I’m due to do surgery today so I set the alarm for 7am; out the door by 7:30am and opening up the clinic a bit before 8am.

First thing to do is to get a cup of coffee! Now I can think.

The dog that we admitted yesterday for overnight fluids due to pancreatitis is much better this morning. I could already hear the welcome barks as I turn on the lights. I do a quick check to make sure he’s been alright overnight, and will do a more thorough check once the nurse arrives. She will be here in about 5min.

I check the schedule, and I confirm that I have 2 dentals, a spey and a wound repair on a dog’s ear that must have been booked in yesterday evening. A pretty routine day unless any emergencies walk through the door.

Lauren arrives, and we both check the overnight stayer. Appetite’s back and energy levels are telling me he’s right to go home today. I’ll call the owner to let them know the plan once the morning rush is over.

My surgery cases start to arrive by 8:20am. Paperwork is done and each is taken into the treatment room for a thorough check and any pre-anaesthetic blood tests. Only one of the dentals needs one today. So we take blood and get that running on our in-house machine.

I start surgery a little after 9am. After my first surgery is done, I call the owners of the hospital dog who stayed overnight to let them know he can go home this afternoon.

I finish surgery around 2pm, and sit down with the nurses for some lunch.

After lunch, the nurses start to get the patients ready for discharge. Lauren and Corinna calls each of the owners and confirms a discharge time. After lunch is my chance to check the emails for any lab results that are back. Good news. The lump I took off a dog’s eyelid last week has come back as what we were hoping, and he’ll have a good prognosis. I call the owners to let them know.

The afternoon has filled up a little bit with consults. A few routine vaccinations plus a nurse’s cat who we think might have a UTI. A quick urine test confirms we were right and she’ll be better after a short course of antibiotics.

By 4:30pm my patients have been discharged, and after tying up some loose ends, my day finishes at a bit after 5pm.  

All set for another day tomorrow.