BCSE results

So, I got my results for the BCSE exam, I didn't pass.... :S

Luckily they sent results early, which should allow me to register for the test window in May, so hopefully my application (which I sent out ASAP after getting results) will get there before the due date (April 1) and I will retest in May. Kind of a drag, but c'est la vie! At least I know what the test structure is like now! Back to study mode!

Figaro

Figaro has had chronic renal failure his entire life and this past week was doing very badly. He was getting very slow on walks, was eating less and was acting very picky and was just not acting his happy, little self anymore. He stopped eating on Thursday evening but was still quite responsive. On Friday he did not eat at all and our plan was to see how he did over the weekend and possibly hospitalize on Monday. We went to my dad's house on Friday night and, just past midnight, Figgy had a seizure and passed. He was buried in the pasture Saturday morning.

Figaro was a rescue from euthanasia as a young dog. He was brought into the clinic where I worked and was going to be put to sleep because he did not like children and his owner had a daycare (can you say bad training?). I asked her if I could take him instead of having him euthanized and the rest is history. Figaro was a very loyal companion to my dad for many years and also for DJ and I. He and Angelik became fast friends and I think that was essential for his happiness in the end. He has cheated death more than once, between being lost at my dad's mountain property for a week and having had a near-fatal uremic crisis before, he was on borrowed time his whole life. We are just happy that we got to share in his short life, he was very loving and loyal, albeit stinky and full of attitude.

Happy Easter and I leave you with a quote from Marcus Aurelius:
"Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight."

Lateral Ear Resection in a dog

This description of the lateral ear resection is taken from an article written by Dr. Wendy Brooks:
Chronic ear infection can be recurring or on-going. It can lead to dizzying middle ear infections, unending headaches and pain, as well as permeating foul odor. There comes a point when simply managing the infection with cleaning solutions and oral medications is simply not enough and surgery must be considered. There are two techniques commonly used to benefit the patient with chronic otitis: the lateral ear resection and the total ear canal ablation. The lateral ear resection is the more conservative approach meant for ears not yet at their end-stage, where it is thought that more efficient cleaning and better canal ventilation will help.


The ear canal of the dog and cat consists of both a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, making a “J” shaped ear canal (darker line in above diagram). This configuration is very different from the human “horizontal only” canal which goes straight into the head. Because of the vertical portion that dogs and cats have, it is thought that infectious debris and wax has a harder time draining and this is an important factor in why dogs and cats have so many ear infections.


The lateral ear resection cuts the vertical canal in half lengthwise down to where the canal turns horizontal. In the Zepp procedure, one version of the lateral ear resection, skin is removed from the area on the outside of, or lateral to, the ear so that the dissected half of the ear canal can be folded down to form a drain board. In the LaCroix procedure, the outer (lateral) part of the vertical canal is simply removed and the new ear opening is formed from the tissue in the area The result either way creates an ear opening that is more like the human ear opening: straight in. The ear can be more easily cleaned and since ventilation is now better, the canal is less suited to incubate bacteria. This procedure is relatively simple and referral to a specialist is generally unnecessary.

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This was the case we saw today. An adult, female, Shepard mix (most likely with Sharpei) has had chronic ear infections and was known to have a very narrow ear canal. The owner was having a difficult time treating the ear and treatment was not successful. I put some picture of the before (with hair and without) and after the surgery.

Dr used a modified LaCroix procedure, exposed the horizontal ear canal and bandaged it all up so that the dog cannot shake its head.

Almond blossoms

So, we spent the weekend at Dad's place which is just surrounded by beautiful almond blossoms! Here is a picture of the dogs and the white wonderland that are the orchards this time of year...

BCSE test was hard!

So, the test was really hard. It was 225 questions and you get 4 hours to complete it. I had a strategy. First, go through all of the questions and mark the ones I didn't know or wasn't sure of and, of course, answer the ones I knew and don't bother going back to them. So it took about two hours to go through the whole exam and then I just went back through the marked ones. Once I answered a question I would unmark it. So I just kept going through the marked ones until time was almost up and about 4 questions that were sheer guesses! When in doubt, pick "c"...(sounds like DJ)...

Results are sent out as early as 4 weeks, so I will know in a month! Worst thing that can happen is that I have to take it again. Best thing is that I can move on to the next one...and so on!
Overall they asked questions about dogs, cats, horses, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, ferrets, birds, etc. They asked about specificity of tests, they showed pictures and even had an EKG to interpret! Yikes, I guess I already gotta get studying for the next one!

Hell week

This should not be confused with hell week for a theater production, this is my Hell week right before I perform well on my first big vet test, the BCSE. This is the first of four exams that I need to take for my USA license to be a DVM, dum, dum dum! Imagine scarey music in the background.
So I am basically freaking out right now because, being the woman I am, I don't only have that going on in my life right now. No, I also am refinancing my home, auditioning for a play (and I don't think it went that well) and planning a trip for my aunt's wedding. Plus work has been on the stressful side recently and it is hard to not let that drag you down generally.
So I have been studying off of Mosby's Review for the Veterinary Boards, mainly the Clinical Sciences booklet and I have realized that there is no way I know everything I feel I need to know for this exam. But then the reality is that there is always information out there that we don't know and that is why reading and keeping up in the advancements in your field are so important!
I'm still freaking out... wish me luck!
Oh, and props to DJ for being so supportive since I am probably being a huge pain in the butt right now! TQM baby! =)