Veterinary and Animal Science
Students in the Veterinary and Animal Science learn many aspects of animal science including companion animals, agricultural animals and livestock, wildlife and aquaculture. This training program will prepare them for employment in areas such as dog training and grooming, veterinary technician, and can also provide a foundation for continuing on to pre-veterinary science programs.
Skills for Success
- Communication: listening and explaining
- Ability to follow directions and work independently
- Problem solving
- Ability to use math and science
- Time management
- Comfort with handling animals
Animal Science MonthlyIntroduction to the Shop Animals
In our shop, we have four animals. The first animal we have is a rabbit who we are still deciding a name for. He is a social, curious, bunny who loves to come out and hop around with the students. He currently lives in a two story hut that he absolutely loves and it has a door that opens to let him come out and explore the shop.
The second animal in our shop is a five foot long corn snake named Mr. Slithers. He loves to spend time out of his enclosure hanging out with the animal science students as they do their work. Mr. Slithers is believed to be around 10 years old and is arguably the most friendly snake you will ever meet.
The third animal living in our shop is a pac-man frog named Clyde. Clyde spends most of his time buried under the soil in his tank as we are not allowed to touch him. Although he does unbury himself just in time for his meals, and he gets fed earthworms and mealworms every other day.
And finally, there is Lichen the growing puppy. You have probably seen Lichen walking with the students around the building on mask breaks. Lichen is currently 13 weeks old and her breed is a Maremma Sheepdog. She spends most of the day playing with her toys.
Name: Lichen
Name: Mr. Slithers
Our Adventures at Future Farmers of America
Early morning on Monday, December 13th, seven students from the FCTS Veterinary and Animal Science Program attended the FFA horse judging competition. We made the trip to Briggs Stable in Hanover, Massachusetts to compete against five other schools in various competitions. The first competition consisted of judging six classes. We had to analyze each horse and then decide on a placement for the class. For two of the classes we gave “reasons” on why we placed the class this way. We also took a written exam on horses and equipment commonly used in the horse industry. The four of us who were on the A Team then competed in showmanship. For this competition we were each assigned a horse at random and then had to show our skills handling/ working with horses.
This was our school's first time attending the horse judging competition so the experience was new for all of us. It was definitely challenging but we all gained so much new experience and knowledge.
Caring for Your Pets Around the Holidays
This holiday season as you include your furry friends in festivities there are some things you can do to help keep them safe. Making sure that your Christmas tree is securely anchored, preventing it from falling and injuring our pets. Be careful that your animals don’t ingest the tree water as it may contain fertilizers from the tree that can upset their stomach. The stagnant tree water is also a breeding ground for bacteria and can cause your animals to become nauseous or experience diarrhea. Be careful with your pets around plants in your homes this season. If your animal ingests holly it can cause them to suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. If your pet ingests mistletoe it can cause cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems. Many lilies can cause kidney failure in cats if ingested. You might not be the only one in your home that finds tinsel as a fun holiday decoration. Kittens see tinsel as a sparkly toy that is easy to carry around in their mouths. Once it ends up in their mouths, even if they are only playing with it, there comes the increase in risk that they will swallow it leading to an obstruction in their digestive tract causing severe dehydration, vomiting and possible surgery. Keeping wires, batteries and ornaments out of reach is also very important. Enjoy your pet safe holiday season!
Foods To Avoid Feeding Your Pet
This holiday season avoid feeding your pets sugar free treats contain Xylitol, any type of chocolate, high fat foods can cause pancreatitis such as leftover ham, cooked poultry bones, take out your trash and put leftovers away quickly, grapes and raisins can be found in fruitcake and they are toxic to your pets and can lead to acute kidney failure toxic vegetables such as onions, garlic, and chives, alcohol, coffee, nuts, nutmeg could potentially cause seizures in large amounts large amounts of salt and sugar should be avoided as well, turkey skin and fat, marshmallows, and uncooked yeast dough.