Kronicles of Karla: Officially Coming Home!!!

Rotation Schedule‏

8/31-9/20: Field Services
9/21-10/11: Small Animal Internal Medicine
10/12-11/1: Clin Path
11/2-11/22: Community Practice
11/23-12/13: "Vacation" (to study for the BCSE)
*12/1-12/8: ECFVG-BCSE
12/14-12/20: Anesthesiology
12/21-12/27: Holiday A
12/28-1/3: Holiday B
1/4-1/10: Anesthesiology
1/11-1/31: Food Animal Medicine
2/1-2/21: Animal Shelter
2/22-3/14: Radiology
3/15-4/4: ICU
*4/12-4/24: NAVLE
4/5-5/3: Zoological Medicine
5/3-5/23: Equine Medicine
5/24-6/13: Diagnostics
6/14-7/5: Small Animal Medicine
7/6-7/25: Equine Surgery
7/26-8/15: Preceptor (Externship)
8/16-9/6: Preceptor (Externship)

Random Facts

~ A fat cat that stops eating is a veterinary emergency (seriously).
~ All chickens have a cleft palate, called a choane.
~ Avocados are toxic to birds.
~ Bunnies can be normal and have red urine that glows under a black light. To my dismay, so can Guinea Pigs. Always check with a vet though.
~ Cats are not dogs, nor are dogs cats. Cows, sheep and horses aren't the same either.
~ Eyes that glow at night are actually reflecting light off the tapetum lucidum. Squirrels, pigs, birds, red kangaroos, and ALL non-Lemur primates (including humans), lack a tapetum lucidum, therefore, it is highly improbable that Sasquatch would have 'red glowing eyes.' The tapetum lucidum of oppossums reflect red, horses blue, and cats yellow.
~ Grapes are highly toxic to dogs.
~ Greyhounds are the universal blood donors in the dog world.
~ Guinea Pigs and Primates are the only animals that can't synthesize their own Vitamin C, and will get Scurvy without supplementation.
~ Infection by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a bacteria, causes square bruises. In pigs and turkeys this is called Diamond-skin Disease or Erysipelas, but in humans it is called Erysipeloid because Erysipelas had already been used to describe a cutaneous Streptococcal infection.
~ Manatees and two-toed sloths have 6 cervical (neck) vertabrae, while the three-toed sloth has 9. All other mammals have 7.
~ Ninety-five percent of cats have type A blood.
~ Not all blue eyed white cats are deaf, just most.
~ One bite of Polar Bear liver has enough Vitamin A to kill you.
~ Ostriches have 2 toes. Emus and Rheas have 3. Other birds have 4.
~ Parakeets are prone to cancer. An otherwise healthy parakeet that limps on one leg most likely has a renal tumor.
~ Poison Hemlock and Parsley look the same, but taste completely different.
~ Texas Bluebonnets (and other Lupinus spp.) can cause limb deformities in calves (arthrogryposis).
~ The average college grad has an IQ of 115. A child's IQ is calculated by (mental age/actual age)*100. The IQ reference range for adults is between 35 and 165 (SD 16). Mensa requires 132 (top 2%), and anyone who boasts an IQ of 165 or more (off the chart) is a mental midget.
~ The Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), 4 times the size of a Manatee, is extinct.
~ The umbilical cord of a foal must be between 36 and 83 inches.
~ Vampires exist; it's called Porphyria.
~ Whales can live for well over 100 years.
~ While humans are XX and XY, a hen is ZW and a rooster is ZZ. This quality in reptiles and fish enable them to switch from female to male, which explains the movie 'Jurassic Park.'

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Officially Coming Home!!!

My flight is booked! I have a timeline!

I return on Wednesday, August 19th:
Flight 2280 SKB (2:50 PM) to MIA (5:55 PM)
Flight 972 MIA (8:40 PM) to DFW (10:40 PM)

Now all I have to do if figure out how to get both dogs back. I'm having the same problem with Rudder as I did before he got here: his weight. He weighs 85 lbs now, without his crate, which weighs an additional 25 lbs. I'd rather if I didn't have to starve my poor dog for the flight. I investigated AmeriJet, but found out that their 'direct flight' actually overnights in San Juan and dogs have been lost for over 27 hours. Worse is that they've left dogs on the tarmac for over two hours while loading the plane. With the heat here at any time of the year, that is absolutely unacceptable for mid-day flight that costs ~$600US/dog. Delta accepts dogs up to 150lbs, but charges $300US, which isn't a bad option. Unfortunately their flights out of St Kitts are difficult to book because they require phone calls, making it very difficult to compare flight date, times, and prices. I'm going to try AA Cargo, and if that fails, then Rudder and Salty will be my checked luggage.

Mango, on the other hand, can ride in the plane. He's set with his little mesh carry-on. The girl that's moving into my apt said that she's interested in keeping him though. Another girl, who I gave some plants to, said she'd love to have him. She'll pick him up on Mid-Semester Break to try him out, and if they get along, I suppose she can have him. It would be safer than having him eaten by a coyote in Oklahoma when he demands to go exploring. Of course, if he is miserable with her, he will be coming to the states with me. Leaving Mango on the island means that never again will I step on a dead mouse on my doorstep in the morning or find a lizard on my soap in the shower. He's such a good orange cat.