Africa and Honduras, all in one Summer

By: Tamaya Trejo

Colorado State University

As a student you tend to forget that there is a world outside of veterinary school. In the summer of 2010, I took two trips to Zambia, Africa and Agalta Valley, Honduras through Christian Veterinary Missions. We spayed/neutered dogs and cats, castrated horses, consulted farmers on the most prevalent diseases in their herds, gave small animal rabies vaccinations, and dewormed both small and large animals. These trips were some of the best professionally relevant experiences of my life.

My travels overseas helped me understand the leadership role of a veterinarian in a foreign country. The veterinarian leading the team needs to be a great communicator. The Africa trip consisted of 6 people while the Honduras trip consisted of 14 people. Since we came from all over the states, the first time we saw each other was at the airport. All of our communication was conducted over emails and telephone. We had local contacts in both Africa and Honduras that organized our transportation, meals, and translation needs. Our team leader was in communication with the local contact before the trip which helped us prepare for the animal issues we took care of, and also helped us get an idea of what supplies to bring in our suitcases.

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It's a Baby!

By: Lana Chumney

Class of 2011, Texas A&M University

I was so excited to start my fourth year in the clinics on the large animal emergency rotation.  As it turned out, they should have named those two weeks “the petting zoo rotation” due to the wide variety of animals that we saw.  These included a miniature donkey colt, a miniature horse, a pony, a mule, another donkey, a baby camel, a kid goat, a Dexter bull and a few horses.  About the middle of my week on nights, just when the lack of sleep was catching up to me, a miniature horse came in with a newborn 25 pound foal that was premature and having trouble breathing.  As it was my case, I spent a good deal of time questioning the owners on its history.  “We’ve only had the mare for three months.  We had no idea that she was pregnant.  When I got home I thought, ‘Why did the kids leave a stuffed animal out there with Rosey?  But when I got closer, I saw that it was a baby!”  Now you may be thinking, how does someone have a horse that is 11 months pregnant and not know that it is pregnant?  I continued to ponder this question as I continued with clinical rotations for the next month.  At this point, my mare had been at my parents’ house in a stall for a year with no stud horses on the place.  I had seen her a couple of months earlier and remarked on how fat she had gotten on the free choice coastal she was eating combined with her lack of exercise.  About that time I got a call from my mom: “Your horse just had a baby!”  As it turns out, the farrier had turned an uncastrated colt out with her for an hour 11 months earlier and the rest is history.  And that was the end of my pondering.

7 lessons of life (and veterinary medicine) learned in the milk parlor

By: Claire McPhee

Class of 2012, North Carolina State University

Many people had experience with cattle prior to veterinary school. I was not one of those people. And yet, when I approach a cow, I feel a little flutter in my heart. Among other things, this flutter has led me to a decision to focus my career around these wonderful creatures. Since my fellow food animal veterinary students have largely spent their lives around livestock, it turns out that I have a little bit of catching up to do.

2010 became “the summer of all things bovine.” In addition to working with two different dairy practices, I decided to spend some time on the farm. My destination was a mid-size Jersey dairy in New England. Jersey cows, I discovered, like to split their time between being incredibly friendly and trying to kill you. Most of the latter happens in the parlor, where they seem to forget their curious and gentle nature in favor of figuring out how to make life difficult for the milkers.

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Pfizer Animal Health Student Scholarship Program

Pfizer Animal Health and American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) are pleased to announce the second annual Pfizer Animal Health Student Scholarship Program for 2011!  The initial program, launched in the fall of 2010, was a huge success with 222 students each receiving scholarships in the amount of $2500 for a total of over $500,000 in scholarship grants.

This program is open to current 2nd and 3rd year students at the veterinary colleges in the United States as well as students at Ross, St. George’s and St. Matthews Universities. Details on the scholarships as well as the applications can be found at www.vetstudentconnect.com and at www.avmf.org/pfizer

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Animal Welfare Judging & Assessment Competition

The 10th Animal Welfare Judging & Assessment Competition (AWJAC) is quickly approaching!

Michigan State University (MSU) will once again host this fun and educational event on November 21^st and 22^nd in East Lansing, MI.  The competition is split into three divisions: undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students. Students may compete as individuals or on teams comprised of 3-5 students.  This year competitors will be assessing giraffes (as the exotic species), working dogs (as the companion animal species), broiler chickens (as 1 of the agricultural animal species) and the on-farm assessment will pertain to beef cattle.

The following Web site will help provide you with information on the competition:http://animalwelfare.msu.edu/animalwelfare/contest 

Entries are due on October 15^th.  Entry forms and the rules/guidelines for the competition can be found on the MSU Web site.  For more information or questions about the competition please contact Cami Heleski heleski@msu.edu . 

AVMA is pleased to offer assistance with travel expenses (transportation, lodging, meals) for veterinary students of AVMA Council on Education-accredited colleges/schools of veterinary medicine who choose to participate in the competition.  Travel assistance is made possible by an animal welfare activities grant to our Animal Welfare Division from GSK.  Up to $500 per veterinary student for up to 20 students will be provided, and advance application must be made using the form found at http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/intercollegiate.asp. Travel grant applications should be directed to:     

Dr. Gail C. Golab
Director, Animal Welfare Division
American Veterinary Medical Association
1931 North Meacham Rd, Suite 100
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
ggolab@avma.org