Hand Model....

    

Ok I'm guessing you're wondering about the title of this post.... I'll get to it, I promise! Everyday in the clinic, we get to cuddle with the cutest cats, play with the most adorable puppies and create a real connection with our patients. Every now and then however, we come across a patient who we can barely even touch. The animal is often terrified, unused to human contact or just plain aggressive. I had one of those experiences the other night. The client had bought their cat in for a nail trim. For confidentiality purposes, let's call him 'Fluffy'. Nail trims on cats are a routine procedure for the nurses, and tonight was no exception - so I thought. Fluffy did not want to come out of his box, but with a little persuasion, he eventually came out. Fluffy was a big cat, not obese, but by no means small. He was fine, until he heard a dog bark - and that was it. He was howling, hissing, spitting and trying to latch onto the closest thing he could find. Unfortunately for me, that was my arm. Now if this had of occurred AFTER the nail trim, I would have been in a much better position. Of course though, it was BEFORE I had managed to trim down those talons! Needless to say, my arms were shredded. Deep, bleeding lacerations - thanks Fluffy. 


Of course the owner felt bad, and truth be told, it wasn't the cats' fault. He was merely acting on fear. For cats that are known to be aggressive, we have the 'welding gloves'. The gloves are really thick and extend all the way to the elbows, covering as much skin as possible. Fluffy however was not known to be aggressive, and is probably a lovely cat - when not being terrorized by a barking (mad) dog! Needless to say, the gloves were nowhere in sight, and by that point it was too late.....


Calmly I washed my arms in disinfectant, hoping to avoid any kind of infection. After the many bites and scratches I have endured, I figured it would be fine - and it was. A little tenderness the following day, but everything fine otherwise. Not the most enjoyable part of my job, that's for sure, but definitely one aspect! After looking again at my arms tonight, I realized with sadness - I'll never be a hand model :P 

gorgeous cat

Just sharing a little holiday experience I had in Kruger National Park in South Africa recently. Just can't do without my animal friends and I must say this was absolutely wonderful to see them semi-wild. This guy passed by our car at only 3 meters and he was not amused to see his love intentions interrupted by a group of annoying tourist. He did however stay concentrated and fortunately kept going after 'his' girl. She off course played hard to get and we only saw the courtship. Definitely worth a trip!! Ellen

Frankie's visit........

Today we had a visit from Frankie. Frankie is a border collie puppy who was successfully treated for Parvovirus in the clinic. He has been at home now for the past 2 months or so, and we were so shocked to see how much he had grown! It's so nice when owners bring their pets back to us just for a visit. When patients are admitted to the clinic and unfortunately have to stay for a while, it's so easy to get attached. Unfortunately the outcome is not always good, and that's definitely the worse part about our jobs. As a nurse, I can speak for other veterinary nurses in saying that, we do it for the animals. We all have such a love for our patients, and as heart-breaking as it can be, it's a job that you have to look at the positives. For every animal that doesn't make it or has to be put down, we send home 10 more than we've fixed and made healthy again. It definitely doesn't make it any easier, but when patients come back to visit after being on death's door, it makes you realize, yes I'm definitely in the right profession. Not many people can say that they love their jobs and actually make a difference everyday, but we can, and for that, I'm so proud to be a Veterinary Nurse.

Busy night....

It was another busy night at ABVC. There were surgical patients to discharge, boarding cats to feed and of course the hospitalized patients to medicate and take care of. Tonight we sent home a beautiful 18 year old cat that had been with us for the past 48 hours. He had developed some kidney problems which we successfully treated using intravenous fluid therapy (yes, this poor old boy had to be put on a drip!). He went home happily tonight with his family who had missed him terribly. It's great to be able to send home sick patients, that we've helped get better! Just one of the many perks of being a Veterinary Nurse :)