Week 83: Vetrinary Insanity

This week, I was late back to the zoo twice due to vet issues. On Monday, Peggy got spayed (finally!) and we had to drive forever away to get her and got back to the zoo around 5. The next night, we took Ghost in for a work up since he's had some weird issues (turns out to look fine so far) and we got back from that at around 6:30 pm...arg. He's also been pulled from shows until further notice to keep his stress down. Very frustrating! At least he did well in spring spec on last Saturday so I should have gotten a good grade then. This week is fairly light so we can all stay focused on the event at hand. Sometimes I wish it just ran for a week straight... Ah well. We are making some money, it's just not as good or impressive as last year due to the laziness of a few people who were supposed to get the word out. All us second years are feeling the end is near and it's getting a little sad, and exciting. Still no word on any job front for me...but it's out there...somewhere.

Week 82: My Buddy and Me

Amid the flurry of prepping for the opening weekend of Spring spec, life went on, and some didn't. I found Buddy, the raccoon to be losing energy all week and we knew it was near the end for him. He finally stopped being too interested in food, especially the food he needed to be interested in, and we made the call to euthanize him. It wasn't easy for some, but I saw it coming all week and was shockingly not over emotional about it. It felt even better later when in the necropsy, a 1 lb liver tumor was found. The things these animals hide...
The rest of the week did go on, and we learned such silly things as gun safety and blow dart skills! My tickets are all purchased for projects at the ABMA conference in Pittsburgh and the following week hanging out at the Cat Ambassador program at the Cincinnati zoo! And, so far, spring spec is going alright, but definitely a bust from last year...sadness. (Pics: Buddy, Ghost in spring spec)

Week 81: New Hooves

This was a pretty average week. Progress was made in some turnovers. A meeting was held with the first years that were chosen as safety managers to get them rolling. I had a couple tests, and my presentation for vet lab. All went very well, as usual. The rest of the week saw the rest of the new animals roll in to start their respective quarantines! We got two llamas (a mom and daughter), three donkeys (one adult, two 7 months), a pot-bellied pig (7 months), and a zebu (think small brama). Everyone is super stoked to hang out with these guys for the short time that we have, although since they are in quarantine, we don't so much get to do anything with them...but by the time we graduate, they should be available... Progress was made with my projects, now I'll be going to the ABMA conference, followed by a week in Cincinnati for the Cat Ambassador project! Rumors are circulating that they will have baby cougars in around that time...sweet! (Pics: llamas, Donkeys (adult is James), Pig (Bubbles), Zebu (Norman))

Week 80: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Lynx?

The week opened with postings for us second years to request to be trainers on the new animals we were going to receive. I put my name in, not expecting anything since there were people I thought were worse off than me for animals, but unexpectedly, I got assigned to Sundance, the lynx! We found that happy news out on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, my group gave their lack-luster performance of our ethics skit, and nailed it! I love teachers that don't care enough to actually grade anything hard. This week also marked the beginning of full dress rehearsals for spring spec! Everything is still clicking away there with little issue.
As a fun thing I was asked by a staff member to take Ghost (the bald eagle) to a boy scout eagle award ceremony on Saturday. It actually went pretty well, except that they got my name wrong, and they kept calling Ghost a she....ah well, all in fun! Everyone loved it and was very appreciative! To top it all off, on Friday, we were surprised with the information that Butch the bobcat, and Sundance the lynx were coming in on Saturday night! So I got to meet them and they are going to be a great learning experience... (Pics: Butch, Sundance)