Are you afraid of the dentist?

Posted September 2, 2016

Another week on the large animal service has made this small animal girl realize that large animal medicine can be A LOT of fun! I got to experience what it is like to act as an equine dentist for the day and use some pretty neat tools – but, before I get into the fun stuff, a quick lesson on horse teeth.

Horses have 40-42 adult teeth but the neat thing is that the teeth along the sides of their mouth...

Why Would Anyone Want a Pet Pig???

Posted August 9, 2016

Yesterday, as I sat in Dr. Melanie Gagnon’s truck on our way to our first call of the day, I asked her “why would anyone want a pig as a pet?” She explained to me that they behave very much like our canine companions and are extremely intelligent animals – oh, and they are sooooo cute. I wasn’t sure if I completely believed her, especially about the cute factor, but off we went to meet our patient, Kevin.

Pet pigs are often still larger than your average dog,...

Where Do Babies Come From?

Posted July 28, 2016

Where do babies come from? Just kidding – I know that answer already and I’m sure you do too! But do you know how newborn calves fight off disease in their first few days of life? In the first few feedings that a calf takes, there is a substance called colostrum which is loaded with immunoglobulins that act as the building blocks for the calf’s immune system imparting maternal antibodies for protection.

What Do We Do Now? Wound Management 101

Posted July 20, 2016

Whether it’s a dog or a cow, a big nasty wound on an animal needs immediate attention to be able to save as much tissue as possible! A fight amongst bitches (female intact dogs) in heat lead me to my first true experience with wound management and my first thought? What do we do now?

Isn’t that why you’re here?

Posted July 12, 2016

“Isn’t that why you’re here?” A simple question to most people, but as I bustled through my second day of my externship at Paris Veterinary Clinic I realized I wasn’t 100 per cent sure why I was there until that moment. Yes, the externship is a course required by OVC for me to graduate as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and...

How many new experiences can be packed into 8 weeks?

Posted June 3, 2016

What is a girl who grew up in a big city doing in a small town mixed animal practice? How will she handle the long days of on-farm calls and the fast paced days of companion animal medicine? How many new experiences can be packed into 8 weeks? These are only a few of the million questions running through my head as I sit here writing my very first blog post, EVER, but let me start at the beginning.

This summer I will be travelling to Paris, Ontario to join the team at...