Reason No. 8: Because I think this is cool Part II

No. 1- Learning to scrub
Mollie was a huge English Mastiff. Literally a gentle giant. She was boarding with us once and she got into a fight with the house cat and lost. That's how gentle she is, yet needless to say this dog is easily 185-200lbs of mostly muscle but she's on the older side and thus is afflicted by growths and arthritis. Her owner brought her in because of two cysts on her back that seemed to be infected. The hair was matted over and we had to clip her up. Mollie was an absolute doll and layed down while we clipped them, picked of the sebaceous cysts and scrubbed her up. A sebaceous adenoma is non-cancerous tumor of an oil-producing gland in the skin. When we clipped them up, it was very clear that they had become infected by both the smell of them and the way they looked. They also were apparently itchy because as we literally scrapped the cyst away with our gloved fingers, Mollie groaned and did the Thumper motion with a back foot, all indicators that they itch. Finally we finished, and though intially my stomach was sickened by literally shaving off what looked like flesh, by the end of the process I was confident that I would be able to do this in real life. The best part was, when the vet noticed me being hesitant to pick them off she looked at me and goes, "C'mon, you're going to have to do this in school."

No.2 Learning from the dying
Gabby was a minature schnauzer whose parents were notoriously in love with her. So notorious that they earned a reputation with the girls in the back, and as I am still the new kid and the only official rooms nurse, I took care of the case. She came in for lumps on her neck and under her chin. I asked the father to show them to me, and to my shock I realized they were where the lymphnodes commonly are felt. Not only that, but they felt nothing like fatty tumors that we commonly get questions about. They reminded me of my own lymphnodes when I had mono a few years back. They were firm. When the doctor came in and palpated she confirmed my suspicions. Lymphoma. Cancer. The owner agreed to allow us to aspirate the lumps and send them to the lab to be confirmed. Sadly, they were and the owners elected not to try any clinical trials or chemotherapy or radiation to help extend Gabby's life. Still, when we aspirated the lumps, it was the best way to learn of all the major, palpalable lymph nodes are on a dog. And yes, I am currently practicing on my own dog.