New Job!

I was hired by the veterinary teaching hospital to be an animal caretaker! I'm really excited to be working there! There won't be much working with the actual animals, but that doesn't matter. I don't mind cleaning stalls if I am at least around animals while I work. :)

I have to learn how to drive the fork lift though. Ugh. Not looking forward to it. My training starts in about 18 days and then I will have to work every weekend and holiday! FUN! Hahaha. But seriously. I'm really excited!

The cool thing is that while I will mostly be working in the large animal hospital, occasionally I might be in the small animal hospital, too.

Back in the States.

Sadly, Thursday was my last day with my German vet. It was great though. As soon as I came in, I got to watch a tumor removal! Way cool! Besides that, there wasn't anything big, just appointments like usually. But it was a nice last day and he told me that I could come back if I wanted to! Definitely might in the future!

Friday, my last day, I went shopping with my dad. I got some really cute dresses and other stuff. Thank you, dad! Loved the day with him!

Yesterday was a long day. Got up at 5:15 to say bye to people and leave for the airport. Had breakfast there with my dad and then had to say bye. It's always so sad. Leaving isn't really too bad for me. I like going back to the States. But it's hard to see my dad so upset when I go. :(

The flight was ok. Meh. I used to like flying, but if it's always for 9 or 10 hours, it just gets annoying. I watched Footloose and Columbiana. Loved them both. I want to watch the second one with my bf. I think he'd like it.

I haven't seen him yet, sadly. He's gone to work at a horse show. He's coming back tonight though. I'd hate to not see him on my birthday! Which yea, today is my birthday. Nothing big planned, unless you think sleeping and reading is a big deal - which I think it is! Hahaha. I'm excited to get a break and just relax before we start moving into the new house. Which should be in about 25 days! Woohoo!

I'm hoping he comes back in time to go to dinner tonight. I'd really like to go out with him for my birthday. :)

I'm done early today at the vet office. They take appointments and walk-ins earlier on Wednesdays. I watched today how a cat got part of its tongue cut out and dental calculus removed. It was really cool!

Besides that, it was normal stuff like vaccinations, blood draws and x-rays. I'm sad that tomorrow is already my last day there. I really enjoyed my time there and hope I can come back next time I'm coming to Germany!

But I'm also excited to see my boyfriend again when I go back to the US this weekend. Instead of giving each other birthday presents, we are going to the beach for two days! :)

Fun!

I got to watch a dog spay yesterday! First time ever. I also had to watch a dog getting anesthetized to make sure he wouldn't roll down the surgery table. He then got a tooth pulled, which was cool to see, too! The vet explained to me how to see puppies on ultra sound and I got to pet some puppies that were getting sick. They were very adorable.

I wish I could spend more time there. While I don't get to do much, I really enjoy the environment. It's very homey and I learn some great things!

It's an experience with many other first experiences within (like seeing a dog get euthanized for the first time).

I'm really hoping to get a job at the vet clinic that is right outside the neighborhood of my new house. I'm gonna dress nicely as soon as we get settled a little bit, and go in to talk to the vet. And even if I can't get a job, maybe I can shadow or volunteer - although I really want a job with a vet. I dislike my current job a lot and it would make getting vet experience so much easier and more fun.

Thank you.

I must say that the dean of my department (animal science dep) is awesome! The day I was supposed to take my intro to animal science final, someone who I really cared about a lot died. I was extremely upset and when he saw me, he just sent me home and told me to take the final the Monday after.

I spent the weekend with my bf (who was even more upset) and studied. It was an awful weekend. And the test on Monday was extremely difficult. But I must have done very well. I thought it nearly impossible to get a B in the class. If I would've taken it that Friday, I might have even failed. It was just so much information that didn't want to stay in my head at that time, pushed aside by other stuff. But I ended up getting a B in the class as my final grade. I am extremely happy and thankful to this professor!

Also, I got a B in Physics. Never thought this possible.

Hello!

I didn't go to the vet clinic on Thursday because it was a holiday. I had lunch with my grandpa at a father's day fest, went horseback riding and hung out a bit with my grandparents (mom's parents). The riding was awesome. Instead of going in a circle like I usually do on that trail, I kept going down new paths. It was really pretty and I even got to see a deer. :)

Friday, I went back to the vet. The usual vet's substitute was there again. I went in in the late afternoon, expecting to only stay for an hour or two. But I got to help sort medications, clean up, get the mail ready, greet and call clients, etc. Easy assistant work. Nothing big. But I'm only supposed to observe anyways, so helping with the little things was fun already. I didn't feel so useless like when I just stand off to the side. Later, we drove out to a barn to look at a horse and on the way back, we just talked about vet schools in Germany and the US and out pets.

We were planning on going shopping and the Regensburger Dult, a carnival type event, but were just too lazy. We went shopping for like two hours somewhere else and then to a beer garden at night. Nothing too exciting.

Yesterday, we went to a German Shepherd breeder show. It was interesting to see who always won, because I really learned what to look for and what a GSD is supposed to look like. The vet I shadow was there, too, with some of his dogs. Later, I hung out with my mom's parents again. My grandma made my favorite cheese cake again.

I'm going to the vet later today and then eat dinner with them again today. And tomorrow night, we're going to my stepsister's restaurant again. :)

Back again..

I know. I keep saying I will post more, but it never happens. But the last weeks were just so stressful. Haha. I'm happy to be on break and once I'm back in the US, I will try to post more. If interesting things happen, that is.. Let's hope so!

I got to Germany last Thursday. School got out Tuesday and I boarded my plane Wednesday afternoon. I still haven't gotten over the jet lag. I don't know why it's taking me so long. It's been almost a week now. Maybe because I always have something to do here, too, and never really rest like I need to. But it's been fun here so far! I got to see a good friend, go horseback riding whenever I want (I absolutely love that horse. He's wonderful out on the trails. It's beautiful here and I really missed the fields and woods!), get to read..

I started a practicum with our veterinarian here on Monday. He works with both small and large animal, which is exactly what I want to do - only that I want to do mainly large and a little bit of small on the side. I don't really get to do much but watch, but I don't really mind. On Monday, I really just watched. There were a lot of animals coming in, much different than the vet school patients, where most of them stay there and don't leave right after the examination. There were dogs, cats, rabbits, canaries, doves... I also got to see my first dog euthanasia. I didn't get very upset like some other people have said, but it's definitely a bit unsettling. I don't think the dog was feeling very well anymore, so it might have been a good thing. He's in a better place now if such exists. Yesterday, I helped with cleaning a bit, and greeting and calling in clients. It's really not much, but I want to show that I am motivated and willing to help when needed. Today we only has a few appointments. The regular vet wasn't here and there was someone else covering for him. When we were done at the office, we went to a barn to look at a sick foal. I helped with the treatment a little bit and then we sat there, trying to keep it warm. I hope it gets better soon! It looked better than before apparently though, so that's good. Tomorrow is a holiday, and then I'm back in on Friday. I want to ask if they can show me how to properly restrain the different kinds of animals. I doubt they'll let me do it, but an explanation would still be awesome. It's the first time I'm working with small animals with a vet.

My advisor said I might be able to get one or two hours of credit for the practicum. That'd be awesome. I definitely need some good grades. Haha :P He also said if I help him with some research in the fall, we'd combine those hours with the ones where I helped him last semester and I'd get credit for that, too. I'm so happy I changed advisors from my old one to him. He's the one I had for summer orientation. I wouldn't say my old one was bad, but he wasn't very helpful either. But this one? He's awesome! He alway tries to help everyone succeed and tries to find great opportunities, like this one. I really want to do research, so that'd be a great start!

We found a house and had inspections for it the day before I left the US. I should be moving in around June 20th. I'm super excited to be living together with my wonderful boyfriend again! How I miss seeing him all the time. I know he'll still be gone for work a lot, but at least I get to see him at night or even just sleep next to him. Much better than not seeing him for weeks at a time. :)

I so so so love that I get to ride however much I want when I'm in Germany. It's my friend's horse that I broke in before I moved to the US. He's gotten to be a wonderful trail horse. I don't have to worry at all about going out by myself. I think he loves to get out, too. He doesn't get ridden too much anymore and while he loves to eat out on the pasture (and during trail rides which caused us to almost fall down a hill...), I think he really enjoys the rides. We have really relaxed rides, but always gallop a little bit. He puts his ears forward and just takes of at high speed. He really looks like he loves it and I do, too! I really miss riding and this is the only way to really be able to relax. Especially when it's along beautiful fields and through the pretty woods here..

Well, I'm tired. More later (yea, right.. haha). I still want to read a bit and then I'm going to sleep. It's midnight here. I borrowed a book about BSE and one about Mastitis from the vet and I want to be done by Friday. I know I won't get through the whole books, but at least read a big part of them.