The student residents play a vital role in ensuring that the 36 animals living at the Stevenson Center receive the same care and attention that their family home provided. In return, the students live within walking distance of their classrooms in a rent-free apartment, while also maintaining a paying job that allows them to prepare practically for their future as Aggie veterinarians. The Stevenson Center is currently home to dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and donkeys that all require care for their physical, mental and emotional needs.
Maintaining a loving home for three dozen animals is not an easy endeavor; it requires a team of full-time staff and several undergraduate students in addition to the four veterinary student residents. Veterinary student residents can live and work at the Stevenson Center during their first three years of veterinary school before leaving to begin their rigorous fourth-year clinical rotations. They fall in love with these animals just like we, the staff, do. As all pet owners know, taking care of an animal is more than just providing for its basic needs.
The Stevenson Center is a nice place to relax and unwind. Working at the Stevenson Center has many benefits for the student residents, including a regular paycheck and scholarships made possible by center donors.
It also provides the perfect opportunity to supplement their veterinary education with real-world experiences. The Stevenson Center is home to pets of all ages, but many of the animals are already reaching their senior years when they arrive, so providing care for age-related conditions and other medical needs is a common job duty.
When I am a veterinarian, I plan to keep using these methods and educate owners on ways to safely give their pets drugs in a way that the pet hopefully will tolerate.
