K's new adventure!

Since K was about 6 years old she has talked about being a vet. Not just any vet however, a LARGE ANIMAL vet. Now, many kids change their minds a hundred times before they actually settle on something that they want to do in life. K hasn't done this. She's had many ideas of what she wants to do - but she always comes back to being a vet. When Speck died last week (ugh, I'm still so sick about that!) a thought occurred to me. It would be good for K to lose herself in service so why not stick her with a few animals. It's something she loves, something she is willing to do, it will help her move forward, and it will help her to decide if this is a path that she really wants to pursue!

So, I called around to a variety of places and explained what I was looking for and many places told me that they can't take volunteers that are younger than 15. Other places told me that they weren't set up to have volunteers at all - and then the Bountiful Animal Hospital told me that they can't have volunteers working there due to liability issues since they are a surgical center. HOWEVER - Cheryl (the Vet Tech and office manager) agreed to let K shadow her and assist on basic things once a month. WOW... I was floored. This was NOT what I was expecting - what an amazing opportunity. So, I explained it to K and she jumped at the chance to be at the Animal Hospital. I took her yesterday for the first time. She got to assist on 2 dental cleanings for dogs, she ran the blood work on another dog (yes - she ran it - with help of course, but she was so excited that she was the one that got to do it!), she imputed information into the computer, and more. She talked about her experience for hours and hours and is still on cloud 9 about it. So now, K will meet with Cheryl once a month - on surgery days - to shadow to staff, ask questions, and help with whatever they will let her do. I can't tell you the difference this little opportunity has had on her attitude about the death of her bird. She is still grieving for him - and I don't expect her not to. Her heart is so broken and hurt, but with this opportunity in front of her, she will be able to occupy her mind with other things, surround herself with animals, and start the journey that will move her forward. So yesterday she started at the Animal Hospital and next week she will begin volunteering 2 times a week at a small animal rescue center that a lady runs out of her home. She needs help cleaning cages, bottle feeding the babies, and keeping the animals in contact with humans. As long as K can keep her grades up then she'll be hanging out with animals and serving others. How cool is that!