Trip to Waco!

I wanted to tell everyone a little about my trip to Texas.  Many of you may not know that I am studying to become a CVT (Certified Veterinary Technician)…  I had to travel down to Waco, Texas to complete the last part of my requirements before graduation this May.  The plan was to go on this long long trip all by myself….but something just did not feel right about going all alone (well…Delilah was going to go too…!)  So last minute…like 30 minutes before I was supposed to get loaded up!  Nate and the girls decided to come along with Mommy!  I was very scared for a long car ride with two little ones but they did great!  And….Delilah got to come too!  This made Madisen very happy!  She and Lilah hung out in the back seat watching movies one after another….and Miss Hannah Berry slept most of the way!  Nate and I wanted to make this somewhat of a mini family vacation so we stopped in Fort Worth at the Zoo.  (I will talk about that in my next blog…)

I was very nervous when I arrived at Fast Track Labs the first morning.  I did not know what to expect, how it would go, or if I would pass!  I do not have much large animal experience so this is all very foreign to me.  After arriving we were quickly acquainted with our other classmates.  There were 5 other students from around the US.   We were then tossed out into the pasture to round up the cattle!  I had never touched a COW before!  After gallivanting through the fields for a while we finally got them into the work area.  Then the real fun began.  First we had to get them into the squeeze chute…not an easy task when you have no clue as to what you were doing!  Lol! Then we had to complete full examinations, draw blood, and administer injections.  It was a full day of COWS!  I had a lot of fun!  I really enjoyed them.  My professor referred to them as “Big Dogs” and they really were!

The next day we worked on Equine.  We had two horse patients “Bonnie & Tillie.”  They were great patients considering they are there just for learning purposes.  I had to complete a physical exam, blood draws, bandaging, etc…  Again it was a great experience since I really don’t have any history working with the big guys!  I feel like now I may have more excitement toward large animal and I really hope I can work with them more in the future!  After lunch we completed a Pathology Lab.  We used the blood that was drawn and the fecal material that was collected to learn more!  We completed blood studies and fecal examinations…saw tons of parasites.  I know it sounds gross…but when you are in this line of work it is very interesting!

The final day of labs was focused on pocket pets!  Mice, Rats, Guinea Pigs and Rabbits!  It was a lot of fun!  I was able to draw blood off of a Rabbit!  It was awesome! 

Over all my experience at Fast Track Labs was great!  I finally got to meet my professors and also got to meet several of my classmates.  It was neat hearing about how their practices are run and what kind of work they do.   Now I am getting very excited to graduate in May!