Goat Farm!

On Sunday I took two of the other pre-vet girls to the goat farm. It was really interesting, since we got to see the milking process, all of the equipment for sanitation, pasteurizing and bottling, and the herd health checks. The set up is really neat since it is made for a single person to be able to do it on their own, and is extremely efficient. After watching the milking, we got a tour of the farm and the different goats and pens that they have, and they did some in-hand breeding of a couple they are working on getting pregnant. We then did ultrasound pre-checks on about five goats. They coolest moment was when one of the fetuses was kicking during the ultrasound and you could see it's leg going! I'm sure that will be a feisty baby. We also learned how to trim hooves and deworm goats. The goats there are all super friendly, since they have been raised on the farm and with a lot of attention, so that was quite nice on top of it. The kidding starts on the 20th, so after that we will get to see a lot of babies. They mentioned that next week anyone who comes out would probably get to help with vaccinations and feet trimming, as well as anything else that needs to be done. I had a really good time, and I think the others did too.

I am pretty concerned that no one is signing up though. I really thought people would be interested in going at least once, for the novelty of the experience if nothing else. Instead, it seems as if no is interested but three people who have signed up to go multiple times. Of the 20+ in the club, that is pretty sad to me, as well as the fact that it is also somewhat embarrassing. None of the other officers have even signed up. When I work with local vets and persons who I have a working/shadowing relationship with to bring the opportunities to the club, it pretty much sucks when I then have to cancel because no one was interested. That is one of the downsides of being a local student. I guess I will just have to stick to purely cats and dogs in the future, since that is primarily what students seem to be interested in.

Well, maybe people will sign up later in the week and I'm just being pessimistic. I certainly hope so! Seven people have already signed on to help out with spay and neuter clinics at the SPCA, so that is good at least.

Jared actually met me up at school after class today and we went up to the SPCA to look at one of the dogs there. He has been talking about getting another dog, which I'm not exactly a fan of, but I figured we would go look anyway. Part of it was that I wanted him to see why I go once a week and spend time there, and I think he definitely saw that. The dog we were looking at was a 4 month old shepherd mix that was a stray- not up for adoption yet. Because of this, we couldn't take her out, but we played with her through the kennel door and she was very sweet and well-behaved. He is really upset with me that I am not into getting another dog. However, we just don't know what is going to happen in the next year or so with his applying for full-time jobs, and me applying to vet schools. Having the three cats, ten chickens, two horses and the one dog is enough work and energy. Getting a puppy just seems like a really bad idea to me. Jared swears he can handle it though. I'm pretty torn. She was a really nice dog, and I'm sure she won't stay up for adoption long. However, we also have a free puppy from the breeder that we got Remi from (before I realized how awful it is to feed into the breeder cycle), because Remi was "defective" and has had hip displasia since she was born.

I just don't know. Is two dogs that much more work than one? I feel like getting an older dog (one already housebroken!) would be a lot easier.

~Melissa