During veterinary school, the first 2.5 years are spent “in the books” and the last 1.5 years are spent in clinics rotating through various disciplines.  Dermatology, food animal medicine, dairy, equine surgery, neurology, medicine, community practice, etc.  My first rotation was the four week beef/dairy cattle rotation.

This rotation involved two weeks of beef cattle medicine/surgery and two weeks of dairy cattle medicine/surgery and milking.  Yes.  MILKING.  At 4:30 AM.  That is another blog post all together.

My very first patient in clinics was my Wordless Wednesday post yesterday.

His name was “Doc.”  He was/is? (depending on his “fruitfulness”) a three year old, 2000 pound, Beefmaster bull.  Doc had a corn (a painful swelling between his hooves), and thus wasn’t doing his job well.  Kinda hard to make baby cattle when your feet hurt!  Doc also had a nasty temper.

A very.

Very.

Very.

Nasty temper.

He really enjoyed smashing into the stall bars as I walked by to get his vitals each morning (respiratory rate, hydration status, pain level, mobility).  As you can see in the pictures, there is a nice little container for hay.  When feeding him you had to be mindful as he would try to crush your hand if you were anywhere near his head.  Really.  Such a pleasant way to start the morning, don’t you think?

He also had an extra water trough, as he like to poop in his automatic waterer.  Boys.  Sigh. Each morning I would have to check his water, and then engineer a safe way to reach his “bowl.”  Which he enjoyed to shoving around his stall with his ginormous (stubborn) head.  Bigger sigh. It worked best having someone distract him, as I stuck my very breakable arm into his stall.

I remember calling Doc’s owner to update him on his progress.  The friendly farmer asked me if I had been giving Doc a good scratchin’ each day as it calms him down.   Um, is he serious? I laughed nervously.  He did finally admit that he knew Doc could be a pain, but that he had actually rubbed his back.  And get this!  “Doc really seemed to enjoy it.” 

Really? I want to ask if the “good scratchin’” was with a cattle prod.

By the end of his stay, Doc had finally settled down a bit.  I know all animals are wild and live by instinct, so Doc was acting naturally for a bull.  But I must say, after some good food and a reduction in tootsie pain, his attitude was much improved.

Doc I’ll never forget you…and your terribleness.

Last week the weather warmed up a bit, so Mary James and I took advantage of the sunny Spring day.  Thus my Wordless Wednesday photo was born!

As Mary James entered the world at the end of August last year, most of her life has been spent indoors.  Sure, we strollled around the block the few days it was balmy in the winter, but being able to relax on a quilt in the grass is new experience all together.

Mary James was enthralled with the birds…flying, squawking, singing.  And the neighbor mowing his lawn kept vying for her attention.  But by far the most exciting event of the afternoon was the kitty.  McKenzie.  Our fuzzy, drooling, talkative, sweet, outdoor kitty.  She absolutely adores our two indoor cats, Bella and Annabelle, so a new feline was heaven to her!

McKenzie left after his patience was worn thin; from tiny fistfuls of hair being yanked out.  So, it was just the two of us again.

As Mary James was on her back, I laid next to her with our heads together.  We looked through the fluffy, pink blossoms to the clear, blue sky and passing clouds.  There was even a gentle buzzing from honey bees high in a tree nearby.  So peaceful.

As for the photo, I love the sun rays bathing Mary James – just a lucky capture.  Sun rays always remind me of God’s love pouring out over us.  Corny maybe, but I find it very comforting.

Blessings really are everywhere, if I can only take the time to slow down, let go and let God.

So, I’ve been a single mother for a week.  I have the utmost respect for single moms…they are Superwomen!

This has not been a stellar week for Mary James’ immune system…snotty nose, nasty cough, etc.  There is nothing more pitiful than a sick baby trying to play and be happy.  It makes my heart hurt watching her try so hard to be chipper.

Turns out she has a double ear infection.  Huh.  So that’s why she was hitting her head with a rattle.  And she did shake her head a few times.  I feel so stupid that I didn’t know that was a sign of an ear infection!  I know dogs will head press (what it sounds like…they stand in with their head in the corner) when they have a headache and even shake their head with an ear infection; I guess babies do the same.  So much looking for ear pulling as the be-all-end-all indicator of ear infections.

As for why we are without the hubby/daddy, Ben is at a technology conference in San Diego for the week.  Something about Emergency Operation Centers?

We miss him SO much!  Thus, it was only fitting to make my Wordless Wednesday post a compilation of California (and Ben) themed pics!

Photo #1: El Matador State Beach in Malibu, California.  I visited this beautiful beach in 2007 with my friends Annie and Rupa.  Annie and I flew out to visit Rupa who lives in Los Angeles (lucky ducky!).  We had a blast!

Photo #2: Koala Bear at the San Diego Zoo.  Ben visited the zoo this Monday and sent me some great pics of his adventures.

Photo #3: My two favorite people snuggling…Mary James and Ben.

We can’t wait to see you Saturday babe!

This week my Wordless Wednesday documented a common sight in our house.  Mary James “loving on” one of the cats.

Annabelle is the cat receiving the baby pats.  She is the perfect kid-friendly-cat!  Anna-B is sweet as pie and more importantly she can’t hear a thing.  Yup, she’s your classic blue-eyed, white furred deaf kitty.

I told my husband we should totally breed Annabelle with another deaf white cat.  We’d have the perfect cats for kids!  Oh wait…just a slight problem…it’s completely UNETHICAL.  Oh well.

I do think Annabelle can hear some extraordinarily high pitched sounds.  Maybe.  She hasn’t had the BAER test (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) to know for sure what she can/cannot hear.  I was going to have her tested while I was in vet school.  But… A) There was no time and  B) She freaks out when she’s not at home.

And yes, she has recently been shaved/sheared.  I actually shave her myself.  Annabelle is not one for cleaning herself, and she tends to leave massive blobs of white fuzz everywhere.  Oh, and don’t you think she’s totally cute naked?!

As you can see by her elated expressions, Mary James totally LOVES the cats!  She babbles loudly at them and reaches to touch grab them.   And if they meow?  She kicks her little legs, pumps her arms, and squeals, like “Mom this is the bestest toy EVER!”

I hope this trend of calm kitties and one thrilled baby continues.  Hopefully, we won’t use up the kitties’ patience!

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My Wordless Wednesday post was some photos of our cat Bellatrix.

Yes, she was named after the witch in Harry Potter.  I know she is a “bad” character in the books, but I really loved the name and it seemed a good fit for a feisty orange kitten.  Also, it didn’t hurt that my husband and I were reading the final book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) when she first joined the family.

We rescued/adopted Bella in 2007.  She was dropped off at the animal clinic where I was working as an associate veterinarian.  A gentleman had found her at his work.  He said he heard a mewling sound just as he was getting ready to move some heavy machinery.  And as an admitted cat lover, he turned off the machine to go search for the source of the sound.

His efforts were rewarded with the appearance of an itty bitty orange ball of fluff.  He realized she must have ridden in the trailer of a semi that had just arrived from Alabama.  (This was kinda funny as I had just moved from Alabama, back to my “home state” of Tennessee.)  The man asked that we euthanize the kitten if we couldn’t find her a good home; I told him we would try our best to find her a home.

Little did I know it would be my own.

Bella has been sleeping at the foot of our bed for almost two years now.  She has blossomed into a skittish, yet extremely gentle cat.  She LOVES my seven month old daughter, and I must say the feeling is mutual!  Mary James has grabbed a handful of Bella’s hair, and instead of hissing or clawing the cat actually leans into her and the purring increases a notch.  MJ has even grabbed the cat’s tail (ooops!) and I’ve watched Bella simply swish her tail out of the clutch of my baby’s hands.

Don’t get me wrong….I’m definitely not encouraging my baby to grab the cat.  However, Bella insists on sitting right next to us, so these interactions are bound to happen.

In conclusion, Bellatrix has grown into a lovely, gentle, baby-loving feline.

Check out more Wordless Wednesday stories at Tell Me Thursday.