A New Direction

By: Elizabeth Wormley

Iowa State University, Class of 2011

My name is Elizabeth, and I am now addicted to shelter medicine…

No joke; I couldn't have asked for a better start to clinics. My two week externship at the Nebraska Humane Society was unparalleled on many levels - knowledge gained, hands-on practice, and working with a great team. I've always been fond of population medicine - I enjoy laboratory animal medicine, and I was the president of the ISU Feral Cat Alliance program this last year. Working with a wide variety of species has always been of great importance to me, and I found that shelter medicine allows me to do just that. Many think shelter medicine = mass spays and neuters. Perhaps at some smaller shelters, this is the case. But at many shelter facilities (including NHS), there is FAR more going on, and great medicine is being practiced. Just a few of the things I experienced:

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An Investigation of the Synergistic Effects of Procaine G Penicillin and Oxytetracycline on the bacillum Listeria monocytogenes

By: Alicia Agnew

Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2013

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen that causes disease in twenty-eight mammalian species including humans.  The bacterium is opportunistic, and for this reason, outbreaks tend to be sporadic in nature.  Listeria monocytogenes is ubiquitous in nature, so forty environmental samples were collected from a goat farm in Maryland.  Twenty samples were then isolated to purity using Oxford Enrichment media.  These samples were then tested for sensitivity to the antibiotics Penicillin Procaine G and Oxtetracycline.  I hypothesized that the combination of these two drugs would have a synergistic effect in inhibition of bacterial growth.  Microtitrator tests were carried out for each environmental sample as well as a sample obtained from a commercial lab.  The minimum inhibitory concentrations of Procaine G and Oxytetracycline were determined individually for each sample and then in combination for each sample to test for synergism.  The results of the study were inconclusive, showing neither an antagonistic nor a synergistic effect when the two drugs were used in combination.

Horse Halter

By: Jaclyn Clement

Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2011

Black and white photograph

My trip to Hoopa

By: Kate Parent

University of Illinois, Class of 2011

Last summer, Kate participated in a RAVS trip where she got some great new experiences, but she also earned herself some cash to help with the costs by applying for the SAVMA Native American Project externship stipend. To learn more about the stipend, visit the committee's site on the SAVMA Website at: http://www.avma.org/noah/members/savma/committees/napinfo.asp

Over spring break during my second year, I decided to live a little and go on a RAVS trip. It was a fabulous experience – during no other week of my life did I sleep so little or learn so much.

            My trip was to serve the Hupa people of the Hoopa Valley Tribe living in northwestern California. According to Hupa tradition, these people have been living in the Hoopa Valley for 4,000 years. Based on my readings before the trip, I hoped to see beautifully twined baskets made by the women, homes built of cedar slabs set on end, and yew bows strengthened with sinew fastened to the back with sturgeon glue. However, I did not get to explore the culture and crafts of the Hupa people during my stay there, mostly due to the duties we had at the RAVS shed that kept us busy from 6 am to 11 or 12 every night, but I did meet some wonderful people that were grateful for the service we were providing for their animals.

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Clubbing of the Villi (a tribute to Lady Gaga and Johne's)

By: Katie Spillane

University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2012