Blog 21: Independent Component 2

LITERAL:

a) I, Cheryl Marie Skywalker, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) "Improved Survival in a Retrospective Cohort of 28 Dogs with Insulinoma." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. This source was extremely helpful during my science experiment. It gave me a better understanding of what the life expectancey is for dogs with Insulinoma and what treatments are being given to other dogs.
c) Independent Component 2 Hours
d) I completed 36 hours at the Southern California Animal Hospital in La Puente. Although a lot of my time was dedicated towards cleaning kennels and treatments, I was a

INTERPRETIVE :

This little guy broke his leg playing with his brothers and sisters. All of them actually fell down the stairs and broke their legs.

 

This is Oscar; he had a serious case of pneumonia  I helped feed his some Nutra paste which is a high nutrient paste that helps puppies receive the nutrients that is so vital to their health. 

Pneumonia seems to be a common occurrence lately because this shepherd puppy also caught it. Although he looks super happy in this picture, he was really sick a couple days ago. 

This is me with Bobbi. He is a super crazy Chihuahua puppy rescue that is currently being housed at the hospital. Nothing is wrong with him medically, I just really like to take him out on walks. (:

APPLIED
Leukemia is not the cancer I am researching, however, helping with the treatment did give me an insight into what medication is used to treat cancer. This cat was being given a regimen of ocreotide which is a chemo therapy drug. It is given intravenously once a week (the dosaging varies depending on the animal's situation). Ocreotide was going to be another one of my answers to my essential question, but after seeing the affects it had on the cat, I decided against it. Ocreotide makes the animal very tried and weak, almost lethargic, and although it is slowing down the cancer, it is making the animal's life less enjoyable. 

Beagles N' Buddies

These pictures are from a couple months ago when I went to Apple Valley to volunteer at a non-profit dog rescue called Beagles N' Buddies. I have been volunteering there for a little over four years. I mainly take pictures of the dogs for the website, but I have assisted in adoptions, vaccinations, micro-chipping, wound care, dog socializing, grooming, and of course the smelly task of cleaning out the kennels.

 Besides this big ol' pig, there are also other farm animals on the premises such as hens and chickens. 

Mentorship Update

 This is Lassie. She was brought in to the Southern California Animal Hospital a while back after her owners accidentally ran her over. She had a broken tail and a shattered right hip and leg. Dr. Kumar (the attending doctor) amputated her tail because it was too damaged to ever function again. The doctor attempted to re-build Lassie's hip using a metal plate, but her hip was too damaged to reconstruct. Lassie's owners were going to euthanize her because they didn't want to deal with any more surgeries, but Dr. Kumar decided to take her in and amputate her right leg. Amputation meant that Lassie would have to learn how to walk all over again, but at least she would have a chance to try.

 This was Lassie's first attempt at learning to walk again. She is really timid so she was having a difficult time being outside in a new environment, but she did manage to get a few steps in.

 This cutie pie is Shelia. She is a rescue dog who is currently being housed at the hospital because she had a serious case of Mange. Some of the patches of missing hair is still visible on her back. Shelia has a long way to go due to the serious condition of Mange, but she still a happy and out going puppy none the less.

 This little guy is Oscar; he was originally brought in with his other brothers and sisters for treatment of Parvo, but after the Parvo was treated, he developed a pneumonia which actually become more life threatening than the Parvo. In this picture, he is hooked up to an IV to keep him from becoming dehydrated. In the bottom picture, I was feeding him a high nutrient paste because he couldn't eat solid foods. Last time I saw Oscar, he was hooked up to an IV and also had oxygen tubes. I still don't know what happened to Oscar, but hopefully he is better and living a happy puppy life.

My pants are as baggy as a cholo's in this picture, but the dog I'm holding is Bobbie. He is also a rescue dog that is staying at the hospital. Many of the volunteers, including myself, take some of the rescue dogs being house at the hospital out for walks and work with them on training and behavior issues to help them get adopted.

Blog 20: Three Column Logic Chart

Link to chart