A week before I started I had "advanced volunteer training" where we learned/practiced on dead animals how to tube feed, and give subQ and IM injections. I've never done anything with needles before - and this was oddly exciting to me. Something about giving an injection, and breaking through the skin of an animal with a needle makes me feel closer to becoming a vet. Anyways, training went well, and I was ready to start the next week.
On the first day I helped with a lot of cleaning and preparing diets (and I presume I will spend a lot of the summer doing that), and at 8pm it was time to tube feed 44 raccoons. Since it was my first day, and I'd never done that, I drew up the syringes and helped clean, and then R my rehabber helped me tube held the last raccoon and let me do it. I was nervous and excited, but it went well! Then I got to help give subQs of fluids to 10 of the raccoons - This made me even more nervous. It also doesn't help that while you're poking them with the needle and pushing the fluids in, the raccoons enjoy screaming. And it is a high pitched loud scream, that sounds like they are in so much pain! BUT - I had to keep reminding myself, they also scream even when they're just alone in their cage, or just being held - so it probably was not my fault! I got a little more comfortable as I went, but I think it will take me a few more times to feel totally confident doing it.
The second day I tube fed two raccoons all by myself, and continued to help cleaning putting stuff away, etc. It really is amazing how much laundry and dirty dishes are generated by running a wildlife hospital.. Its never ending!
At the end of the day we watched the two baby harbor seals get tube fed, and OMG are they adorable. First things I've ever seen that are cuter than puppies! Those big seal eyes! Here is a picture of one I found off the internet (not ours) so you can see, our are cuter of course.
Sunday morning I started off preparing food for and feeding a bunch of our birds (and baby birds). We have 9 little gosslings who are in a big area with a Geese who came in w/ a hurt wing, and now gets to play mother. Its funny watching them all follow her around in a pack. And the baby mallards are just so adorable. Fuzzy and yellow. I'll be honest that the crows sometimes scare me - when you come in and five of them are on a perch staring and cawing at you, its hard not to think of some scenes from Hitchcocks - "the birds."
I then tube fed all 44 raccoons myself! Yes, I went from help doing one, to doing two alone, to doing 44. I'll say that by the end I was definitely getting more confident and comfortable with them, though I'm still not quite up to snuff. I'm sure by next week I will be! I keep watching other peoples techniques as I'm trying to find the best way to hold the tube in their mouth while pushing down on the syringe. I'll get it soon!
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