Spring is here!

Driving home yesterday, I noticed a grand thing: the hills (pastures) were alive with green. Everything was green, and I'm not quite sure where it came from since my drive that morning was through brown bland countryside.

It rained almost all of yesterday, which must have significantly contributed to the greenery. The green pastures was a sight to see though! I liken it to leprechaun green covering the fields, in stark contrast to the sandy brown of the dead grass along the highway. The cattle were very eager to lap up the new growth of grass.

When I reached the house I was eager to determine if my horses' pasture was indeed green as well, which it was, but not to the extent of the pastures I had past. The weather, at a consistent 50F, is much improved from the frigid freezing winter we've had. The snow officially melted this weekend and is gone. It seems as though Spring is here to stay.

Trading Shells

I'm moving, again. My 65 year old roommate is heading to Michigan, so I've decided to move closer to town rather be stranded in the woods. This will be a much better living situation since my new place is only 3 miles from school, as apposed to 30.

The girl I'm moving in with is my age, has 2 or 3 horses plus 2 dogs, and seems pretty down to earth. I'll have the upstairs (and my own bathroom, which is a must) and she has the downstairs. She has a 75 gal fish tank, which means that maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get a African Clawed Frog (like the one I had in my pre-SKB days).

I move at the end of the month and gave my official 30 days notice to my landlord today. Everything works out well because his wife is returning from Iraq in May, and they need their room back anyway. I have to say that I will miss having a spacious bedroom, a 18x12 walk in closet, and a 15x12 bathroom. Ah, 'tis the life of a hermit crab!

Meanwhile, school is going well. I'm on Radiology (X-rays) now, and really actually enjoy it.

DVM How To Guide

I have gotten a lot of questions about the ECFVG process (for foreign veterinary graduates), and am kinda slow to individually respond to emails, so I made this step by step checklist. This is mainly for people who have not taken the PAVE, live in a non-PAVE state (list of PAVE accepted states), or did not pass the PAVE. Hope it helps!

1. Fill out ECFVG paperwork/registration, pay $1000 check or credit card. Also include proof that you graduated from a english speaking highschool or TOFL.

2. Basic Clinical Sciences Exam (BCSE) do that ASAP, $75 money order.

3. Did you take and pass Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE)? Well... even if you did, it's too late to register for the April North American Veterinary Licensing Examination(NAVLE) which was due Jan 3rd... cost is $525, plus you have to go thru a state, which means another application. I went thru Colorado because they're cheaper and the application is online ($50), then you need to get your scores transfered to whichever state you want to practice in ($80). (It cost $185 to do all this thru OK, which was more $$.)

4. Request the application for the Clinical Proficency Exam (CPE) ASAP, pay $500 money order. What they don't tell you is that they will take your check, then sit on your application for >1 month! Year wait on sitting for the test, so get your paperwork fast. It is a good idea to send it certified USPS or FedEx/UPS so you have a record of it arriving so it can't mysteroisuly get lost in the mail.

5. Send in completed application for CPE, pay another $500 money order. Hope they don't lose your money order.

6. Pay rest of CPE, $4000 by money order, >60 days prior to your test date. Important! And send it in such a way so you know they got it! That's a lot of money to lose otherwise. And for all you folks asking what's on the test, one: I have no idea, and two: it's against the rules to take and tell. Sorry.

7. Send ECFVG people copy of graduation (via the school), then you're complete!

8. You can take your state licensing exam while still in your clinical year, w/o passing the NAVLE or completing the ECFVG, BUT they won't grant it until you send them proof of the ECFVG/PAVE and graduation!

9. Once you have your state license number, go to your local narcotics board. For Oklahoma, that is the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. We've been told that when it asks for DEA number, answer "pending." Pay ~$420 by credit card.

10. To get your DEA license, which you will need for any controlled substance, fill out the DEA form #224. Pay ~$550 by credit card.

Now to keep your license and keep you out of hot water, you will need to keep track of all controlled substances (drugs), and American Animal Hospital Association sells them for ~$50 to the disorganized. If something ends up missing or stolen, fill out DEA form #106 and keep a copy for at least 2 years. And if you need help, there's always Narcotics Anonymous! :o)

Sick Day #1

Last night I felt really dizzy, then fainted in the bathroom, thus knocking down everything on the wall. Exhaustion perhaps? Been going 7 days a week at school now for a while. Not drinking enough water definitely, combined with throwing up my dinner and cramps, I definitely felt like crapola.

I was bound and determined not to miss a day of school-- especially since I'm on food animal (which I love) and have an in house patient that I must care for. well I couldn't stand up long enough to dress myself, so I decided if that was the case, it would be unlikely I'd be a safe driver (which didn't stop me before when I broke my glasses). I crawled back into bed and call in sick. We get 7 sick days in 1 year.

Around 10am I crawled out of bed to heat the cold bagel I'd been eating since 5am, and ran into my roomie. The perks of living with an older lady is that she has a blood pressure monitor! I took my BP: 105/71, HR: 101. Super, and surely higher than it was in the wee hours of the morning. I took it a little later, and it was 102/66, which really explained the lightheadedness. I decided to implement a salt overload (yum yum chicken and dumplings!!!) and got my BP back up to 117/68 round 6pm.

So my plan it to go to school tomorrow. I have an alpaca that was attacked by a dog over a week ago, and his wounds are quite extensive to say the least. He's anemic and light headed too. Seems that we match. (This picture is not him, he's prettier with more expressive eyes, but looks similar enough.)

Eye Appt

It's been a while since I've been to the eye dr and I'm always busy at work/school (never get time off). A few weeks ago I broke my glasses and found a VERY old (opened 6mo ago, purchased 3 yrs ago) pair of contact lenses that I used to tide me over to get the eye appt. There are no Vision Centers in Oklahoma Walmarts (it's illegal for some reason). One day I got off work early, and stopped at an eye office on my way home. I asked how much the appt would be since my finances are extremely tight right now (like qualify for foodstamps if I had time to stand in line for them). They said the eye exam for glasses and contacts would be $130-160ish, so I said ok. When I was done, they said the bill was >$200! plus if the contacts didn't fit right, there would be a $30-50 refitting fee for each visit! I paid the bill and cried all the way home.

To complicate matters, the dr said he wouldn't renew the prescription for the contacts that I'd been wearing for >10 yrs, but gave me a different brand that were >2-3x's in price! I should have been more forceful when I tried to explain that I couldn't afford more expensive contacts and I was happy with the ones I had always worn. (I did tell him that exactly, but he was very dismissive about it and flat said he wouldn't prescribe my Acuvue.)

I've never spent >$100 on an eye exam before, and tried to decide how to handle this, since I can't afford to go back to get the contacts prescription and now can't afford to go anywhere else. I totally understand them being a business and needing to make money, but if they'd given me a more accurate estimate, I would have gone elsewhere and not wasted either of our time.

Well, I decided to go back for the week later contacts recheck, since it was with a different dr. I explained the situation as professionally as I could, and he paused for a moment, then looked at his calendar. Turns out, the dr I'd seen had been up the night before my appointment at the hospital with his father who died. Shocking that he even came into work! Well the other dr fixed my bill and renewed my cheaper contacts prescription. I'm very glad that I didn't overreact.

Passed the BCSE!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I found out that I passed the Basic Clinical Skills Exam (BCSE)! This is the first of about half a dozen exams I must take to get a license and be an official vet.

Mom's Christmas Surprise!

Sean's mother is basically bedridden from a knee surgery that did not go so well. She was quite lonesome at home, and I wanted a new cat, so I ran across a Maltese at the shelter that made me think of her. Well several days later, we went up there and the little dog was adopted (no surprise). Went back a few days later and ran across a red Pekingese than looked like Starbuck, so we hauled his mom up to look at it, and then it turned out to bed adopted (after standing in line waiting for 1hr and a half).

By this time, his mom now really wanted a sweet little dog, and his dad threw in a poodle request, so I started searching craigslist and petfinder. I'm so not a fan of breeders, especially the ones selling little mutt mixes.

We happened across a little 8 year old grey toy poodle at a rescue. He'd been there for ~6 months; no one wanted him because he had a pretty substantial heart murmur. He was pretty adorable, and matched Sean's dad (grey hair, white beard). He's perfect.

Anyway, we ran across Sophie a blonde and white Pekingese (likeness pictured, but Sophie has tragic eyes). She had been turned out by her owners and a neighbor found her. She was skin and bones and due to give birth to a litter of puppies. (The puppies were omg so cute, looked like the ones in the first picture, only smaller!) Turns out their dad was a black Pomeranian. I told the lady that I'd ask my brother his opinion, but if she didn't have a home for it by the time we picked up the Pekingese on Christmas eve, then we'd pick him up too.

Well of course Josh was excited over the fuzzball, and she still had him, so I boxed him up in Bootsey's travel carrier and put him under the tree. My mother shrieked! I can't believe everyone was so good at keeping him a secret! This is Pepe le Pew (formerly known as Smokey). My mother had mentioned being interested to getting a little dog in one of the puppy mill seizes that end up at school.

Blizzard of Ot-Nine

Prior to driving to Sean's family on Christmas eve, storm spanned the country, and it started to snow. And it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. Then we were snowed in, and it kept snowing. Salty was not thrilled. Snow is cold and wet, neither of which she appreciates.

So what do we do? We get in the car and drive around! It didn't take venturing very far to discover to be a snowy mess. There was a wreck on every corner, then more happened right before our eyes. People skidding into one another. It was dangerous. We got back to the house after filling his tank with gas (since my rental car was stuck).

Then what do we do? We walk around the block because we had no food in the house (canned green beans didn't cut it). I nearly froze. I couldn't see anything. Anything!!! I had to hold his hand because the snow blinded me. We went a block and I was lost! Glad he knew where we were. He led me to a very nice Italian place called Toto's, and I had spinach ravioli while he had the lasagna. We watched the Pope do Christmas Mass in Rome.

Here's video of the blizzard, but maybe I should warn you to mute the volume before you hit play. This may not be suitable for all viewers (listeners). Good times, good times. I hate this weather.

Yellow Book Commercial

I was this on tv and thought it was so... fitting for my life! lol

Thanksgiving in the States

It sure is nice to be in the states again. My new housing situation is absolutely wonderful. This year's plan was to study for the Basic Clinic Skills Exam (BCSE) which I take on Dec 8th. Therefore, I am not driving to Texas like I'd hoped. Instead, Sean wanted me to meet his Mema so we headed that way for lunch. She's a very sweet and funny ~80 yr old French lady. I made tarts and she dropped part of one in Pop's (her husband's) lap... then dove down for it under the table. Everyone jumped up to grab her. The setting was quite informal and most ate on the couch, but the food was very very good (she's French!).

Then we rushed home to take our turkey out of the oven, for we had invited my mother, brother, and Susie up for dinner. Sean went all out on the turkey-- absolutely amazing! He stuffed it with celery, pears, mushrooms, and onions, then wrapped the turkey in maple bacon. He had soaked cheesecloth in butter, which he then wrapped the turkey with again. Finally, we put the turkey in an oven bag and baked it. OMG, the juiciest best tasting turkey I've ever had. Hats off to the chef. He'd also made mashed potatoes (from scratch), stuffing, salad, and I made green bean casserole. Mom made broccoli cheese casserole. What a sweet guy for going to so much trouble to make everything perfect for Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for:

• Heat

• Electricity (still quite important)

• Being back in the states

• Water that doesn't make my vomit

• And being happy.

Life as a Hermit Crab

Let me tell you what's been going on here: The place I moved into looked fine (spectacular actually), but lacked regularly running water. I also tried to get internet, but apparently the 5 miles I live away from OSU is so far out in the sticks, I can't get internet (unless I wanted to spend >$100/mo). My fridge didn't work either, never resolved that problem even after I put it on an extension cord.

Remember Labor Day weekend, Mango (my cat) had a sudden unexpected bout of dyspnea (difficulty breathing) and died (euthanized at the clinic). My landlord told me he was going to poison my dogs when they got out one afternoon during a thunderstorm while I was working a shift from 5am to midnight. Mid September, my A/C and heater went out. It's really freaking cold in Oklahoma. Especially at night. I bought space heaters which blew the breaker box. Then the electrical fluctuations blew the larger space heater's coils. Plus, using ~18 light bulbs in 2 months indicate severe electrical issues. I complained numerous times to my landlord but he never fixed the problems.

Then the 1st week of Oct he decided to hand my key out to have whoever go in my apt/house. Super because my laptop and all my Rx drugs could have been stolen. Not to mention there's a rapist living 2 doors down. See Robert Reedy. That was another thing I found out, because the sheriff was knocking on doors! He was unregistered-- 2 convictions of felony rape!

To compound matters, the landlord took the sides off the barn I'm rented so the horses didn't have shelter from the rain (which got quite cold, almost freezing). Large puddles would accumulate so they didn't have a dry place to stand, which is not acceptable for winter.

Then my landlord decided to hand out my key to a guy in the trailer park to enter my dwelling without telling me. I've been spending my nights for the past few weeks basically driving around looking at other places to live, which has been a challenge since I have the 2 dogs and 4 horses! The dogs and I have been living out of my car of sorts. I had no idea that living conditions could actually be worse than they were on St Kitts this time last year when we didn't have electricity for two months. Heat, water, power, shelter, refrigeration for your food are all very important.

So I ran across a place in Agra, OK (30 min away). The wife is deployed Army in Iraq and the husband works out of state. It's a nice house on 53 acres. They have ~30 horses and ~10 dogs. They moved the mother-in-law (wife's mother) into the house to keep it occupied and a guy comes out to feed all the animals. They wanted a responsible person to live with the MIL in case she died randomly (broke hip, heart attack, etc). Rent is $400 for the master suite (huge bedroom, 9x12 bathroom, 9x18 closet), all bills paid (water, gas, trash, electric, internet, cable), free horse board, no pet deposit, and the dogs are allowed in the house.

And since all things too good to be true usually are, here's the hitch: the wife owns and pays for the animals, the husband the house. He wanted to "restructure" his mortgage for a reduced rate, so he stopped paying it and the house is in foreclosure. All animals are fat, he said he could pay the mortgage, and they seem to have enough money.

I was really hesitant moving there with the cost of gas and the 10 mpg Dodge Durango and the fact that we're required to live within 15 minutes of campus, but they seem like very decent people. I spent my 1st night there last night (will be spending nights that i'm on call at a friend's house). It is very nice so far, and I could very easily live there until mid-July when I finish up, but in all likelihood it will be temporary.

At this point, anything is better than the shit hole I was living in. Stillwater so far sux; I estimate that half the people in Oklahoma are looney tunes out of their minds crazy and the other half are bend over backwards super sweet. The school is quite enjoyable most days though. I will take pictures of the new place when I have time and internet.

OU vs Texas Game

Sean replaced our tickets with good ones! We sat at the 45 yard line in Section 25, Row 10?, Seats 1 & 2. Now, see map....
... The game was crazy crazy. Very sloppy football on both sides, but Sean wasn't as disappointed as I expected him to be with the loss.

We took DART Rail, which was a mess. When we tried to get back to the car (parked in Ft. Worth), we realized that it was too packed and headed to mom's for early dinner. Later, we caught the rail to the car and started on our drive, tails tucked back home.

I took my contacts out and gave him directions back to I-35, then blinked for anbout an hour... When I awoke, I asked how far we'd gotten, ie if we were past the Red River yet because he drives so fast. He then reads the next sign "Now entering Waco, Austin x# of miles!?!" Poor guy, I didn't think I'd would have to tell him to go north on I-35!

We turned around and headed north. I also took over driving. We made it back to Norman at about 1am. Very exhausted.

Sunday, we went to the U2 concert, which was awesome. We arrived just as the Black Eyed Peas were finishing up with their "It's Going to be a Good Night" song.

Despite OU's loss, I think Sean had a good birthday weekend.

Kinkajou

Here we go again, the weird things that people own. We got another blood sample of an animal we didn't recognize and [I've] had to look up. Looked like dog blood, and we ran it thru the analyzer as such, lol. (The analyzer has setting for cat, dog, horse, camelid, cow, sheep/goat, and people, but no Kinkajou or Coatamundi setting, go figure.) We've had a Turkey Vulture and a Bearded Dragon (lizard), but we recognize enough to know what to expect from those (and they are in the book). I think Kinkajous and Coatamundi fall in the really exotic critter category.

Taxomony:
Kindgom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammilia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procyonidae (Raccoon Family)
Genus: Potos
Species: P.flavus
Subspecies: P. flavus flavus, chapadensis, chiriquensis, megalotus, meridensis, modestus, nocturnus

Genetic studies have shown that the kinkajous were an early offshoot of the ancestral procyonid line and are not closely related to any of the other extant procyonids. Their closest relatives are coatimundis.

Common Names: Kinkajou, Honey Bear, Micoleón, Lion Monkey, Night Walker

Range: Central and South America.

Habitat: Rainforest.

Description: Bodies are covered by an outer coat of golden woolly fur with a soft gray undercoat. Legs are short with bare palms and sharp claws. Head is round with small ears, and a short muzzle that contains sharp teeth. They have a 5 inch long extrudable tongue (12.7cm), which is used in reaching nectar and honey. Scent glands are near the mouth, on the throat, and on the belly, but they lack of anal scent glands. Tail is prehensile.

Length: 16-22 inches (42-57cm) body + 15-22 inches (40-56cm) tail

Weight: 4-7 lbs.

Diet: Omnivore (ripe fruit (90%), figs, flowers, insects, ants, eggs).

Behaviour: Nocturnal. Typically forage alone, but occasionally forage in small groups, and sometimes associate with coatimundis. They sleep in family units and groom one another. “Kinkajous are sometimes kept as pets. They are playful, generally quiet and docile, and have no noticeable odor. However, they can occasionally be aggressive. Kinkajous dislike being awake during the day, and dislike noise and sudden movements. An agitated kinkajou may emit a scream and attack, usually clawing its victim and sometimes biting deeply.” (Wikipedia) According to ABC News Paris Hilton was bitten by her pet Kinkajou.

Breeding/Mating: Non-seasonal, year-round. Males have an enlarged bone that protrudes at the inside of his wrist, which he rubs the females sides with during mating. This bone is usually bare skinned in the male, but fur covered in the female.

Gestation: 112 to 118 days

Young: 1-2 cubs produced per litter

Lifespan: 23-41 years

Predators: Fox, Tayra (Tolomucos), Margay, Jaguar, Ocelot, Jaguarundi, People (for fur and meat).

References:
Honolulu Zoo: http://www.honoluluzoo.org/kinkajou.htm
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkajou

Coatimundi

The rotation I'm currently on right now is Clinical Pathology (ie looking at blood smears and tissue samples). Someone submitted some Coatimundi (which they spelled Cotomundai) blood for us to examine. It's blood looks very similar to that of a dog, which is quite interesting. Since not one of the 5 veterinarian in the room even had the slightest clue as to what this animal looked like, I was volunteered to give a 2 minute summary of the animal for this morning. Here goes...

Taxomony:
Kindgom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammilia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procynidae (Raccoon Family)
Genus: Nasua
Species: N. narica & N. nasua

Common Names: White-nosed Coati (N. narica), Brown-nosed Coati (N. nasua), Pizote, Antoon, Tejón, Quash, Small Mexican Badger.

Range: Southwestern USA to South America.

Habitat: Wooded areas of the Americas from altitudes up to 3,500 metres (11,000 ft).

Description: Bodies can be dark brown, reddish, or yellow. Masked eyes with gray muzzles, chins, and throats. Snout is long and shovel-shaped extending beyond lower jaw. Mouth contains crushing molars and large canine teeth. The tail has six or seven light bands, and is not prehensile.

Length: 2 feet + 24" tail

Weight: 9 lbs. (range <25lbs)>

Behaviour: Diurnal. Females and sexually immature males form ground foraging in family groups of 5-12, but can be as large as 30. Adult males are solitary. Young cubs are left with a pair of babysitters, similar to meerkats.

*Easily domesticated.

Breeding/Mating: Non-seasonal

Gestation: 77 days

Young: 3-5 cubs produced per litter

Lifespan: 7 years

Predators: boas, raptors, hunting cats, and tayras (tolomucos).

*Now, eventhough various internet sites said this was a reasonably easily domesticated/tamed animal, as someone said "If 5 veterinarians have to look it up because they don't know what it even looks like [on google because it's not in our text books either], then people probably shouldn't have it."

Cotton Bowl Tickets

Sean recieved our Cotton Bowl tickets for the OU vs Texas game. Our seats: Section 15, Row 11, Seats 7 & 8. Now, see map....
... really sweet tickets if you're a Texas fan. He's in the process of trying to switch them for anything that's not on the Texas side.

No More Mango

Mango died this evening of dyspnea and severe pulmonary edema. Not quite sure what the primary cause was yet (L-CHF? HCM? toxin?), but I did send him to necropsy. He appeared BAR Friday morning and evening, but about an hour after I came home, I noticed him panting so I rushed him to school. He was on O2 for over an hour and became progressively worse despite Lasix (furosemide). It was very sad, especially since he had adjusted so well. His 3rd birthday would have been September 19th.

L-CHF: Left sided Congestive Heart Failure
HCM: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
BAR: Bright, Alert, and Responsive

Update: No toxins were found in his system (but that's not unusual). He did not have HCM or CHF. The pathologist suspected a severe infectious vasculitis, possibly Chaggas.

Thank You Aunt Shane & Uncle Mike!

Dear Aunt Shane & Uncle Mike,

Thank you for sponsoring my ECFVG registration!

Your Niece, Karla

My Rotation Schedule

Dates Rotation
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 off (maybe)
12/28-1/3 on
1/4-1/10 Anesthesiolog
1/11-1/31 Food Animal Medicine
2/1-2/21 Animal Shelter
2/22-3/14 Radiology
3/15-4/4 ICU? (I'd like to change this so I can study)
*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
*6/25 *Grand Rounds Presentation*
7/6-7/25 Equine Surgery
7/26-8/15 Preceptor (Externship)
8/16-9/6 Preceptor (Externship)

Start of OSU

Here starts life at Oklahoma State University's Veterinary Program. Everything here is orange. (Cringe!) Rotations start on Monday, with Field Sevices, and go until mid July when I got out on externships. Nice to know that Norman is only an hour away and that Dallas is only a little bit further. They have 2 Walmarts here! That is very exciting. I haven't eaten at McDonald's yet, but wow, the spicy chicken sandwich I had at Wendy's was really good. It's nice to be back in the states.

From Highland Park to a Trailer Park

Rudder, Salty, Mango, and I have all been reuninted in the Americas! What a heroining flight! TSA is absolutely miserable and I have no desire to ever fly again.

After much to prepare and pack in College Station, I finally moved in to my place in Stillwater. It's pretty and everything seems nice. The horses seem to like it. It's really close to school and I'm ready to get started!