PORT TOWNSEND — Dogs and Gorilla Glue don’t mix.
That point was graphically illustrated by veterinarian Abbie Doll when she visited Blue Heron Middle School last week to speak to a group of eighth-graders about careers in veterinary medicine.
To illustrate her talk, she presented case histories illustrated with slides, including the Case of the Vomiting Dog, which was solved by stomach surgery.
“You might not want to look at this,” she warned the students Thursday.
Looking at careers and what it takes to prepare for them is the purpose of Career Day, which has been organized and presented by AAUW — American Association of University Women — Port Townsend annually since 1995.
The Port Townsend AAUW’s Career Day presentations will be given to eighth-graders from Chimacum, Quilcene and Brinnon at Chimacum Schools next Thursday.
Consisting of small-group presentations by local professionals, it is offered to eighth-graders to encourage them to consider how decisions they make during the next four years will affect their future.
“They’ll be registering for classes at the high school in the spring,” said Pam Rogge, a counselor at Blue Heron School. “They may not know what they want to be, but it gets them thinking about it.”
To choose speakers, Rogge asks students what careers they are interested in.
In the past, the most popular presentations were on law enforcement, emergency medical service, veterinary science and naturopathic medicine, she said.
Those are still requested, but this year, Chef Aaran Stark’s presentation drew the most students.
“Culinary arts has the fullest class,” Rogge said. “New this year are sports medicine and nursing.”
Having a passion for what you do was emphasized by Stark, who spoke about his rise from an 18-year-old unpaid apprentice at an Atlanta restaurant to executive chef of Andina, a Peruvian restaurant that was named restaurant of the year in Portland, Ore., in 2005.
Before moving west, Stark was the executive chef at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts restaurant and at a prestigious golf club restaurant in southern Georgia.
“It’s a blue-collar job with a white-collar aura,” Stark said of his profession.
At Garin Williams’ presentations on law enforcement, there were plenty of volunteers — all the boys wanted to feel the effect of a stun gun, he said.
A member of the Port Townsend Police Department, Williams declined the offers.
The students also asked what was the most exciting part of his job, and the scariest thing that ever happened to him.
The answer was the same: taking down an armed felon who was on the run from Port Angeles.
“He realized he had run into a dead end,” Williams said.
Mike Blair, retired Chimacum High School principal, talked about his stint working for the Jefferson County Juvenile Department, and Bill Beezley brought staff from East Jefferson Fire-Rescue to answer questions on firefighting and emergency medical services.
Tim Lawson of the Port Townsend Woodworking School and Jaap Rimijn gave presentations on carpentry and woodworking.
Amy Irene Lynch, a physical therapist, talked about helping athletes heal from sports injuries, then had students practice knee-stalibilizing exercises, including throwing a large plastic ball back and forth while standing on one leg.
She also discussed plyometrics, the dynamics of jumping and landing, and how to land safely to protect the knee in any sport.
Brian Barger, ARNP — advanced registered nurse practitioner — spoke on nursing careers and answered questions.
“They wanted to know about the training needed and how to get volunteer experience,” Barger said.
Dr. Molly Force explained the chemistry behind naturopathic medicine and had students make cough medicine from garlic, lemon, onion and sugar.
Each presentation lasted 55 minutes, then was repeated with a second group of students.
Doll’s first group drew six boys and nine girls, reflecting the reversal in the field — in the ’70s, most veterinarians were male, Doll said, while now, more than 75 percent of graduates are female.
Licensed vet techs are in demand, Doll said.
Tiela Dailey, a 2003 Chimacum High School graduate, graduated from the two-year veterinary technician program at Yakima Community College.
“I started volunteering with Dr. Tony at the Chimacum Valley Veterinary Hospital when I was a sophomore in high school,” Dailey said, referring to the late Tony Rogstad.
Dailey helped Doll give a demonstration of acupuncture on dogs, with Baxer, a 12-year-old mixed breed, acting as patient.
Doll, who is certified in traditional Chinese veterinary medicine, said her first patient was a dachshund who had developed spine problems and couldn’t walk.
During acupuncture treatment, the dachshund began to move his legs and regained their use.
“I feel like I make a difference,” Doll said. “That’s important at the end of the day. It’s what fuels you through the day.”
Doll said there are one to two cases a year of dogs eating Gorilla Glue, which expands as it hardens.
In the case of the vomiting dog, who was named Eddie, x-rays revealed that his stomach, normally the size of a human fist, was blocked by a football-sized brown mass.
After it was removed, Eddie recovered.
Doll also showed students a photo of an X-ray of a pet snake that had swallowed two light bulbs intact but did not disclose if the prognosis was as bright.
The Career Day program is funded by the University Women’s Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AAUW Port Townsend.
Funding comes in part from the annual AAUW Kitchen Tour, which this year is April 28 and features homes in the Tri-Area and Chimacum Valley.
For more information, visit www.aauwpt.com.
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Jennifer Jackson is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend. To contact her, email jjackson@olypen.com.