Welcome!

Welcome everyone!

This is actually my second attempt at writing this post. Yesterday, I put on a comfortable summer dress, gathered my Clinical Pathology notes, and took my butt to a coffee shop with the express intent of starting this new blog. I created the blog site, picked out colors and fonts, and started trying to write my first post. I struggled with every word I put down; I was trying to force it. I’ve learned over and over that I can’t be the silly, witty writer that I want to be if I'm forcing it. I have to be inspired. Unfortunately, inspiration usually comes at the most inconvenient times, like when I’m two sweaty miles into the woods trying to get my run on. Or when I’m sitting in the bathtub at 11 pm binge watching Orange is the New Black instead of getting a good night’s sleep like I should. I was not inspired yesterday so I was writing crap. Then, as it often does, the Universe intervened by deleting everything I had written. I was incredibly frustrated at the hour wasted but it was for the best.

So let me try this again. Take 2. ACTION!

I’ve been blogging for several years now with varied success. My first blog (LifeLikeSarah) chronicled the ups and downs of being a Peace Corps Volunteer in a remote village in Botswana. Now that I have closed (but not forgotten) that chapter of my life, it’s time to start something new. I am a 3^rd year veterinary student at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. I’m significantly older than most of my classmates. Does this give me some extra street cred? I like to think so. 

Jethrow, my goat best-friend in the Peace Corps, catalyst for my applying to vet school.

As an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky, I worked in several veterinary clinics and hated it. By the time I realized that I wanted nothing to do with being a veterinarian, it was too late to change my major (Animal Sciences.) After graduating, I floated around for a couple of years working 2 or 3 jobs at a time just to maintain my place as a living creature on this Earth. I wasn’t accomplishing anything. I needed a change and applied to the Peace Corps. I was accepted and spent 27 months in Botswana, an experience that remodeled my perspective, destroyed every preconceived notion I had about Africa, and eventually led to my applying to veterinary school.

Fast forward 3 years and I have one semester left of my pre-clinical education. OH SNAP!!! So I’m not actually a veterinarian yet, hence the (almost) in the title of this blog post. The reason you should put some stock into what I have to say is that I have recently learned everything I know. This means that I’m not stuck in the comfortable “this is how we’ve always done it” dogma that many doctors fall into after years of practice. The first vet I worked for, an older gentleman at the end of his career, smoked in the operating room and didn’t see any reason to wear gloves. That is not me. Everything I tell you on this blog is based on up-to-date research and evidence-based medicine.

The harsh reality: most of the problems that arise between veterinarians and pet owners are the result of poor communication and poorer client education. Many pet owners consult Dr. Google and then, only after they fail to cure their pet’s problem on their own, they make a vet appointment. They come to the clinic convinced of a diagnosis thanks to some website (the same way I do when I go to my own doctor.) The veterinarian spends 5 minutes with them and generates an estimate for hundreds of dollars worth of tests and shots with very little explanation as to why Fluffly needs them. The pet owner reluctantly agrees to everything on the estimate but then secretly feels as though they’re being swindled. Even if the vet figures out what is wrong with their pet and prescribes a treatment, the pet owner still feels uneasy about the care they received and never takes their pet to that clinic again. 

THIS IS WHY I DID NOT WANT TO BE A VETERINARIAN! I did not and still don't want to be a chink in that never ending chain of frustration and disappointment.

Now that I’ve chosen this path, I’m kind of committed. Instead of bitching and moaning ad infinitum, I’ve decided to harness the momentum from my previous blog and do something about it. I am not going to lecture you about what you should or should not be doing with your furry friend. I truly believe that we all do the best we can for ourselves and our pets, even as misguided as we may be. Via real, honest-to-God cases, pictures, and humorous narratives, we are going to hold hands and explore the exciting world of modern evidence-based medicine.

With that said, I present to you, dear readers, The Vetted (almost) Vet: verified, factual, evidence-based medicine for the pet parent. I hope that you will stick with me and at least read the first article, “Why does my dog need blood work?” Please feel free to email me or comment with questions, compliments (if you please), and complaints (if you must.) Now let’s get to it…