Pumpkin

Pumpkin came into the Ross University teaching hospital with a broken leg on Halloween. The hospital treated him, but didn't know who to return him to because he didn't have any tags. Weeks went by and still no one claimed him.

Ross University is very fortunate to have a colony of dogs that they use for teaching their students. Its a very unique thing to this university, other places usually only have a few dogs, but we usually have about 15-20 at a time. This is important because students need to be able to practice techniques such as anesthesia, dental cleanings, and ultrasounds. The most fortunate part about this program is that us first semesters also get to use them to do palpations (basically learning how to do a physical exam and what "normal" feels like). Ross has a policy to start their students with hands-on animal experience as early as possible, so that by time we get to our clinical year we can concentrate on learning abnormalities instead of starting with the basics.

Its great for the dogs too, because many of the island dogs have never lived in homes before or been around people. It gives them a two years to adjust to being touched and walked on a leash. By the end of this time, they become available for adoption!!

Its a great way that Ross University helps the locals, because when people can't pay to treat their animals, they can donate them to the school and know that they will end up in a good home.

Anyways, while Pumpkin was awaiting someone to claim him, he was also used in the palpation lab. He was extremely calm and simply stood there while students lifted his arm, searched for his lymph nodes, squeezed his shoulder blades. Megan simply couldn't resist taking him home with her. After the allotted amount of time for someone to claim him, Megan was allowed to adopt him.

Needless to say, he has a pretty good life