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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
When it comes to careers, being a veterinarian is one of the most competitive, especially at the San Diego Zoo. Louden Wright, a veterinarian at the Zoo in his first year of residency, was InternQuest’s guide as we learned about a day in the life as a San Diego Zoo vet. A vet at the Zoo faces many unique cases on a daily basis. It’s essential for vets to have the proper equipment in order to provide the wide variety of treatments animals may require. The vets rely heavily upon their equipment to correctly diagnose and care for each specific case. Whether an animal is coming in for a check-up, quarantine, or major surgery, the vets are able to treat each case suitably. Dr. Wright took us on an adventure through the hospital by explaining the complex details that go into caring for the Zoo’s residents.
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Our day begins outside the treatment room where we have the privilege of meeting Yvette Kemp. Mrs. Kemp works alongside Dr. Wright as a hospital keeper. Along with the veterinarian technicians, a hospital keeper is very similar to a nurse in human hospitals. At the Zoo, hospital keepers care for the general welfare of the patient and reports back to the doctor if any further problems develop. In the animal hospital, keepers will feed and clean up after the animals while monitoring how their patients are doing physically and mentally.[/caption]
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This is one of the many examination tables inside the Hospital. Next to the upper left side of the table is equipment for anesthesia, which is one of the areas Dr. Wright specializes in. While the table seems like your typical metal examination table you’ve probably seen in hospitals, Dr. Wright pointed out how the surface is kept warm for the comfort of the animals. The overall safety and comfort of the animals is the first and foremost concern of the veterinarians, which is evident in the design of each piece of equipment.[/caption]
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This TV is another way vets ensure the safety of the animals in their care. There is a camera in each enclosure so at any given time the vets can check on the animal without physically going into the enclosure, which risks stressing the animal. Displayed on the screen is Dewy, a gerenuk, and favorite patient among the hospital keepers because of how easy-going demeanor.[/caption]
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While a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down with humans, the vets found that a spoonful of jam works just as well for animal. This fridge is used to store basic medicines kept on hand as well as jars of jam. These are used when animals are not willing to ingest medicine because of the taste, similar to the grape and cherry flavors of cough syrup that we barely tolerated as children.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127663" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Looking at this picture what do you see? I would guess your response is “An empty room… duh” That was my initial reaction, but Dr. Wright described how vets and hospital keepers view this as a blank canvas. Before taking in a new animal, the keepers will design a room in such a way that the visitor will be most comfortable. This may include doing research on animal before setting up the space so elements the animal particularly enjoys are included.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127666" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
This odd-looking wooden box is used for smaller animals. It is called a squeeze. The purpose is to allow vets easy access to treat the animal while keeping the animal secure. The animal feels safe in this tight space. The vets can do their job more effectively, and know that both the animal and staff will be kept safe.[/caption]
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One of the many machines found in the treatment center is this x-ray machine. Even though the machine in the picture is smaller than a typical x-ray machine, it is just as useful. Because of its size, this x-ray machine can only scan smaller areas, and the picture is much more detailed than a regular x-ray machine since it would be used in a human hospital for mammograms. [/caption]
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Perhaps the most important piece of equipment at the hospital is the CT scanner. It is one of the only CT scanners that any zoo has on location and is used very often. This machine is useful in revealing things an x-ray cannot. It recreates a 3-D image of whatever is scanned so that the vets can better see what is going on inside of an animal.[/caption]
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Now we find ourselves in the lab directly above the treatment room. One of the main purposes of this lab is to examine blood samples. This is done under a microscope by a lab technician. However, sometimes one pair of eyes isn’t enough, so this microscope has three sets of lenses so that three people can look at the same thing at the same time, increasing accuracy of what is being read.[/caption]
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Let’s take a moment to appreciate that our doctors don’t inject us with these. Then again, people tend to know when they’re sick and take themselves to the hospital. Animals, however, are not as self-aware and sometimes will not cooperate if they are in their regular exhibit in the Zoo. This dart injects an sedative into the animal so that it can be safely moved and treated.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127671" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Here Dr. Wright is demonstrating how the endoscope is used. An endoscope is useful to see inside an animal without having to operate. A long, thin tube with a camera on the end can navigate into the animal through a small incision and project live feed onto the computer behind Dr. Wright. In my opinion, the mystery of how an endoscope works is small potatoes compared to how that snake got into the coconut.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127672" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
As mentioned earlier, the day to day work of a vet at the Zoo comes in all shapes and sizes. This x-ray shows the result of an operation done on a tiger that broke its leg. All of the rods were expertly placed to ensure the bone heals completely and in the right position.[/caption]
This was just a glimpse of the amazing equipment seen throughout our time at the hospital. So many of these machines are used daily and are a huge contributing factor in saving the lives of animals everywhere. The data collected through operations and CT scans is shared with other zoos so they can keep their animals healthy as well. You are able to play a role supporting the quality care animals at the Zoo receive. Any money the Zoo makes from visitors, like you and I, goes to funding things such as the Hospital and vets. I invite you to come see the happy and healthy animals at the Zoo, courtesy of Dr. Wright and his fellow vets.
Noah, Photo Team
Week Six, Fall Session 2018
Our day begins outside the treatment room where we have the privilege of meeting Yvette Kemp. Mrs. Kemp works alongside Dr. Wright as a hospital keeper. Along with the veterinarian technicians, a hospital keeper is very similar to a nurse in human hospitals. At the Zoo, hospital keepers care for the general welfare of the patient and reports back to the doctor if any further problems develop. In the animal hospital, keepers will feed and clean up after the animals while monitoring how their patients are doing physically and mentally.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127661" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] This is one of the many examination tables inside the Hospital. Next to the upper left side of the table is equipment for anesthesia, which is one of the areas Dr. Wright specializes in. While the table seems like your typical metal examination table you’ve probably seen in hospitals, Dr. Wright pointed out how the surface is kept warm for the comfort of the animals. The overall safety and comfort of the animals is the first and foremost concern of the veterinarians, which is evident in the design of each piece of equipment.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127664" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] This TV is another way vets ensure the safety of the animals in their care. There is a camera in each enclosure so at any given time the vets can check on the animal without physically going into the enclosure, which risks stressing the animal. Displayed on the screen is Dewy, a gerenuk, and favorite patient among the hospital keepers because of how easy-going demeanor.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127662" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] While a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down with humans, the vets found that a spoonful of jam works just as well for animal. This fridge is used to store basic medicines kept on hand as well as jars of jam. These are used when animals are not willing to ingest medicine because of the taste, similar to the grape and cherry flavors of cough syrup that we barely tolerated as children.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127663" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Looking at this picture what do you see? I would guess your response is “An empty room… duh” That was my initial reaction, but Dr. Wright described how vets and hospital keepers view this as a blank canvas. Before taking in a new animal, the keepers will design a room in such a way that the visitor will be most comfortable. This may include doing research on animal before setting up the space so elements the animal particularly enjoys are included.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127666" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] This odd-looking wooden box is used for smaller animals. It is called a squeeze. The purpose is to allow vets easy access to treat the animal while keeping the animal secure. The animal feels safe in this tight space. The vets can do their job more effectively, and know that both the animal and staff will be kept safe.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127667" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] One of the many machines found in the treatment center is this x-ray machine. Even though the machine in the picture is smaller than a typical x-ray machine, it is just as useful. Because of its size, this x-ray machine can only scan smaller areas, and the picture is much more detailed than a regular x-ray machine since it would be used in a human hospital for mammograms. [/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127670" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Perhaps the most important piece of equipment at the hospital is the CT scanner. It is one of the only CT scanners that any zoo has on location and is used very often. This machine is useful in revealing things an x-ray cannot. It recreates a 3-D image of whatever is scanned so that the vets can better see what is going on inside of an animal.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127668" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Now we find ourselves in the lab directly above the treatment room. One of the main purposes of this lab is to examine blood samples. This is done under a microscope by a lab technician. However, sometimes one pair of eyes isn’t enough, so this microscope has three sets of lenses so that three people can look at the same thing at the same time, increasing accuracy of what is being read.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127669" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Let’s take a moment to appreciate that our doctors don’t inject us with these. Then again, people tend to know when they’re sick and take themselves to the hospital. Animals, however, are not as self-aware and sometimes will not cooperate if they are in their regular exhibit in the Zoo. This dart injects an sedative into the animal so that it can be safely moved and treated.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127671" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Here Dr. Wright is demonstrating how the endoscope is used. An endoscope is useful to see inside an animal without having to operate. A long, thin tube with a camera on the end can navigate into the animal through a small incision and project live feed onto the computer behind Dr. Wright. In my opinion, the mystery of how an endoscope works is small potatoes compared to how that snake got into the coconut.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_127672" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] As mentioned earlier, the day to day work of a vet at the Zoo comes in all shapes and sizes. This x-ray shows the result of an operation done on a tiger that broke its leg. All of the rods were expertly placed to ensure the bone heals completely and in the right position.[/caption]
This was just a glimpse of the amazing equipment seen throughout our time at the hospital. So many of these machines are used daily and are a huge contributing factor in saving the lives of animals everywhere. The data collected through operations and CT scans is shared with other zoos so they can keep their animals healthy as well. You are able to play a role supporting the quality care animals at the Zoo receive. Any money the Zoo makes from visitors, like you and I, goes to funding things such as the Hospital and vets. I invite you to come see the happy and healthy animals at the Zoo, courtesy of Dr. Wright and his fellow vets.
Noah, Photo Team
Week Six, Fall Session 2018
