Let's just establish that my dog hates the rain so we got him a raincoat that has rubber ducks on it. RUBBER DUCKS. Oh and now whenever we take his raincoat out he gets excited.

Skipper is scared of thunder. So I made him a blanket fort. #thunderbuddies4life

In love with this company's scrubs. And clothes. And everything.

Got the good doctor a new shirt. Just to remind him that it's all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone #dogisgood

Little terror (at South Florida Wildlife Center)

Baby quaker parrot has a little cast. Poor little guy. He's my buddy though. (at South Florida Wildlife Center)

You gonna feed me or what? The only place spot-breasted orioles live in all of the US is right here in South Florida. (at South Florida Wildlife Center)

Lil' nipper! Mourning dove babies are so cute. And so tiny!

Baby nighthawk. (at South Florida Wildlife Center)

This baby quaker is a cutie. Up for adoption once he grows a little! Any takers? I would.

MooMoo the Amputee Kitten

This is the story of MooMoo, a tiny homeless kitten that decided to take shelter in the engine of a car. Long story short, Car turns on, Moomoo gets clipped by the fan. I say "clipped" but it was more like "got most of his forearm sawed off". Anyway, the good doctor performed an amputation just below the Humerus bone.

It's funny, I wanted to go to vet school to either become a zoo vet, or research. But when MooMoo was handed back over to the people that found him, his new adoptive parents, I wasn't so sure. Seeing the new daddy swaddle the kitten and gently rock him into purring made my heart melt. Seeing a bond form so quickly between the kitten and the old man was something powerful. Private practice definitely has its rewards. 

After the declawing of a basically feral cat. Good luck to the adopters. That critter was nuts. Gorgeous cat though. Even though it was covered in fleas.

Jacaranda Animal Hospital

So, the other half of my summer is spent at the Jacaranda Animal Hospital and its staff. I've known Dr. Mendy since I was a little girl so working with him is a lot of fun. I'm pretty sure he's the only vet that hums along to Hotel California, which is playing on the speaker in the surgery room, while he is removing a dog's uterus. 

RAWR! FEAR ME! These guys only live for about 2 years in the wild.

Some baby Virginia Opossums (my personal favorite). Everyone's progress is tracked by weight and each weight is categorized into a "phase". Once they have consistent weight gain past a certain point, they are cleared for release or to be moved out of the nursery into regular animal care.

Some baby blue jays and a woodpecker. Both are really messy eaters and loud as hell but the woodpecker nearly swallows the whole syringe of formula with that powerful little gullet of his.

So a baby raccoon is probably the cutest thing here. But damn are they messy and they've got quite a set of lungs on them when they're feeling hungry. I clean up after 35 raccoons every morning, as they proceed to throw newspaper, poop, and pieces of baby chick or mouse on me. Fun stuff. I do not ever recommend one as a pet, no matter how fluffy it is.