Three's Company: Vet School Open House

I think that the annual UGA Vet School Open House is the best kids event in the area...and what makes it even better is that it is free. I thought I would pull Scott out of school early to go, but Spring Break started early this year and he did not have school that day.

We went with our friends Bekah and Rachel. It was a treat to hang out with them for the day. The day starts with a bus ride from the parking lot to the vet school. That was a highlight for my kids.

We began in the surgery center. This poor little bear, whom we named Super Fly Guy, had a big gash in his head. Here we are in the pre-op area, taking his vital signs.

Rachel and Bekah also took an animal through.

The kids suited up into surgical gear. Amanda didn't last long with this hat on.

Amanda was too little to understand what was going on. Scott wasn't willing to let his imagination override his literal nature. But Andrew LOVED it. He was right there alongside Super Fly Guy the whole way. He held the anesthesia medicine throughout the entire surgery so that our little friend would not feel any pain. He was caring and watched every move of the vet student very closely. At the end, he would not give the animal back. So, Super Fly Guy now lives in our house. He has recovered quite well from the surgery and is frequently seen flying through the house. In fact, I had to make a new mask for him just a few weeks ago.

Scott did take over the anesthesia tube for a minute. He asked tons of questions like, "Is there really medicine coming out of this tube?" and "What is this valve used for?" and "What does this measure?" The poor vet student really didn't know what to make of all of his questions.

The other great part of the Open House is the exotic animal exhibit. We were up close and personal with these animals.

This guy was huge. I can't imagine riding one.

He even smiled for the camera. :)

I've never been this close to a zebra.

While Andrew loved the surgery, Scott loved the anatomy room. These are real animals, parts, etc. that the students use in their classes. We could have spent the entire day in this small room.

In the foreground is the cow table and behind are the pig parts. They also had a table of dog parts.

This is a pig skeleton and at the bottom you can see a cat skeleton. On the right is the dog skeleton.

Here is Andrew looking at the dog. The vet student who was stationed here had his dog with him, so the kids could compare the skeleton with a real dog. The skeleton is marked with the parts of the dog that you should be able to feel when doing an exam on the dog. Sure enough, we were able to feel the correct bones and then identify them on the skeleton.