The student then performs the surgery. The animal is euthanized at the end of the laboratory without recovering from anesthesia. Animals used for this instruction may include sheep, pigs, rats, horses, cattle, cats and dogs. Live animal surgical laboratories are not required for all students, and those students opting to not take them on moral grounds may develop basic surgical skills in alternative ways. In some instances certain procedures can be learned on cadavers.
Surgical training is available through the required clinical surgery rotations.
Students may elect to spend extra weeks in the surgery program, as space is available, to gain surgical competence. This program trains you in the basic principles of surgery and provides low-cost spay and neuters to animals adopted out through the Humane Society. All surgeries are faculty supervised. Similar programs now exist in veterinary schools across the country. Additional surgical experience can be gained through other off-campus facilities.