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)

Week 79: Inspiration

Things seemed to be looking up this week. I'm not sure why, but they were. On Tuesday, Ken Ramierez dropped by for an excellent set of speeches. Those of you who have no idea who that is (which I bet is most of you), he is the VP curator of the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. He wrote our textbook for training, and is in the fore-front of the field. Not only does he enjoy playing with marine mammals, but he also has a great passion for service dog training. He came and discussed the futures of our field and possible branches for us to explore that are growing as we speak. He then used his other slot to talk about an experimental training he started with a search and rescue dog to teach it mimicry (in this context, to do the behavior the dog next to it just did on the command "copy"). All very interesting and good for us to hear about! We were then told that he would be at the ABMA conference (which I am going to) and will conduct a workshop there on the "abc's of training" at a shelter, using their dogs! Very cool! I also found another job that interests me at the Denver zoo doing outreach with them. Eventually, one of these jobs will pan out... Still nothing about any project locations. Rehearsals are continuing, costumes are coming together, and we are hard hit by the fact that this show is going to be significantly more about people than animals, and there's just not much to do about it due to all of our recent losses. The first years got their animal assignments, and they are all pumped about it. I'm fairly happy with who I'll be leaving in charge, but the turn over process tends to be very revealing about a person, their reliability, and mannerisms, so we'll see... There's nothing to do about it though. Even if I don't really like them, as long as they don't fail out, they are going to be with the animals regardless of my opinion, so I just have to do the best I can! Spring spec starts in two weeks, I have two major presentations to make in those two weeks, and things are about to get a little crazy... (Pics: From my project at Hollywood Animals- on set, working a tiger on a leash, watching the monkey)

Week 78: Running on Fumes

Myself and others are definitely feeling a little pooped-out. The end is near and we can all feel it. Projects are coming together for some and graduation plans are being made. The first years will be getting their first animal assignments soon and they are probably a little too excited. My group in ethics is giving me a slight headache due to their inability to meet and get things done. That will be over soon as well. We had a meeting with staff this week to work on starting introductions with the vervet monkeys so that should entertain me a bit. We are starting the work days for spring spec so soon the zoo will be extra western and the stage will be mostly done. Full dress rehearsals are just a few weeks away, but so is the actual performances too...eesh. On a fun note, for the super bowl, the commercial I was on set for aired! If you're curious, check out the sleepwalker coke ad. (Pics: Moss Landing Marine Mammal Center, On set for the Coke ad with Athari the leopard)

Week 77: Malaika Go Bye-Bye

Things couldn't stay quiet for long. Over the weekend, Malaika, an African gray parrot, came up sick. She didn't make it, and we think it was lead poisoning from an enclosure she shouldn't have been in, but was. Totally sucks, but it happened, and we take the blame.
Everything else remained the same. We had a test in vet class already and now the paper presentations have started, so class is a little more interesting. Rehearsals keep happening at a slower pace than I like to see, but we are bringing animals now and costumes are coming together slowly. Not much else to say though....still waiting on new arrivals. (Pics: Malaika, Monterrey Bay Aquarium: sea otter and Jellyfish)

Week 76: No News is Good News

A slow week really. A nice change of pace. Nothing died, we all just sailed through our classes and there was no major drama. Rehearsals continue and I feel like we make very little progress as time goes on and spring spec is ever closer... But, staff thinks we are doing ok with the schedule.
I'll take this slow week to address the fact that new animals should begin flooding into our facility in the next month or two. It really irks me that staff has waited so long to actively seek these animals out. I understand that we don't generally pay for our animals, they are all donated or loaned to us. Most of the 20+ deaths that my class have seen have been due purely to age. This was something the staff could have easily seen coming and started planning for and seeking these animals out months ago. Now, the rest of my class is annoyed because even if these animals come here before we graduate, they have to quarantine for a month and at this point, if we are assigned as trainers, it will only be for about a month, and they likely won't appear in spring spec. All the talk of new animals is basically a moot point for us since we know we'll have little to nothing to do with them. It is unfortunate that my experience at various facilities that deal with animals have shown me this is often the case. Things only happen when the problem has come to crisis level and something HAS to be done. Hopefully I can eventually get a job at a place with copious amounts of money that can keep ahead of all these games. (Pics: Marine Mammal Center--Sea lions, sea lion brains, and baleen)