III starts right after distributions, then you get 2 months of summer vacation and come back for a month of Block III and a final.
- Block IV runs concurrently with parasitology, because somebody out there is very, very mean. But at least you get a normal winter break after.
- I can see smoke coming out of your ears.
- Block VI is when things get really interesting, because it's clinics, so it gets broken up into 2-week chunks... and I haven't even tried to figure them out yet because I'm still stuck on the fact that my classes start Monday. But not all of them. And some have already started. And one I can't register for yet.

So the lesson of the day is... a large part of being a vet student, at least here, is figuring out where you're supposed to be on any given day :)

Bovine Pedicures, Dead Ponies, and Another Day to be Grateful to be a Small Animal Person

Block VII- never (well, rarely) a dull moment.

Today was our lesson on bovine hoof care, which we expected to be a lecture and demonstration but in reality involved a line of rather disgusting cadaver feet, dull knives and sore arms (and few coveralls, since, well, we were kind of expecting a lecture). Bovine hoof trimmers are called just that- hoof trimmers- and are not related to farriers, who trim horse feet. Don't ask me why. It's a large animal thing. Anyway, wherever these particular cows came from couldn't have been such a nice place, as the hooves were all kinds of overgrown and we got an impromptu lesson in various lesions and disorders of the bovine foot as well as how to give them a pedicure. Did I mention the disgusting part? (No formalin either- nice and stinky.) Our task was to "trim" the pointed ends of the toes to an appropriate length, then "file" the rest of the hoof to a flat, even surface. I use these terms loosely since the reality is that you must hack and wrestle the pointed ends off and scrape, grind and saw at the rest of the foot to get even the smallest bit accomplished. Dead feet were used because living cows would have sent us flying across the breezeway, and we would have certainly deserved it. The only thing more discouraging than our pitiable attempt at hoof trimming was when the instructor came over to our "finished" foot and calmly removed another finger-sized chunk of hoof in about three seconds without breaking a sweat. Actually... I lied about the most discouraging part. The breezeway struck again... more depressing than futilely hacking at hoof wall was the three forklifts full of dead ponies and foals coming out of junior surgery, since the upperclassmen were finishing up a non-survival surgery lesson. Probably not the worst thing in the world- we're vets, dead things happen, especially in school - but it was more than enough death for one afternoon. Still, as they say, never a dull moment... and yet another reason to sigh and think "Boy, am I glad I'm going into small animal medicine."

On the bright side, at least they didn't ask us to trim the ponies' feet...

Don't buy puppies from pet stores.

Back from vacation and off and running on the next project, which happens to be an ethics presentation on "designer dogs". Because an awful lot of these very expensive mutts come from pet stores, and therefore large-scale puppy mills, I have spent the last two hours digging through articles about all the awfulness that is the pet trade. This makes me angry. Therefore I feel the need to explain my position on puppy mills to anyone who will listen, because we need as many voices as possible raising the alarm about pet store puppies. If you've already heard my rant, please feel free to tune in next week for... uh... Bovine Foot Care? Ok, there might not be anything interesting for a while (finals next week). But you can take the free pass anyway ;)

*climbs on soapbox*

Do not buy puppies from pet stores. Ever. Under any circumstances. I do not care how cute it is. I do not care that you have spent MONTHS looking for a puggle or a malti-poo or teacup schnoodle or whatever and CANNOT wait any longer. I do not care that you think that ONE puppy needs saving, because when you buy that dog you have assisted in the killing of countless others in the hell-camps known as puppy mills across the country. If you have already purchased a pet store puppy, I am sorry for you. I am sorry that you paid far too much for a dog that's probably riddled with disease, behavioral problems, and congenital defects that will crop up down the line. I am even more sorry for the dog. Still, you probably didn't know what was going on. Unfortunately, it seems like a staggering amount of people in this country are completely unaware of where those puppies in the window come from. That is why I, along with countless other animal lovers, have sworn to denounce this embarrassment to humankind to our very last breath.

Ok. I feel slightly better now. Hopefully, somebody, someday, somewhere will listen to me and the thousands of other rabid anti-puppy mill crusaders and adopt instead of buying into cruelty. Please be one of them. And if you're not getting a puppy anytime soon, please join the rest of us in educating anyone who will listen about these animals... because the knowledge needs to be spread.

For more information... (there are an infinite number of resources out there, these are just a few)
The Modern Kennel Conundrum (The New York Times)
ASPCA Puppy Mill Information Page
HSUS Stop Puppy Mills campaign