August Post - Eye-Opening Experience

Today was my 5th day volunteering at the Loma Linda Animal Hospital and I have seen and learned so many things in these past few days. I work in the back with the nurses preparing animals for surgery, preparing dogs to go back with their owners, cleaning kennels, doing treatments for animals and several more things. I enjoy volunteering at the hospital because I get to interact with the nurses there and with the animals. I have seen many things at the animal hospital that I have never experienced before, including some that were unpleasant. I honestly thought that being a veterinarian was going to be playing with cats and dogs all day, feeding them and taking care of them, but I was completely wrong.

CAUTION DO NOT KEEP READING IF SQUEAMISH.

The worst thing that I have probably seen there was a dog's intestines hanging out of his body because he bit off his stitches after the surgery. The reason this happened was because the owners did not put a dog cone on him after the surgery was performed. Another thing that I have experienced that disgusted me was a dog's eye popping out of its head. I don't know how this could have happened because the dog came into the hospital when I was leaving. Other things I have seen include a cat's spine broken, deep wounds on a dog, and a dog's paw partially ripped off with deep wounds all over his body. The saddest experience I've had at the hospital was helping one of the nurses euthanize a dog due to aggression. I am surprised that I didn't react disgusted in front of the nurses or started crying when I saw those things.

DISTURBING PART DONE

On the other hand I saw many different animals that I didn't expect to see at the animal hospital. I saw a ferret, a tiger, a goat, and a rabbit. I am so glad I got to experience what it's like to be a veterinarian and I hope to learn more in the future. I was not allowed to take pictures inside of the hospital due to having to get the permission from the animals' owners to take the pictures ,but here is a picture of the outside of the Loma Linda Animal Hospital.