#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician (jury duty)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

*Disclaimer--I have finished serving jury duty and have been discharged by the judge. I am now legally allowed to share information regarding the case if I desire.*

Hey nerds, what's shakin? Well this week I had to go for a jury summons. You know-- that civic duty anyone registered to vote is required to perform. Many of you probably have never even received a jury summons. Lucky bastards. I have received FOUR jury summons. Thankfully I never actually had to go until this last one. The first two were while I was in school and I was excused (both Orange County, FL). The third I think I was eligible to be excused but I must have procrastinated and/or forgotten about it until right before and I had to call to see if I was called. To get excused or have your jury duty postponed you MUST submit your form at least 10 days before the day you are required to come for selection. They may or may not excuse you. There is a list of mandatory and optional reasons that would enable you to not have to serve but you can also try to be excused if you are facing hardship. So on the third jury summons I had to call the night before and see if my number was called, it was not! Woo, score three for Orange County. 

Well now I'm living in Seminole County, FL and at the end of February I received my fourth summons. Dammit! I informed my job and sent in my form to be excused stating that taking time off work would put a financial hardship on me and the $15 per day compensation would not be sufficient to cover bills. (Yeeeah so in FL they pay you $15 per day for the first 3 days and then $30 per day for each thereafter...lame!) I also stated that my job would be short handed if I wasn't there. The clerks office called my job to speak with me and told me they were not able to excuse me for my listed reasons but when I came in for selection I could try to discuss it with the judge and see if she excuses me. Not a good sign I thought. Apparently seminole county isn't as laid back as orange. 

We were required to report to the Seminole County courthouse at 8am on Monday. After some instructions by the clerk the judge came out to hear who needed to be excused and why. I figured out veerrrry quickly that my reasons were not going to fly with this judge. As other people who seemed to have much more legitimate reasons than I were denied to leave, I realized that there was a really good chance I would be selected based on the age demographic in the room: AKA not that many under 35 people. I'm 26 soon to be 27 but I know some 30somethings that I wouldn't have guessed there were over 30. 

Being trapped in a room with other people who dislike being there just as much as you really helps to build camaraderie. A small group of us quickly formed as we were the goofy, cynical, and oddly enough the only ones with electronic devices other than cell phones. (Nerds always unite!) We had a good time joking around for about 3 hours. Unfortunately the clerks were actually kind of rude to us. I accidentally left my phone in my car and we weren't allowed to leave the room at one point. Finally I got so annoyed that I just told them I was going to get my phone from my car--and I went. It wasn't until after lunch that I was called for selection. It was around 1:30pm. Thankfully when you call the number that night you are supposed to report for the summons the message tells you to prepare to be there all day and bring books, games, laptops, etc. I brought the second book of the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire and my laptop. 

When we went upstairs we had to sit inside a courtroom with the judge, lawyers, and defendant. The whole thing made me nervous for some reason, but the judge and lawyers were SOOO nice and SO much nicer than the courthouse staff we were with downstairs. (Oh the deputies were very nice as well) The three of them thanked us for coming in and told us how much they appreciated our time. The judge told us the case was a criminal charge of battery and we were asked if we knew any parties involved. The judge read off a list of people including a few police officers. We were asked to say our name, occupation, marital status, if we had children, if we had ever served as a juror before, if we had any court experience, and if we knew anyone who was a victim or charged with battery or had any experience with the charge of battery. They asked us if any of that experience would alter our ability to have an unbiased opinion on the case. We were not given any other details except that it was a criminal charge of battery, the name of the defendant, and the witnesses involved.

Then the state attorney and the defense attorney asked us questions about when it is and is not appropriate to hit someone; what our feelings were regarding seeing someone in the police car and if that would make us assume immediately that they were guilty. They asked us if we were peaceful or more likely to react if someone got in our face. They also asked us on a scale of one to ten, how much each of us wanted to be there. After they finished with their questions we were asked to sit outside the courtroom while the attorneys decided which jurors they wanted. I had this feeling from the very beginning that I was going to get picked. And I was. The judge informed us that we were under court order not to discuss the case or trial with anyone and not to research it. I knew I would honor this no problem. 

The trial was Friday. We had to go to the courthouse at 9am. I was late...of course. And of course they were waiting for me!! (omg! so embarassing!) We were given some instructions and then we were led into the courtroom. We had to leave our belongings (even my phone, booo!) in the jury room which was locked while we weren't in there. We listened to all the testimony and the lawyers questioning. 

Basically the story was: A group of parents and kids were waiting on the sidewalk at a school bus stop. The defendant was driving along the road at what appeared to be too fast for one parent who stepped out partially into the road to wave and shout "slow down." The driver gave the parent the finger. Allegedly the driver fake swerved at the parent and the parent slapped or possibly punched the car trunk or hood. The driver stopped almost immediately, checked his car (which was a rental), and confronted the parent. Both exchanged heated words. Allegedly the driver swung at the parent. The driver decided to go back to his car. He handed his passenger his phone because he saw another parent come up and was supposedly unsure what would happen next. (Both parents were fathers as was the driver) At that point they exchanged more curses and insults. Allegedly the driver then pushed the parent but in court and on his written testimony he stated he never touched him and left after they exchanged more words. The witnesses written testimonies except for the man who was supposedly pushed all differed from their responses in court). After deliberating (when we did this the deputy took our phones!! AHH!) which took about 30 minutes we decided on not guilty due to reasonable doubt. You are not allowed to find a verdict of guilty if there is reasonable doubt. We were there from 9am to 4:15pm. We each will earn $30, which will come by mail...at some point.

So, once it was all over, I appreciated the experience. It was interesting to see how our court system works from the inside, by actually being a part of it. I still don't ever WANT to do it again, but if I HAVE to I won't be as pissed off =^.^=

It wasn't so bad I guess, other than being stuck and "wasting" two days. If you get summoned make sure to bring stuff to do!!! If you go to trial you will be busy most of the time listening to testimonies, but bring snacks if you are allowed. 

#nerdsunite

<3 Lindsay 
twitter: @thecraftafarian
blog: craftafarian.blogspot.com
email: craftafarian at gmail d c

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

This week has been extremely crazy. Between trying to figure out what to do about my boyfriend's dental issues, pet sitting, my own pets, and work--I've got my hands full. One of the most insane things in my career as a veterinary technician happened Wednesday evening. It was about 4:45pm and we got a call from a frantic owner; their dog had been shot and they were on their way to our clinic. They rushed her inside and lifted her onto the exam table. I immediately went over to her and cradled her head to soothe her but also to allow the doctor to examine her without her being able to bite. Which she never tried to do once. Her wounds were horrifying, I was completely shocked. Honestly I've never seen a gunshot wound in a dog. Her was shot at two times, or they fired off two rounds. One bullet grazed her head, slicing through muscle and leaving a 6 inch long gash down the back of her head. Any deeper she would have been dead. She also had two huge wounds on her chest and upper leg. She was bleeding a moderate amount when she came in. We began working on her immediately. 

After talking with the owners we come to find out the dog was shot by police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call at their home. I guess the dog became aggressive with them when they entered the home. I'm not sure exactly why pepper spray or a taser wasn't used first. Or even why they didn't ask the owner to confine their dog. She weighs less than 50 pounds. I wasn't there so I don't know the exact circumstances but it just doesn't seem right to me. When the dog came in she wagged her tail for us and never complained when examined. She never once snarled, growled, or attempted bite. 

We placed an IV catheter and gave her pain medication. While we were placing the catheter she would lift her leg up so we could rub her belly. Sweetest pup. We took xrays to determine the extent of her injuries and found out she still had a bullet lodged her in chest. Also that the one that went into the leg area had broken her front left leg so badly that it required amputation or a visit to the specialist. 

It took the owners a long time to decide but eventually they authorized us to go into surgery and repair the laceration on her head. While she was under anesthesia we did a pressure wrap on her chest and leg as the owners were planning to take her to the specialist in the morning when they opened. We went into surgery at 6:45pm and didn't leave until 9pm.  The next morning they took her to the specialist and last I heard she was doing well but the doctors weren't 100% certain the leg would heal and everyone is aware that amputation cannot yet be ruled out. We are all thrilled! When they weren't sure if they were going to treat or euthanize her every staff member at the clinic looked like they wanted to cry, so so so glad we were able to convince them to give her a chance!

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Lindsay on Twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

Well I've had some highs and lows this week for sure! 

Thursday my awesome boyfriend took me to Disney's Animal Kingdom!  It was kind of funny when he asked me because for some reason I was expecting him to tell me that his family wanted to go or something and he just wasn't telling me. I kept trying to ask questions via text to figure out what the catch was. I finally just asked if it would just be us and he said yes! Cool! I mean I like his family but I also REALLY enjoy spending time just us. Animal Kingdom is by far my favorite park at Disney (are you surprised?) and I haven't been since just shortly after they opened. The last time I went they didn't have any rides except for the Safari but there wasn't much else to see. They hadn't completed Africa and Asia wasn't even built yet. I was in such a bad mood after work I almost told him that I didn't want to go. Once I calmed down I went online and started looking at all the exhibits and what there was to do and I got soooooo freaking excited. I boycott most zoos and captive animal exhibits unless its a refuge of some kind. The reason for this is because usually the animals seem fairly stressed out to me in their very small enclosures. The thing I love about animal kingdom is that their habitats are quite large. Animal Kingdom is the biggest park at Disney in Florida but most of the landscape is used as habitats for the animals. I am always rather impressed by the amount of space and care that goes into these animals. 

There are several "walks" where you can view animals in their habitats playing or doing whatever they do naturally. I took soooo many photos! I had my camera (although I didn't bring fresh batteries and its a 7.1 megapixel but has better zoom than my 8 megapixel iphone 4s) and my iphone--both of which died by the end of the day. The only animals I missed out on photos were the lions and cheetahs which only came out around 6pm. I will be uploading all my photos and videos to my facebook account if anyone wanted to see more. You may have to friend me, I can't remember what settings I have for photos. Here's the link to my facebook account:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=57208657 

So I really don't have a favorite part of the day, the whole day was amazing!! One of the really cool parts was going to their "Conservation Station" where you can meet some animal handlers and get behind the scene views of their laboratory and some of their veterinary areas. So total eye candy for me. hehe. You didn't actually get to go into their hospital but some of the walls are actually glass so you can see them working in their diagnostic lab and they also have cameras to show the holding pens where they do treatments. We hopped on the last Safari of the day hoping to see the rest of the animals that were hiding from the heat (BTW--if you go make sure you go early as there is a lot to do and the animals won't come out or be active when its super hot) which was awesome because we did get to see them, the only thing that sucks is that the park closes early so they can start feeding before dark. While we were on the last safari all the giraffes were gathered by their gate where I can only assume they are let in to be fed. By the end of the day my boyfriend was feeling a little crummy as he has a toothache and also some trouble with one of his crowns. 

This actually leads me into the low for my week and as I don't want to dwell on it I'm going to keep it short; my boyfriend may need to have surgery to have an implant (tooth) placed into his jaw bone as the crown (or whatever it is) won't stay in because the tooth root is fractured. This may cost us in the upwards of $3000 and we have no idea how we are going to pay for it. This weekend I may be in over-drive trying to create crafty gifts to stock my etsy shop, I may even have to create a chip-in account. We shall see, there's a small possibility that we can get his dad to cosign for a medical credit card called care credit (www.carecredit.com) so that we can make monthly payments (FYI--it can also be used for your pets in certain vet offices!!). Whatever has to happen we'll make it work but wish us luck!!! 

I hope everyone is doing well and a huge thanks to my BF (who doesn't read this site..I think) for giving me a much needed animal filled day of fun, even though we walked for almost 8 hours straight. OH and those Rhinos in the photo...there are only about 5000 left on earth. They are highly endangered and killed for their horns :(

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Lindsay on Twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician (FARA, FDA, and Procrastination)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

These three things (alliteration oh my!) have been on my mind a lot lately. 

Do you remember me talking about the Florida Animal Rescue Act (FARA)? Here's the link to the post. FARA was created in hopes to prevent shelters from euthanizing animals if any qualified non profit rescues were interested in taking them into their care. It was also supposed to create transparency at the animal shelters by requiring them to create a report that is available to the public that would detail what happened to each animal in their care from admission to the moment it left their whether adopted, transferred, or euthanized (and noting if they are still in the care of the shelter). To me it sounded like an amazing idea. PETA was vehemently against it, but if you know any of PETA's deep dark secrets then you wouldn't be surprised as to why they want to block life saving legislation. Anyway, the bill passed unanimously in the State Senate only to be dropped by the State House, the good news for us animal advocates is that this bill will be resubmitted at the next round. So good and bad times.

Back in February I mentioned that I had discovered my dog treats had been reported to possibly cause illnesses in dogs and that there had been some FDA consumer warnings regarding chicken jerky made in China. This is the link to that post. Since then I have purchased three different brands of high quality USA-made (keep in mind that just because its USA made doesn't mean its 100% safe--read your labels/ingredients!) treats to try out on my pups and so far they love them and haven't had any issues (they didn't have problems with their old treats but I figured better safe than sorry!). We tried out Wellness (grain, corn, gluten free) Lamb and Apple Biscuits, Fruitables Pumpkin and Blueberry biscuits (corn, wheat, gluten free), and Nutro Blueberry biscuits (corn, gluten free). Wynnie doesn't care for the fruit ones as much as the lamb but River could care less, she gets excited over broccoli, but don't offer her bananas--she won't eat them. Thanks to a reader of my blog I was able to see a copy of the leaked FDA testing documents (supposedly verified by FDA as real) which had some new testing as of March 2012. The FDA released this FAQ sheet on March 9, 2012, still no definitive information regarding the contaminant or safety. The leaked document revealed that the FDA was doing DNA testing on some of the sample to determine if they were actually poultry (supposed to be chicken) I have no yet heard if they came back yet. Some of the testing for March 2012 is still pending. If you want my recommendation: stay away from imported pet treats and food, read the labels/ingredients, and EDUCATE yourself about what's really in your pets food/treats. Thanks to the blogger at Poisonedpets.com I was able to get a copy of the video.

I have been trying to take control of my severe procrastination lately and I think I'm doing rather well. I don't mind sitting around doing nothing and relaxing if that's what the plan was; but if I plan to get errands/chores done and then don't, I just get annoyed with myself. I've realized that sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and get your shit done! :) It feels good to complete things and move forward. 

Now, I'm going to take a nap and get ready for tonight as my coworkers/friends and I are having a girls night. Wooooo!

#nerdsunite

<3 Lindsay 
twitter: @thecraftafarian
blog: craftafarian.blogspot.com
email: craftafarian at gmail d c

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician (Social Networking for Vet-Nerds)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

I keep trying to write my post but I'm distracted by my boyfriend watching this episode of National Geographic CIA secret experiments. This stuff is CRAZY. Whoa, I mean I knew about the MK Ultra experiments but watching a documentary on it is just so much more incredible than just hearing about it. Very interesting, I recommend watching it if you have cable...which we just got a few weeks ago. YAY! We've been without cable for about two years and finally decided to sign back up. Ok he just changed it to espn and I'm not interested in what is on there. Anyway this week I discovered something really cool for veterinary people and even pet owners. It's kind of like a social network for veterinary professionals. It's called VetVine (www.vetvine.com) and I originally found it when checking work emails. The email offered free e-course about heartworm disease if you signed up for the free service. I'm always up for a good bargain and registered myself the next chance I had. Although I missed the course and apparently there was some login issues (which have now been fixed); I have had the opportunity to browse the site and use some of the features. 

The purpose of VetVine is to bring veterinary professionals together in an online community, provide accurate and "expertly-authenticated" information for pet owners, and continuing education for professionals (free for students!). It also has an option to search for veterinary staff by location or name--in case you have a patient traveling and want to find a networked clinic/staff member. It's a very new website with only about 279 members but I think it may be a very useful tool. Pet owners aren't able to join but there are resources there for anyone to use if they are interested. It's just starting out but I can only imagine how it will help with contacts and networking at the next big veterinary conference. They are still adding information to the library as they go but right now for pet owners there is dermatology and ophthalmology topics to view. 

I think what they are trying to do is have a website like www.healthypet.com (pet owners can search for networked vet clinics/staff and find educational information) but also have resources and socializing for staff. So far its much more geared towards vet staff but hopefully they will be adding more so that its interactive for everyone, but I'm rather impressed. Most websites exist for one purpose: Veterinarypartner.com has information for anyone. VSPN.org (for staff) or VIN (for vets) has forums, chat, courses, and library--almost all of it except the social aspect. VetVine isn't made to replace any of these other websites but to enhance the connections we make anywhere. Well at least this is my impression. Check it out :)

In other news, I reorganizing my apartment as we signed the lease for another year and we really need to figure out how to use this tiny space. I'm adding a bunch of shelves in the two rooms and bathroom in an attempt to take advantage of some unused vertical space. So far so good! It also makes it feel more like "my home" as I'm finding places for everything and making it look like we have more room then we have (not an easy feat!!!).

#nerdsunite

<3 Lindsay 
twitter: @thecraftafarian
blog: craftafarian.blogspot.com
email: craftafarian at gmail d c