Day 14

A whole month. Wow.

Yesterday I stabbed myself with a 18 gauge needle in the finger. For those of you out there that have never done that, it hurts. A lot. Today it hurts more...I think I might have stabbed to the bone. Ow.

Both a good and a frustrating day today. I need to be more aggressive in my handling of animals and my technique in drawing blood. I still jump when I shouldn't, and I know that it's just experience that will take care of it, but still, I feel horrible when I jump when a cat snaps at me. I understand that while they are all accommodating (and they very much are), they also need to run a business, and I know that I have to get gently pushed to the side if I'm not really helping....I just hate not being able to help, or feeling like I don't know what needs to be done. I'm trying, but it's frustrating. I feel like I should be perfect the first time I try something, and it doesn't work like that. Try try again, I suppose.

-Saw the cutest french bulldog today (this is not something I will often say) with a lepto vaccine reaction. Poor guy, his face was swollen and he had broken out in hives. A quick benedryl and he was back to normal! Sweet sweet dog.
-Gave a kitty enema today. Exciting. The cat, who was very sweet, also had these fish hooks for claws...and nailed me with one of them accidentally when I picked him up. He got it so far in that it hooked into my skin and we couldn't get it out for a moment. That was not too much fun, to be honest.
-Helped hold a squirmy pug that was covered in hotspots while she got clipped and cleaned up. This proved to be a disgusting ordeal. There was something very interesting about this dog, though...she was a he! A true hermaphrodite, at least before they performed an operation to make it a 'she' instead of a mystery sex. Cute pug.
-Spoke to a family about their lyme positive dog. I'm trying to do more go homes and admits lately since I'm in surgery (and a bit of kennel) coming up this next month. I'm really excited!
-Helped do another quill dog...the practice owner's dog!
-A CVHS (central vermont humane society) dog came in that needed to be shaved, and I had never seen such a matted, disgusting dog. They just about halved this dog's weight by shedding all the excess hair, the poor thing.
-The dogfight dog went home...I feel so bad for her, going back to a life of being picked on. One of the techs was saying that one day the dog is just going to snap and let the other one have it. I'm not sure if I want her to be right or wrong.
-The bacteria urine dog is still there, and looking a bit better, but not much. Here's hoping!
-I got to do a tech appointment by myself today! It's the small things, like pulling blood, that make me happy. I also got some blood on a 18 year old dehydrated cat! I was thrilled.