I wanted to finish the service-learning arranged by the university at the beginning of a term when the study schedule is not too intensive.  The service-learning is of 3 sessions; i.e., shelter cleaning, home visit (to promote ligation for female dogs and help with the ligation.

The above pictures show and place where the dogs are kept by the association, the work of which is to reduce the number of strayed animals by way of TNR (trap, neuter and return), but not to keep the animals for long.  The shelter of the association is being thoroughly cleaned each month and we were there to help clean up and disinfect the facilities there.

The above are pictures of our home visit

The main purpose of the home visits is to provide free ligation for female dogs kept by the people living in the rural areas, since dogs are mostly kept but free to wander around, ligation would help limit the number of strayed dogs.

We set off to the Sanji area in Sinbei, and in groups of three, each group led by an experienced volunteer for a home to a home visit.  Sanji is quite hilly with narrow roads that don’t accommodate cars, so we had to walk there.  Though the sun was hot and we were tired, we were lucky enough to have met a lot of friendly dogs, and the biggest reward of the day was two of the owners were willing to let us spay their dogs to do good to the controlling of strayed animals in the area.

— Chau Sin Lee

September

I was appointed the captain of the football team of my department. Since the World Cup hype hasn’t ended, a lot of freshmen joined our team and we attended the freshmen cup.  Despite our defeats, I was positive towards the future of the team since they were willing to train and improve.  On the other hand, originally I was looking forward to pharmacology and pathology lessons.  However, their first lessons were both disappointing, both lessons were disoriented and unorganized.  For the pharmacology lesson, we spent a whole lesson learning about the history of pharmacology.  I hope the courses would be better later on

October

This month I attended a 2-day seminar about the nutrition and diet of dogs and cats.  It was held by our department in collaboration with Pet Food Institute.  The speaker was a professor from UC Davis.  I learnt a lot of things from the seminar especially the causes of kidney failure in cats and the suitable diet for them.  I learnt that the main cause of kidney failure is not protein but its breakdown product which is phosphate.  The diet should be of high energy value, low protein and low sodium value.  There was a case study for us to discuss and we had to tell the professor which diet was the best choice for the case.  I represented our group to report to the professor and she said my answer was amazing and perfect.  I hoped that there would be more seminars like this so that I can learn more about things that won’t be taught in class.

— Yeu Ernest

September

After taking a rest for two months, the new academic year finally comes. One year passed, and this time, I am no more anxious and perplexed regarding leaving my hometown and going to a city with so many unknowns. Instead, I am energetic, hoping I can have a fruitful life in the coming year.

Actually, losing my identity as a freshman shall be the hardest thing that I have to get used to. Still, I can clearly recall the same day of a year ago that I came to Taiwan alone in pursuit of my dream and everything and everybody just seemed so fascinating to me. Especially when I first stepped into the Veterinary Department, there are two sets of skeletons coming into my vision that turned me so excited about the fact of being a vet student finally! Now, nevertheless, I have already get used to all of that and all the things just look so natural in my eyes. I guess it is probably because I have already fitted into Taiwan! Of course, the only thing that remains unchanged is the passion for being a vet, and I hope that it could last throughout my life.

October

Taiwan has always been the secret garden of Hong Kong people. Being a Hong Kong person studying in Taiwan, of course, I will not miss this valuable opportunity to explore the beauty of nature and the culture of Taiwan. While October is my birthday month and the study burden is not that heavy, my friends and I decided to visit the central part of Taiwan at the weekend.

On the first day, we immediately went to rent a car after school and drove directly to Chiayi from Taipei. However, it was 8 o’clock by the time we arrived at Alishan, so we were too late to try the famous Fengchihu lunch box, which is a little bit disappointing. On the next day, we woke up before the sunrise, and then took the train to the peak. Getting rid of the light pollution of the city, we were fascinated by numerous stars on top of our heads, shining and just like saying hello to us! After the dark, it is dawn. Thanks to the great weather today, we were so lucky to see the sun rising behind the mountain, which was just awesome! After that, we had a walk and some photo taking along the trail in Alishan. In the remaining days, we have also visited some other well-known tourist spots, such as Sun Moon Lake and Chingjing Farm.

Being veterinary students, academic studies have already put us under great pressure that we could hardly breathe. Despite the fact that this is not a flawless trip, the trip is no doubt fruitful and relax from the study for a while, so that we could be recharged again to overcome the coming challenges!

— Lau Wun Lam