Friday, February 11, 2011

Hello!

Hey there, everyone!

I created this blog because I needed a space where I could write about everything I can't elsewhere - the things I learn studying to be a vet tech, the cool things and weird diseases I find, the less than glorious parts of animal care, details of fostering and rescue, honest critiques of animal related organizations...all that junk that beginners to animal care or casual pet owners just don't care about (but that I find fascinating!).  I don't want to have to pull any punches or shy away from big words, and yeah, graphic photos will almost certainly happen at some point.  This ain't your grandma's critter blog!

So who am I?

I'm Mouse!  I go by a handful of other aliases when writing online, including Miss Mouse or Corycat.  Let's just stick with Mouse here - it's easier!

I'm a vet tech student, but I started out as a microbiology chick.  It turns out college is darned expensive, though, and after a few years of struggling to make it and jobs work, I've had to take a break.  Few things are harder on one's self esteem than having to break from college.  In any case, I'm down but not out - I'm taking online classes to become an RVT while working full time night shifts at a local hotel.  I love my job - it's weird, and the people you meet are even weirder, but it leaves a lot of free time to study at work.  Eventually I want to finish the micro degree and either get some graduate work either micro, or possibly a DVM.  We'll see, we'll see.

I've worked with animals both as pets, in labs, in rescues, pretty much my entire life in some form or fashion.  Right now I have a pit bull scheduled for leg surgery Tuesday (read her story here), and am fostering a momma cat and her three kittens (read their story on my much more people-friendly blog here).  I also have one cat of my own, a rabbit, and numerous smaller, caged critters (snakes, spiders, mice, fish, and a rat!).  I do about a zillion other things for hobbies as well besides animals, including hiking, camping, reading, arting it up, gardening, crocheting...I basically do everything, really.  I'm extremely interested in self sustainability, and I'm hoping in the few-years-from-now future to have a house with enough land to own a few dairy and angora goats.  Ooh, I also breed mice now and then, and I'm basically a sponge for all things mousey - genetics, husbandry, physiology, everything from helping people responsibly breed their first mice to attending webinars from Jaxlab.  Mice rock.

H'okay, I'll be back here soon to chat about whatever animalish thing comes to mind.  See you guys soon!

-Mouse