Delving into diagnostics

Posted September 7, 2017

During my time here at Tsolum Veterinary Clinic, I have been lucky enough to have exposure to various diagnostic imaging modalities, one of which has been ultrasound. Both large and small animal ultrasound practice with various veterinarians has made me more comfortable working with this imaging modality, and has been an important part of continuing education...

Summer of Quills

Posted September 6, 2017

For pet owners in Ontario, heartworm and ticks are some of the biggest concerns of the summer.  In Whitehorse (where there is no heartworm or Lyme disease) foxtails and porcupine quills are higher on the list.  The average porcupine is covered in up to 30,000 quills.  When attacked, these quills...

What does a week as an Externship student look like?

Posted September 5, 2017

So you want to have an idea of what a week as an externship student could look like? Among the many things that I love about my externship at Troy is variety! This week started with a house call to Strathyre Old Scottish Collies...

“The Art of Palpation” An Ode to Repetition

Posted August 31, 2017

Ahh palpation. Sometimes your hands can be your most valuable diagnostic tool! While small animal vets do rectal palpation (with one finger) to feel for things like anal glands and the prostate gland, the palpation I’m talking about today is rectal palpation in large animals. It truly is one of the most valuable skills to master when working with cows, and one that I’ve been working hard at during my...

Spoiler! Urine isn’t supposed to be solid!

Posted August 30, 2017

One of the things I love most about Paris Veterinary Clinic is all of the incredible small animal surgeries going on every single morning. Everything from Tibial Tuberosity Advancements (knee surgery), to Perineal Urethrostomy (opening the urethra) surgery, to simple spaying and neutering of dogs, cats, rabbits, and pigs! One of my favourite surgeries of my experience thus far has been a cystotomy (bladder surgery), which in itself might not sound incredibly...

Determination and hard working attitude builds confidence

Posted August 28, 2017

Throughout my time at Tsolum Mobile Veterinary Clinic, I have been lucky enough to work with veterinarians who provide some of the best mentorship I have ever had. As part of that mentorship, I have been lucky enough to gain their trust to be directly involved in many of the procedures occurring in both the large and small animal aspect of things. It has been a tremendous learning experience, and has allowed me to really practice my animal handling and medicine skills first hand. My confidence level performing several procedures, including blood draws, catheter placements, injections, and surgeries in both large and small animals has climbed...

What a crazy day!

Posted August 25, 2017

I’ll always be a smallies girl (small animal vetmed) at heart. I’ve always loved everything about it. I never thought I could feel such excitement over anything other than small animal medicine. But boy did I get a rush today. Today I observed my first equine surgery and I was fortunate enough for the opportunity to scrub in and assist as well!

Equine surgery is similar to small animal surgery, but there are still certain core dynamics that make it different and exciting. Surgical tables for horses have to be a certain size in order to...

Foxtail Season in Whitehorse

Posted August 23, 2017

Ask any vet student what the most satisfying procedure is, and 9 out of 10 will tell you it’s lancing an abscess.  The only thing that can make this better is finding a foreign body inside!  This week I was lucky enough to experience both of these!

We are in foxtail season here in Whitehorse.  If you’re like me, and had no idea what a foxtail is; foxtails are seed clusters on...

Smiles and tears are part of every day in our profession!

Posted August 22, 2017

This week was a celebration of life and death, a common theme for every single species in our planet...while some are being born, some are dying. We often associate with the first one happiness and with the latter sadness.

The week started with the birth of a much awaited foal in the clinic, colt number five for Winnie, Dr. Paula’s mare. He decided to...

What is colic anyway?

Posted August 21, 2017

Hi everyone, this week I would like to talk about equine colic. If you have been around horses or know a person that owns a horse, I’m sure you have heard the word colic before. So, what is colic really? In the simplest terms, colic refers to abdominal pain. Horses show abdominal pain through a wide variety of clinical signs.