Oh man, this is sooo dangerous!

[Chickerdoodle13]

For me anyways!

I just started vet school and since before even starting, we've been bombarded with emails about animals up for adoption. I walk through the school hallways and all I see are cute posters of different animals needing homes. How am I ever going to escape unscathed?? Then if you volunteer with the SPCA, they basically throw cute adorable kittens at you and tell you to "foster" them, but really? Is it really possible to JUST foster? You're going to tell me I can choose any dog to take home for a few weeks and I can bring it back whenever I want to? How do you expect me to do that without getting completely attached??

They definitely make it difficult for students to make it through school without a pet or two! LOL I'm trying to wait until most of this first year (or at least the first half of the year) is over to adopt a dog, but boy is it difficult! I figure at some point, the perfect dog will find its way to me and I won't be able to resist. They just put up a poster of some lab/teaching beagles for adoption. I'm not normally a beagle fan, but we used these dogs the other day to practice physical exams and they were so well behaved and adorable! Much smaller than beagles I've seen before!

HELP ME!

 

[oesdog]

You will need to be strong and learn to say NO. You can't take them all home and you have to learn that really early on.
Yes it is possible to foster a dog or cat but you have to have the right mind set to do that. When you become a Vet you will be "looking after" someone elses pet maybe for a long time. You might become attached to that dog or cat but you will know in the end that animal will be going home. NOT to your home. So fostering an animal may help you to foster that ability in yourself to care but remain clinical in your demonstration of that care. -
You do not need a basket full of cute kittens - Take into account They pee and poo everywhere when they are little and even more so when they are elderly. They will climb up the curtains and scratch the couch. You wont be able to just go away because you will need a cat sitter! Or a cattery placement. Dogs are more dependent as they need walking everyday but a cat takes himself out. The dog will need groomed and bathed - the cat will do that himself. The dog will need its poo picked up - and the Cat will bury the evidence!
So think carefully as it is a longterm commitment. Cats and Dogs will live with you for as long as a child would be growing up in your home. That is a very big longterm commitment.

Fostering however gives you some experience of a pet care giver without the commitments. It is worth thinking over. You have to learn bounderies and a degree of profesional detatchment fostering will foster this in you!

Oes

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Thanks OES.

But don't worry. I am well aware of the commitment. I won't be adopting (Or fostering) kittens because I have two older cats at home who would not be happy with newcomers. Also, my room mate already has an FIV+ cat here at the apartment, so fostering is a big no-no. I've done quite a bit of volunteering in a shelter, so I am well aware of how to say no! While I was able to find an awesome dog for my uncle, I did not end up with anything. This thread is mostly a joke about the insane amount of emails and flyers the school sends our way because they know vet students are vulnerable and love animals.

Eventually, I am pretty sure I will end up with a dog. I've wanted my own dog for ages. It is just a matter of the it being the right time, having enough money, and finding the right dog that fits my lifestyle!

 

[oesdog]

Well good luck to you there.
It is good that you are thinking breed type etc. I know loads of folk who get dogs like Collies and Springers and then wonder why the animals are uncontrolable when they can't take them out for miles and miles to walk off the energy!
I am well pleased with my lazy furry mammoth dog. He doesn't care if you take him out or not so long as he gets his game of ball and gets to hang around us all day.

Oes - The oes is a breed for those who hate long walks and love brushes!

 

[bhaugh]

I own a dog rescue and in order to stay sane in this life, you have to learn no and MEAN it. Ive been rescuing for close to 10 years now and took a break from taking in. That's how I ended up with chickens. The dogs I take in to rescue (working breeds) would surely kill the chickens which has prevented me from ever doing it. The very last dog I took in, a 10 yo West German import, will stay with me until he crosses the bridge. I found him at a shelter in CA.

One thing to remember when fostering for a large organization such as the SPCA, you dont know the health condition of the animals they ask you to foster and you could be bringing in a very contagious disease that would be hard to eradicate. Most of the groups I have worked with, will chastise you if it doesn't work out if you have to return the foster animals. Kittens peeing on my couch was one such incident. Once I took the kittens back I was black listed from fostering. I love all my animals but my house smelling like a pee litter box or dog crap or chicken poop, is not part of the equation.

I am thankful to have been able to save dogs from the needle (as these are most of the dogs I get) and the return you get from the dog can never be replaced. It's rewarding. But it can also be heartbreaking and many of the rescue people I've come across are less than stellar.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I own a dog rescue and in order to stay sane in this life, you have to learn no and MEAN it. Ive been rescuing for close to 10 years now and took a break from taking in. That's how I ended up with chickens. The dogs I take in to rescue (working breeds) would surely kill the chickens which has prevented me from ever doing it. The very last dog I took in, a 10 yo West German import, will stay with me until he crosses the bridge. I found him at a shelter in CA.

One thing to remember when fostering for a large organization such as the SPCA, you dont know the health condition of the animals they ask you to foster and you could be bringing in a very contagious disease that would be hard to eradicate. Most of the groups I have worked with, will chastise you if it doesn't work out if you have to return the foster animals. Kittens peeing on my couch was one such incident. Once I took the kittens back I was black listed from fostering. I love all my animals but my house smelling like a pee litter box or dog crap or chicken poop, is not part of the equation.

I am thankful to have been able to save dogs from the needle (as these are most of the dogs I get) and the return you get from the dog can never be replaced. It's rewarding. But it can also be heartbreaking and many of the rescue people I've come across are less than stellar.

Thanks for the response! Definitely when working with rescues, it can be difficult to say no!

This SPCA works very closely with the vet school, so all the animals are pretty much screened out the wazoo before going out (That's how the vet students come in contact with so many of their animals. We used them to practice routine care and maintenance). Fostering sounds like a great option, especially if you are not sure about how the animal will get along in your home and with other animals (I have a dog at home, so that will be a major point that they get along). The SPCA here is amazing. Probably one of the best I've been able to work with. When they let students foster, they understand that the dog may have to come back for any reason. I've never heard of this as an issue. A lot of students foster dogs and return them when they are planning to go home for an extended time (Many students live far away).

The wildlife clinic also gives students the option to rehab baby animals, which is another awesome option. If a student shows interest in raising baby birds, they will allow it. That sounds right up my alley. I am planning on going into avian medicine (Unfortunately, the only one in my class so far!)

My post was meant mostly as a joke. I am very capable of knowing my limits (Most of the time! LOL)

 

[oesdog]

My post was meant mostly as a joke. I am very capable of knowing my limits (Most of the time! LOL)

He he

That just shows how out of control and in denial you really are!!!!!!!

No one with Chickens

are ever in control or know limits and bounderies!

Two words confirm this epidemic of awesome proportions!

CHICKEN MATH!!!!!!!!

OES - Theropy is the only option!!!!!!!!

 

[Sallyintucson]

It doesn't sound like a joke. It sounds like someone who picked the wrong profession. I used to work for a vet doing "the dirty work" that most people don't see. Unwanted animals are part of the job. Either get a grip or change professions. Pardon my bad spelling.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

It doesn't sound like a joke. It sounds like someone who picked the wrong profession. I used to work for a vet doing "the dirty work" that most people don't see. Unwanted animals are part of the job. Either get a grip or change professions. Pardon my bad spelling.

Uhh...really? I've worked for vets and shelters as a vet tech and have seen more than my fair share of what happens to animals that are not wanted. Surely you don't think one person can save them all, do you? It's a part of life, and unfortunately, people who don't take responsibility for their pets are the ones to blame. Not the vets who put the animals down. In fact, I'm not really even sure what you are trying to say in your post.

Perhaps you have never been offered a "free" animal and had a difficult time turning it down or maybe you misread my post. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and not automatically assume that you were being extremely rude. I am very good at what I do and I have absolutely picked the right profession for me. I would have hoped, after all of the prerequisite experience I had to complete to even apply to vet schools (hundreds of hours in clinics and volunteer shelters) that I would know what I am getting into.

The joke is that the school is constantly bombarding us with animals that are up for adoption because they know vet students are big ol' saps that love animals and hate to see things suffer. Its the same way that people who love chickens are constantly asked if they want this bird or that bird and we have a difficult time saying no. I think we've all chuckled at chicken "math" before.

I am on track for avian medicine. Already I've been offered unwanted parrots and other exotic birds. At this time (and for the sanity of those that live with me) I will not adopt a parrot. But it is funny the ways in which people approach the subject when they find out your interest.

Additionally you guys should probably know that animals offered through the school are not "homeless" for very long. Many of them get adopted right away by students, faculty, and family of these two groups. So before you start feeling too bad for these animals up for adoption, they are in an awesome position to get adopted. Vet students are suckers for animals with tricky medical conditions as well, so even those animals that would normally be euthanized have an awesome chance. It is an awesome program, but funny how often our professors and staff members push us to help them foster/adopt (Very often they do it in a joking manner) In a profession with a very high burnout rate where we constantly face death and grim prognoses, humor is a very effective tool to cope. I would hate to meet a vet without a good sense of humor.

 

[oesdog]

It doesn't sound like a joke. It sounds like someone who picked the wrong profession. I used to work for a vet doing "the dirty work" that most people don't see. Unwanted animals are part of the job. Either get a grip or change professions. Pardon my bad spelling.

Chickerdoodle13 - Is a really nice caring person and I think would make a fine Vet! Just because someone does care about the throw away animals does not make them uncompatable with that profession! It makes them human and a better Vet than someone who is so clinically minded that they have no space for compation! As for the Joking - we have a great sence of humour on BYC!

Oes -