“The Last One”…for a while

Moving to the island of Saint Kitts will be a huge change from living in Southern California.  There are so many amenities and events I have here at home that will stop once I move over to the island.  First, for those that don’t know, I am a HUGE drive-thru junky. No more Del Taco, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Sonic, In N Out, Jack in the Box, and my most favorite drive thru El Taco.  Many people have asked, “ How are you going to eat on the island?” Well, to tell you the truth…I am not sure yet.  In all my “free time” here I am going to start cooking more meals and even looking for a few cooking classes (If you know any in Irvine please send them my way).  I have heard there is a subway, dominos and KFC on the island so I think they have found their new best costumer.  Well, besides missing the luxury of drive thrus…the big thing I will miss is DOG SHOWS.

On Friday, February 25^th, I was able to attend the Dalmatian Club of San Diego County specialty and what a great time I had.  I only showed two dogs: One was a class male owned by Barbara Lyons and then my dog Flurry (BIS BISS GrCh. Amethyst First Fallen Snow).  I had entered the dog show for fun since I had not been to one in over a year.  Well, Flurry showed like a champ and went on to win Best Veteran in Sweeps AND Best of Breed.  For those, non-dog show people, being named Best of breed is being called the Best Dalmatian their on that day.  It was an honor to win both awards under two very well known breeder judges: Sharon Lyons and Gary Myers.  Flurry turned nine years young in December but she sure didn’t look it or act it in the ring. She showed beautifully for me and brought me to tears when Ms. Lyons pointed to me for Best of Breed.  The excitement and sense of accomplishment of winning a specialty as the breeder-owner-handler is remarkable.  

Thank you to everyone for their kind words and congratulations for this win and thank you to the San Diego club for hosting this wonderful event.  The ring was HUGE, a spectacular lunch was offered out in the motor home area and the after specialty party was amazing hosted by the Goddard’s.  I will post the win photos as soon as I get them.  But Thank you to Suzi Wahl for capturing this wonderful movement shot of Flurry (see above).  And once again thanks to the Dalmatian Club of San Diego for sending me off to graduate school in style with this wonderful win.  With everything that needs to get done before I leave for graduate school, I am not sure if I will have the time to attend another dog show but “the last one” (for a while) sure made up for it!!

The Application…The Interview…AND…The Acceptance

The Application

Most schools have their primary application submitted through the Veterinary Medical college Application Service (VMCAS). United State schools have their deadline as October 3^rd. I say primary application because many schools have secondary applications.  Why…I have no idea.  They ask the same question as the primary application  but then add another fee. The primary application cost about $75 per school and the secondary applications were anywhere from $50 to $150 PER SCHOOL.  After hundreds of reviews and corrections from various people (THANK YOU TO EVERONE THAT HELPED) I submitted my personal statement and resume of past experience.  I started hearing back from those schools in December but they were all rejection letters saying please try again next year.  (Note to schools…sending a rejection letter 3 days before Christmas was NOT very nice)

I was still waiting to hear back from a few more schools when I knew I needed to get my butt in gear and finish my Ross application. Ross has an entirely different process because they have a rolling admittance (meaning there is no deadline).  You apply to the class you would like to attend and if you are accepted but the class is full, you are pushed into the next class.  Well, after even more drafts of my personal statement, essay questions and even a photo shoot with my dogs (see above), I submitted my Ross Application on January 1^st 2012, and it was a pure waiting game from then on.

The Interview

On January 17^th I opened my e-mail to find a letter from Ross Admissions. I was so nervous to open the email but luckily it was all good news.  They informed me that I was being granted an interview for their school and it would be on Monday, January 23^rd.   Tons of emotions went through my head…I only had 6 days to prepare!!  Thank you to all of my family and friends that helped me with my 40 pages of sample interview questions.  Your advice and encouragement sure paid off.  The interview was in Anaheim (right by Angel Stadium) at 12:15.  Well, I arrived at 10:15, drove around a little bit to kill time and then waited patiently.  Waiting to go into the room was the hardest part.  Many dogs that come into the vet clinic are shaking because they are so nervous, well I now know EXACTLY how they feel.  I could not stop from shaking until I walked into the room. After everything (all the practice and sleepless nervous nights) the interview went GREAT.  I felt that I answered their questions to the best of my ability while simultaneously learning more about the school.  The interview lasted a little under a hour and they told me that I would hear from the admissions board in 3 to 4 weeks. They said there could be 4 possible outcomes…I could be rejected (ugh, not another school), Accepted, Accepted but the class I was applying to was full so they pushed me back to another one OR be admitted as a vet prep.  A Vet Prep would be a 15 week course to prepare you for vet school.  You would live on the island like a regular vet school student and if you passed the classes then you were admitted into the next class as a first semester vet school student.  I thanked them for their time and nervously drove back home.  The next day I sent my interviewer and e-mail again thanking her for her time and then more waiting began.

The Acceptance

Well, the blog would have existed if I did not get an acceptance letter back from Ross.  It took 25 LONG days to hear back from them. Every time my phone rang from an unknown number, I thought it could be them.  Every time my phone beeped for an e-mail I thought I could have been them.  I actually received the e-mail Wednesday night (Feb. 15) but I had turned my phone off so I could get some sleep so I never heard the beep for the e-mail.  Thursday morning I woke up a little late for work so I didn’t not check my e-mail that morning. Well, FINALLY after a long day at work I opened my e-mail and there was the e-mail I had been waiting for!!  I was accepted…I did NOT have to do the vet prep thing either (probably saved me about $30,000).  What was really special was the e-mail arrived the day before my 23^rd birthday. BEST gift I could have asked for.  They said a welcome packet was on its way that will explain everything (health clearances, deposits, flight reservations, etc). 

But the long story short…I will be starting Vet School on the island of Saint Kitts on September 3, 2012, and will be leaving the United States at the end of August.

Lifetime Dream

The Beginning

My New Home Away From Home

So I thought this blog would be a great way for my family and friends to follow me on this crazy adventure I am about to start. I will try to keep this updated as much as possible. I enjoy following other people's blogs so I thought it would also be fun to start one of my own.


But, where to start? I have always wanted to be a Vet. I never have second guessed myself. I have worked the past 23 years to get where I am today. I have to thank all my family and friends for their support and encouragement along the way. I am lucky enough to have a very large fan club behind me that supports and encourages me endlessly. 


Well, let me start by saying that I have officially been accepted into Ross University: School of Veterinarian Medicine.  I will start in the fall of 2012 (September 3^rd to be exact).  For those that don’t know, Ross is located on the island of Saint Kitts in the Caribbean islands (I know it will be a very hard life there).


I will make a post later about the interview process and extraordinary LONG wait for the acceptance call/e-mail (ok it was only 25 days but it seemed like years). But I better get off the computer today and get some things done.  Until the next post-