External Rotation Travel Award

Annika Lindstrom travelled for a rotation with Rural Area Veterinary Services, Belcourt and Fort Totton, North Dakota.  This rotation involved 1.5 weeks of working in a spay/neuter and wellness clinic that provided veterinary care to rural communities with limited or no local access to a veterinarian. The opportunity also included valuable experience in field medicine, where they often worked with limited equipment and resources compared to a traditional veterinary hospital.

Emily Czerwinski received a travel award for an external rotation to Meru, Kenya to work on a donkey welfare. The rotation focused on promoting donkey welfare with Dr. Martha Mellish through community education seminars, walk-in health clinics, and harness workshops. They conducted owner seminars on donkey welfare that highlighted ways to improve current harnessing and cart design. During follow-up health clinics, the team provided vaccinations, deworming, and dental floating while reinforcing low-stress handling techniques.

Gabie Doiron travelled to the Granby Zoo in Granby, Quebec.  This rotation involved four weeks of working alongside the two veterinarians in the zoo’s veterinary hospital, treating ill animals, and implementing preventative care for all species. The opportunity also included valuable experience learning about cooperative care, which emphasizes an animal’s willing participation in medical intervention, allowing them the freedom of choice in their daily lives.

Jillian Lawless travelled to Meru, Kenya with a dairy cattle rotation. The most significant impact they had on the communities was through their informational sessions. They filled backyards, living rooms, and churches with farmers eager to learn about dairy cattle management. A significant focus was placed on enhancing animal welfare by ensuring dry stalls with proper shelter, providing adequate nutrition, emphasizing vaccination, and maintaining appropriate stall designs.

Casey Whitehouse travelled to the Dairy on Farm Clinical Rotation at the John Fetrow Center for Dairy Excellence with the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine.  This rotation involved two weeks on a 4,500-cow jersey herd diagnosing and treatment of disease in dairy cattle. Most of this rotation was spent discussing topics surrounding animal welfare. They monitored and screened fresh cows daily, as well as managed other sick and down cows and calves that presented within the herd.

Samantha Froud traveled for the Chinook Project, which is an outreach program that supplies free veterinary care for northern communities in Nunavut and Labrador. This year, the Chinook team set up a temporary veterinary clinic in Sheshatshui, Labrador. The team worked alongside members of the community to provide vaccines, microchipping, deworming, and surgical procedures for both pets and community dogs.

Nima Morady had the opportunity to visit the Montreal SPCA, which was truly one of his favorite rotations.  His experience at the SPCA emphasized the importance of advocating for animals and the impact veterinarians can have on improving animal welfare.  Expensive tools or medications are not always needed to help animals.  Sometimes, all it takes is the willingness to think creatively and act with compassion.  During the visit, Nima was split equally between surgery and animal intake, and he found both incredibly fulfilling.  

Joey Buzzell visited the Angell Boston MSPCA in their Avian and Exotics department.  Together with the guidance of the three ABVP Avian certified veterinarians, he saw gained experience identifying animal welfare concerns in variety of species ranging from rabbits, ferrets, rodents, parrots, cockatiels, snakes, lizards, and tortoises.  

Rachel Moore spent three weeks at the Oregon Health Science University at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. Rachel has a passion for animal welfare in the field of laboratory animal medicine, so was grateful to be able to work with veterinarians and staff whose priority is the health, well-being, and welfare of animals in biomedical research. During the visit, Rachel was able to learn more about enrichment, positive reinforcement training, and outdoor housing. This opportunity was partially funded through a travel award granted through the SJDAWC.   

Austin Ebbott had the opportunity to visit the Wildlife Center of Virginia for three weeks. Throughout the rotation, the welfare of the animals was a primary focus. Reducing stress and creating appropriate environments to allow different species to heal and express natural behaviours is critical for their medical care. For many wild animals in rehabilitation, the stress of captivity can reduce immune function, delay healing, and potentially lead to fatal complications.

Jared Schenkels travelled to Agwest Veterinary Group in Abbotsford, British Columbia where he completed a three-week rotation. This experience helped him improve his techniques to address individual dairy cows’ therapeutic needs based on specific claw horn lesions. This rotation helped him learn which preventive measures and management practices help reduce the occurrence of lameness in dairy herd and thereby improve dairy cattle welfare.