University of Glasgow Veterinary School - Small Animal Hospital

Hello Everyone!

I know it has been FOREVER since I have posted anything to my blog and I am going to try to post things more often.  As for now, I would like to share a short video clip featuring the state of the art Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow.  Enjoy!

Canine Companions

So as you all know, I moved to Scotland in the beginning of September.  Unfortunately I was unable to bring my dog with me.  Ebony (or more commonly Bonini) is a five-year-old black boxer lab mix that I rescued while living up in San Luis Obispo, CA.  Currently she is living at my mom’s ranch and absolutely loves it! She gets to chase the quads around the pasture, go and hikes, and her favorite…go on car rides!

Ebony!

While here in Scotland, I would really like the companion of a dog or cat however that becomes a complicated situation for traveling and going home on school breaks.  I tried to convince my mom to let me get a snake since they do not need as much attention and don’t eat everyday.  However that idea was “ix-nayed” relatively quickly…haha! You might me wondering what the purpose of this blog is so here it is…a few days ago I welcomed a new canine companion into my home! My roommate and I have decided to name him Spike! Spike will be an integral part of my life as well as a helpful study aid for the next couple of years!  While many of Spike’s joints are permanently fused and he is unable to wag his tail when I walk through the door, he still manages to keep a grin on his face when we come home! He is the perfect dog, never barking at the neighbors or soiling the carpet! Hope you all will enjoy him has much as we do!

Spike!

Highland Cattle Festival

Hello Again!

            I will apologize in advance for the delayed update.  Things have been a little crazy in the past few weeks!  Anyways…on Saturday, October 2^nd, 2010 I attended a Highland Cattle Festival.  Basically it was a cattle show with a few other demonstrations and exhibitors present.  The show took place at Pollock Country Park, which is a few miles south of where I live in Anniesland.

            While waiting for the first train to arrive, we met another vet student (a second year), her boyfriend, and their new Weimaraner puppy.  It’s absolutely amazing how dog friendly this country is! Dogs are allowed in shops, on the train, on the buses, and into events like the cattle show.  With the help of our new friends, we managed to find Pollock County Park.  The park was absolutely huge and it took us about 20 minutes to walk to the other side of the park where the festival was being held.

On our way to the festival!  This a view of just a very small part of the park.

            At the festival, the first thing we saw was the main exhibition.  Exhibitors present their cow or bull (depending on the class) to a judge in a large arena so that conformation can be assessed.  There was also a very entertaining MC that talked with the exhibitors and people in the crowd (and he was even wearing a kilt)!  We then decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the festival stands.  My friend Kendall got this huge hot dog, which was not all beef (haha!), and had the most ridiculous time eating it! It was pretty comical! After lunch we listened to the pipe band and visited the other demonstrations.  There was a children’s puppet show, a birds of prey exhibit, and a border collie who herded ducks through obstacles!  We all had a lot of fun and it was a great day to spend a Saturday!

Sara, Kendall, and I at the festival.

One of the heifer classes.

Kendall and her very large and messy hot dog! 

One of the birds of prey exhibited.

Dog agility course.  This is also where the duck herding performance was done.

Clydesdale exhibit!

Big bull!

Black Highland Cattle Bull with curly hair!

More Highland Cows.  These females are kept in a large pasture in Pollock County Park.

Let the Adventures Begin!

Hi Everyone!

Many of my friends and family have asked me about my life so far in Scotland and the many things I have experienced in just the short time that I have been over here! So, in order to keep everyone updated I have decided to start a blog about my adventures during my five years (yes, it is really a five year program) in Scotland studying Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at the University of Glasgow!  I will do my best to continually keep you updated by posting on this blog, but please keep in mind I am now a veterinary student and that comes with a pretty hefty work load!

University of Glasgow's Main Campus

I will apologize now for the length of this first entry, but I feel the need to catch everyone up for the past couple weeks!  On September 2^nd, 2010, I left beautiful, sunny Southern California behind to head over the pond to the rainy city of Glasgow.  Approximately, 14 hours later my mom and I arrived safely in Glasgow and to my surprise so did all my luggage!  From there my mom and I traveled to an area in Glasgow called Anniesland where I was greeted with the very generous hospitality of my Big Vet, Amy and her adorable new Irish Terrier puppy, Radley!  The next morning I moved into my flat (apartment for you Americans), which is also located in Anniesland.  My mom and I spent the week learning our way around the town, visiting the vet school, traveling the pubic transport buses, and fighting with customer service representatives at the bank in order to open a bank account.  Needless to say, America is one-step ahead on customer satisfaction.  On Wednesday, September 8^th my new flatmate, Sara, arrived with her mom and twin sister! The next couple days were spent getting settled in to our new surroundings.  We constantly kept adding to the list of things to do and get…one of my favorites had to be discovering we didn’t have any potholders when we were attempting to take our dinner out of the oven!  On Saturday, September 11^th, my mom flew back to California and I was left to start the adventure of a lifetime!

On the following Monday, Vet School Orientation commenced.  I soon realized I was sitting in a room with 150 other first year vet students from all over the world!  We finished the week having learned about our curriculum, participating in crazy pub quizzes, and being totally lost on the vet campus even though we had been given a tour.  On Monday, September 20^th classes officially began! All the first years take the same classes, which include Biomolecular Sciences, Animal Husbandry, Anatomy, and Physiology.  My first week was slow as it was mostly review and I was not scheduled to go to Cochno Farm.  This is the farm that is owned by the vet school and it is where we do our dairy cattle, beef cattle, and sheep practicals.

This past Saturday, my friends Sara, Kendall and I went on a tour of Oban, Glencoe, and the Highland lochs and castles.  We managed to have beautiful weather and had a wonderful day exploring small towns such as Oban and Inveraray and visiting a few castles.  As we were leaving one of the castles a wedding party arrived…apparently you can rent out the castle for special events.  Imagined getting married in a castle that overlooks a beautiful loch! All in all we had an amazing trip!  I have included a few pictures below from our tour!

Kilchurn Castle

Kendall, Sara, and I

This week has proved to be a bit longer, but the adventures continue! Monday was filled with lectures all day including a 2-hour lecture on sheep breeds! On Tuesday my flatmate and I visited Cochno farm where we learned about cattle restraint.  We learned how to cast a cow (i.e. cow tipping!) and also learned that the U.K. cattle industry has yet to adopt squeeze chutes and they solely rely on the head gate to keep the cow secure…a little scary if you ask me!  We then had a cat and dog handling class where we learned the basics of handling dogs and cats in a clinical setting.  On Thursdays we have classes at the main university, so bright and early this morning we caught the bus up to campus.  Tomorrow has some more interesting experiences in store! Friday is anatomy day…in the morning we have anatomy lectures and in the afternoon we will be dissecting a dog to learn about the muscles and bones of the forelimb.

I think that’s the basics for now.  Sorry for the scattered update, but I hope to keep you more regularly informed of life here in Scotland!  I miss everyone and I hope you are all doing well!