Gator and Merck Monday

Last week, I introduced my cat, now it is Gator's turn. Gator came from one of my classmates who lives out in the country. She had a pregnant poochie show up on her property and produce 5 puppies! She wanted them all to go to good homes so I got Gator, six months later. From what she tells me, he is half-beagle, half-blue tick coonhound. I named him Gator for 3 reasons:
1. I LOVE blue gatorade
2. I like alligators
3. My grandma used to drive one of those 5-wheel John Deere gator things.
I think beagles (and beagle mixes) get a bad rap for being dumb, hard to train, and howling alot. I think they're actually difficult to train because they're so darn hard-headed (at least Gator is!) . To me, he seems very intelligent, he picks up words very quickly, it's just that it's usually up to his mood whether or not he decides to listen! He knows what I want him to do when I say"upstairs" and "downstairs" and he's getting to the point where if I say "go get Ducky", he'll go pick his stuffed duck out of a pile of toys and bring it back to me!
My favorite thing about Gator is that he's a very emotional dog (snicker...even I know that sounds goofy)...but seriously! When he's happy, his whole little face lights up, and his ears perk up! All I have to do is get out the jar of peanut butter and he's golden! However, when he's sad, it's heart breaking :( His eyes look down at the ground, and his tail stops wagging :(
Something tells me he knows I'm a sucker for the sad face, though. It never lasts long.










So here is today's question of the week. I decided this week would be a large animal topic since last week was small animal.

You are called to a small dairy goat farm outside of Feta, Montana. As you examine their goats, you notice swollen carpi (knees) and hard, firm udders on the nanny goats, and that one farmer's one-week old baby goats doesn't seem to be able to walk or stand. A few other of the nanny goats are coughing. Thinking back to the knowledge you gained while in food animal medicine, you realize that the goats may likely have Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus
.
What is the most common transmission route for this virus?

A. Fecal-oral
B. Trans-placental (ie mom passes to baby while in the womb).
C. Virus passes through respiratory secretions
D. Virus contaminated colustrum of nanny goats, which the babies ingested.

Remember, this is just for fun. Unfortunately, this is not the Prime Time Return of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, so all you win is public congrats (and bragging rights, of course ;)

Good luck, and have a good night!

Rachel