A Visit to the Vet Hospital

The January (though scheduled in February) field trip for the younger grades took us to the Northeast Indiana Veterinary Emergency Specialty Hospital. It was very interesting. While we were waiting in the lobby waiting for our tour to start, several owners walked in with their pets. One dog looked like it was trembling, but I overheard the owner tell the assistant that he was having one of its seizures. That dog was taken straight back, bypassing the exam room.
This St. Bernard was getting an IV put in. They had already shaved him and put the iodine on. I asked if the dog felt much pain, and they said that since he was sedated, he didn't feel much, if any.

After the tour guide explained the various aspects about their facility, the first stop was one of the exam rooms. As we were heading into the room, Leah whimpered and asked me, "Where are we going, Mommy?" I realized that her recent visits to the dentist were coming back to her. I assured her that we weren't there for her, but that this was an animal hospital. Now I understood why she wanted me to hold her while we waited in the lobby and was clinging to me as we moved toward the exam room. Poor baby.

We saw tools used for examining the animals upon their arrival at the hospital. In the x-ray department, the girls were able to try on the lead aprons, gloves, and mitts used by the technicians when taking x-rays. Megan has on an apron and a thyroid shield.

Grace puts on the mitt. Everything was so heavy.We were allowed to examine x-rays and see if we could identify what was wrong.
This dog was muzzled and still sedated from having x-rays taken.

From there we got to peek into the surgery room where a surgery was actually taking place. There was a dog in ICU that had an oxygen tube in its nose and was getting ready for surgery. We ended our tour in the isolation room, where contagious animals are seen and treated.
Surgery being performed.

I am not a big pet person, but I will say that I left there with a greater appreciation for the animal kingdom God created!

~Wee

P.S. All pictures were taken with permission.