Sunshine (a rarity in these parts anymore!)

A few days ago, for the first time since we had gotten the hedgehog, the weather was warm enough to have her outside (mind you, this was two days prior to the onset of monsoon season part II).  I think she enjoyed the warmth more than the sunshine (she is, afterall, nocturnal). 

We need to get her a little enclosure so that she can spend some more time outside.  Hopefully she'll get the opportunity to 'hunt' her own bugs and prove to us that she'll eat more than just kitten food....



118 days, oh my!

Life's been pretty chaotic, but here's a glimpse of what has happened over the past week:

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Annual Open House.  Every trip back to the campus gets me more and more excited/nervous about fall.

I had the opportunity to see some of the students in my Masters’ cohort, listened to quite a few excellent lectures (got to test out my smart pen) and met a new fiber resource (who, surprisingly enough, lives 20 minutes away from where I currently live… who knew?  She gave me some llama fiber… I think I’ve found a new love)  :) 

I've got nine weeks to get my house ready for my roommates to move in.  There isn’t a ton of work to be done, but enough to keep busy.  To me, that kind of stuff is relaxing.  I spent a decent portion of last weekend tearing out carpet, removing trim, patching drywall nail holes, sealing the floor and reorganizing the garage. With 118 days until classes start, I’m going to heed the advice that many current students have passed along. This summer, I’m going to relax. I’m not going to try to fill my brain with as much as I possibly can—but instead I’m going to enjoy the time that I will have with the ones that I love and take some time to actually let my creativity out (something I haven’t had the opportunity to do much of when I was finishing my Masters). We don’t have any large vacations planned for the summer, but that’s not to say weekend or day trips won’t be taken.

Two Degrees Down.... One to Go.....

Congratulations to myself. Not very often do I toot my own horn, but I’m going to take a moment to do so. 

I’m done.  That’s right, I’ve finished my Masters.  It’s been a long journey and it’s a bittersweet feeling to be done.

A bit of background on myself—In 2007, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I got my Bachelor’s degree in Zoology.  At the time of commencement, I had just been rejected to vet school the first time around yet had just landed a job at the University (something that I later learned is quite difficult to do).  I started looking for opportunities to improve my application.  With the job at the University came free tuition—I began taking courses here and there to boost my GPA (no direction in sight—just courses I found ‘interesting.’  If you ever have that opportunity to explore for free, I highly recommend it). 

Flash back to the year before graduation—I had attended the OVMA’s annual conference.  That’s when I met Dr. Hoet and learned about the Masters in Public Health Veterinary Public Health program.  I found it fascinating but was in the state of mind that “I’ll be accepted to vet school, so this isn’t really for me.”

So in ’07, when I was scrambling to figure out what to do with my life until next application round for vet school, I applied to the MPH-VPH program.  Intriguing? Yes.  Did I see myself working in public health (or even know what public health even was)?  No.  Did I anticipate that I would enjoy the courses as much as I did?  No.

I was accepted and started working toward my Masters part-time (because, let’s face it, going part time and not having to take out loans was more attractive than quitting my job and going in debt... again).  I’m not proud to admit that I went in this program strictly because it was padding to my vet school resume—but that mindset changed after my first quarter and I realized that a career geared toward veterinary public health is where I very well may end up.

I completed coursework spring of last year and finally wrapped up my final project for my Masters this spring.

I’ve enjoyed the experiences I’ve had and connections I’ve made along my journey to get degree #2.  I had some amazing professors that continually challenged me, was afforded the opportunity to spend the H1N1 outbreak working at a health department, got to be on-site for a demonstration by the Columbus Bomb Squad, and attended trainings regarding Agroterrorism.  Overall I am thankful for the opportunity to pursue this degree and feel that the learning experiences I have had over the past few years have better prepared me for vet school this fall (not to mention that I will have a heck of a leg up when it comes to epidemiology, zoonotic diseases and all other facets of public health that we will learn about in vet school).

Wound-up Wednesday

Alright.... I've been on a bit of a crafty hiatus.  Yes, I've tackled a few small projects, but nothing substantial.

Finished all of my granny squares for the charity crochet project I've been working on and mailed them to the lady that's going to assemble the blanket.  Kind-of a neat concept.  People from across the US are knitting/crochetting granny squares and mailing them to a person designated as a state lead.  This individual then puts a border on the squares (uniform stitch agreed on by the group with a specific color/brand/dye lot of yarn) and mails them to the project lead.  As soon as the blanket is completed, I'll post pictures.  It'll be raffled off and the money will be donated to the charity that the group agrees on (this blanket's money will go to the American Diabetes Association).

I've had a chance (every now and again) to work more on spinning. My yarn is a bit lumpy, but it's alright.  It'll add character to whatever I choose to make out of it.

Happy Spring!

Spring and spring flowers make me happy...

Little Sewing Project

So one of the girls has been on a jean skirt kick.  After cleaning her room one day last weekend, she brought out a few pairs of jeans that were far too short for her to wear anymore (to say they were floods would've been an understatement...).  This weekend, I had a creative urge and figured I'd work on my sewing skills (and seam ripping skills) to see if I couldn't tackle the project of making a few jean skirts.  Nothing fancy with the sewing... I think my Grandma would be ashamed at the crooked lines and imperfect measurements but hey, I think they turned out okay... I'm just crossing my fingers that they'll fit alright. 

Look Ma, No Staples!

Whoo hoo!  Staples are all out!   There were at least 20 staples in her leg. I don't think Maggie likes me too much though. She didn't get the benefit of technology-- I don't have a staple-puller (not for that kind of staple, at least), so two pairs of needle nose pliers had to work (creative problem solving at its finest!).  There was only one staple that made her flinch... and it was the last one. I think she was just done with me poking and prodding at her leg.  I removed them over three days-- pulling 3-4 for the first few days then the remainder on Sunday.  I had been advised to leave them in for 10-14 days (erring on the 14 day side of things).

I'm pleased with the appearance of the incision and her cooperation with the cone of shame.  I can tell she's miserable when we put that thing on her head but I'm not about to have her going back in to fix something that ultimately could've been prevented.  Can't say that it hasn't been an amusing few weeks with her running into things and freaking herself out (we learned quickly that she doesn't pick up her head enough to walk up the front steps without banging the cone on them....).  As far as walking on it/supporting weight on her back leg, she's starting to use it-- still limping around a bit (which is good) and we're weaning her off of the pain meds (don't want her to feel invincible).  Soon her fully shaved back leg will be brown again.

I still cannot say thank you enough to Dr. G and the staff at RASCAL.  

Wildlife Rehab Failure

Amidst the chaos of everyday life, last week our jovial adolescent Basset Hound found a few new 'toys' in the front yard.  Junior (and Maggie, too, for that matter) have a huge coprophagy problem (we've tried lots of ways to correct it.... all have failed... so, sadly, we've resigned to the fact that it's something the dogs are just naturally-- or unnaturally-- going to do) so when my boyfriend noticed Junior chomping on something, he didn't really think twice about it-- until he noticed the shape of it.

Junior had found a nest of baby bunnies.  Lucky us.  I'd like to take this time to mention that I have had very little experience with rabbits.  I think I've highlighted that in previous posts, but just wanted to clarify once again.  I have had experience raising abandoned baby animals with some success (saved a kitten that was only a few days old-- kind of bittersweet story that I'll have to get into sometime....).  We found the nest where said chew toy (err... baby bunny) came from and put the little guy back.  No, he didn't appear to be harmed, but the trauma of being manhandled by a dog could've done the little guy in.

We watched the nest and did what we could to puppy-proof the area (Junior was the only dog interested in rabbit search and rescue.... Maggie still was doped up on pain meds and barely walking, so the likelihood of her chowing down on rabbits was slim to none.

The parents were nearby and, at the time, seemed to be very attentive to caring for their young. 

The next morning, I got the chance to check on the little guys and found that their body temperatures were... well... extremely low.  The five little bunnies weren't moving and all had their mouths open.  Wrapped them in a towel, put them in a shoebox with a warm water bottle and let them 'thaw out'.  We returned them to the nest that night. 

The next morning, bunny-cicles again.  Grabbed the same towel, shoebox and warm water bottle to let them warm up again.  Sadly, four of the five had frozen to death and didn't warm up.

Returned lone rabbit to the nest that night.  Watched, and watched... no sign of parents around.  Left the baby outside for the night.  Early the next morning the little guy wasn't moving.  Thought he was a goner, too.  Began to rub him (much like you do with stillborn puppies/kittens) frantically.  Finally the little guy came to.  Contacted the Ohio Wildlife Center to get recommendations of feeding and nutrition, fed him a little (terrified to over-feed the little guy) and tried to keep him quiet.  He made it another day and night but couldn't hold on any longer than that. 

I keep beating myself up over this whole incident with all of the "what ifs" and "should I have done ____ instead?"  I feel awful that they all ended up dead but I guess that's nature.  I keep finding on-line that the mortality rate for caring for abandoned wild rabbits hovers around 90% (can't find the literature to document it fully)... but I'd believe it.  I did what I thought was right and tried to help as best I could. 

That's going to be an important lesson that I'll be learning and re-learning from here until the day I die-- sadly, you cannot save them all.