Reproduction block inspired cartoons

Chanel Baron, UC Davis

Foot In Mouth Disease, Honorable Mention

"Aquarmetra"

"Placenta"

Mrs. Q

Naomi Kane, UC Davis

Experiences, Entry

While working as an assistant in a small, small animal hospital I met a very special client. When I first walked into the exam room to greet the client and the patient, I thought I might have stumbled into the wrong room. “Hello…?” I tentatively asked the empty space, thinking perhaps they had stepped out. “Hi!” a cheerful voice answered back from the other side of the room. Mrs. Q stood less than 5 feet tall, and when seated completely disappeared behind the exam table.

Mrs. Q introduced me to her kitty. We got to talking about what brought her in that day and I quickly realized that we didn’t really share a spoken language between us. All that aside, we had a wonderful conversation. Her cat was very itchy. The veterinarian met Mrs. Q and her cat and, and after a thorough exam, suggested that this kitty and all of Mrs. Q’s other pets start on flea medicine. Mrs. Q looked at us with desperation. She lived alone with 4 cats and a dog, and it was very difficult for her to administer medications. On top of the cost of the medications, she didn’t think she’d even be able to use them. I asked Mrs. Q if she would consider bringing her pets in to see me so I could help her give the medications. So we worked out an arrangement, Mrs. Q would come in a few days every month with her pets, go to the receptionist and ask for “Nayomo” then gesture to her mouth and say “Ah! Ah! Ah!” to signify her baby was there for his or her medicine. I was delighted to see her every time she came in. The language barrier remained but she was such a joy to interact with, that it never mattered.

One morning a few months after we first met, Mrs. Q came in with her dog. She was a sweet, elderly girl who had lost the use of two limbs and both eyes. Mrs. Q decided that there was no more joy in her dog’s life, and she elected to return later in the day for euthanasia. My shift was about to end and I walked Mrs. Q out to her car. I knew I was leaving for vet school very soon, and I likely wouldn’t see Mrs. Q again. She asked me if I could take some photos of her with her dog and email them to her, and I obliged. Later that day I received a message from her that I will cherish and remember as I move through my career. In all of our interactions thus far, we’d never actually spoken much. So, I was surprised by the beautiful message she sent me, thanking me for the care I had given her pets and telling me of her certainty of the great veterinarian I was to become. I aim to earn her kind praises. I look forward to the fun, interesting, and meaningful client relationships that lay ahead.

The Painted Dogs of Africa

Sarah Bonnar, UC Davis

Experiences, Honorable Mention

SAVMA's IVEC Individual Scholarship Winner

Painted Dog Research Website

      The painted dogs of Africa are strange and fascinating animals. Classified as Lycaon pictus, they are the only surviving members of the Lycaon genus; their behavior, biology, and physiology is unique among extant canid species. I’ve been captivated by the struggle of this beautiful and reclusive endangered species since I was a child, and this summer—with help from SAVMA’s IVEC Individual Scholarship, and the U.C. Davis ICC Travel Grant, without which this trip would not have been possible—I had the opportunity to spend a month working for the Painted dog Research Trust in Zimbabwe. My internship was hosted and guided by Dr. Gregory Rasmussen, the founder of the longest-running research project on Painted dogs in Zimbabwe.

As a PDRT Research Intern, I was responsible for aiding in tracking, pack monitoring, fecal sampling, and darting operations. One of the most exciting parts of the trip was when I had the opportunity to aid in the location of an entirely new pack of Painted dogs in the Fuller Forest area of Zimbabwe; this type of wildlife work was entirely new to me, and the opportunity to contribute to such an important and delicate operation was amazing, both in how it contributed to my professional education and goals, and in the personal impact working hands-on with the dogs had upon me.

We spent several days tracking the dogs back to their den. Following a tip from a local forest service tracker, patiently and slowly traversed the bumpy roads deep into the Fuller Forest area, scouring the dust for spoor. I had the chance to learn from the highly skilled PDRT staff and trackers;

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Self Portrait and Krasiva

Melissa Rothstein, UC Davis

Creative Corner, Winner

"Self Portrait"

"Krasiva"

An Equine Emergency

Mindy Nelson, UC Davis

Cases/Abstracts, Winner

Das Hit presented at 2237 on 8/12/14 for an emergency visit to the Large Animal Equine Medicine service at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis. She is a 7 year-old Oldenburg mare used for dressage riding (Fig. 1) and is insured for major medical. She presented for a history of fever, neck swelling, and red-brown urine. The history of this mare’s present illness began on August 6, when her owner noted swelling and pain in the left side of the neck and called her veterinarian. Bloodwork on that day showed an elevated WBC count. The owner’s mother reported that no intramuscular injections had been given and that no respiratory, pigeon fever or strangles-like symptoms were present in any of the other horses at the farm. The treatment course from 8/6/14 to 8/12/14 included uniprim (trimethoprim sulfadiazine) reported as 2 scoops PO BID, banamine (flunixin meglumine) 10 ml IV SID, and surpass (1% diclofenac sodium) applied topically to the swelling. A fever developed a few days into the treatment (ranging from 102°-104°F) and hydroxyzine (unknown dose) and baytril (enrofloxacin; reported as 2 scoops PO BID) were added to the regimen. On 8/12/14, the day of presentation, the mare developed a fever of 106°F and her urine was noted to be dark red-brown in color (Fig. 2), so she was referred to the VMTH.

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