Dr. Anne Marie Russ gives us tour of Bellis Veterinary Services

Report submitted by Reed Cherniwchan, club reporter

Dr. Russ first took us to the examination room, where she assessed smaller animals. There, she showed us an X-Ray of a dog that got run over and showed us how to tell that it had a broken leg. She said she must take more than one view to observe better and conclude what to do. After that, she took us to her lab, where she took X Rays of the animals’ teeth or body and analyzed blood samples. It is also where she sterilizes her equipment to get ready for her next patient. After that, she took us to another room where she performed surgery on the animals. She explained how there were at least two people, one performing the surgery and the other, usually a Vet Tech, monitoring the patient. There also may be a veterinarian anesthesiologist.

Anne Marie then took us all to where the cows and horses come in, and she explained how the squeeze chute worked for giving needles, delivering babies, providing C sections or working on horse’s teeth. She explained many things to us, such as the importance of testing your feed for quality and how the feed you give your cow affects the cow and the calf that is growing inside of it if pregnant. She also taught us about ringworm and what it is, and how to treat it. She explained the importance of water to cows and how it affects their food consumption.

When she works with more aggressive animals, big or small, she will put them into the chute and give them needles to calm them down. She showed us that when working with a horse’s teeth, she puts a guard in their mouth so they cannot close it while she is working. She explained if anyone wanted to pursue going into animal health, what it takes to do so, and she shared her story of how she became a vet and why she chose this profession. Every 4-H member very much enjoyed the tour, and we are very honoured that Dr. Anne Marie Russ was willing to invite us into her clinic. I think some of the parents enjoyed it even more!