The Low Points of the Career

Some days being a vet isn't very glamorous. It's even worse for vet students, because you're at the bottom of the heirarchy. For instance...

Vet is pregnancy scanning cattle. Cows get lined up in the milking shed, vet goes down the line with the ultrasound. Vet students get remote screen so we can see the ultrasound as well, but it has a short range, so we have to delve into the pit to follow the vet.

Streams of urine and faeces pour out intermittently and unpredictably from both sides. You try to stand in the middle, but can't very well because all the milking cups are hanging there, in the way. Dodge forward, out of a splatter, into a spray. Dodge backward, out of a spray, into a splatter. Random cow gets a fright and kicks poo onto your arms/chest/face. Scurry forward to the end of the pit. After the vet is finished, time for the cows to go, and the next group to come in. Scurry back to the other side of the pit, get more poo kicked on you as cows hurry out of the shed.

Repeat.

A gradual, slow accumulation of cow poo. Slowly run out of clean spots on limb to scratch face, which is a bad combination with hundreds of flies in the shed. Poo lands on you. Flies land on poo. Poo lands on ultrasound screen, wipe it off... start running out of places to wipe it onto.

Long shower afterwards.