Angela at an early age with all of her dogs. She told us then that she wanted to be a vet and have one of every type of dog on her farm.
Angela with her White Coat, a ceremony at the beginning of the first year where students get their own white coat, stethascope and name tag. The start of their future.
Angela at 5 when Blue was born, and she was already showing lots of confidence.
first day on the steps of the Vet College in Saskatoon.
Can't find the right picture but Angela delivered triplet kids all on her own.
Again showing no fear and all confidence with the young horses.
Working with Fern Valley cattle, castrating, vaccinating and ear tagging
Staying with the little calf, making sure it was okay.
Teaching the dog the benefits of a good balanced diet.
Working with her chickens
Swimming with the turtles in hawaii, trying to decide if she wants to be a marine vet.
Angela has always loved frogs. Remember once we were visiting her cousins in Wpg at their cottage and she came back with her sweater hood and pockets full of frogs. Wanted to take them all home.
Whether guines pigs, rabbits, ferrets, etc. Angela loves them all.
I need to brag here a little. As a proud mom I want to let everyone know that my little girl Angela (dvm2012) received some great news. She passed her NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensicn Exam). All she needs now is to cross that stage on June 7th and receive her Degree and she will officially be Dr. Angela Oakley,DVM
WCVM Class of 2012. This is of course is not the final step to what she has always wanted but just another chapter. We should however, start from the beginning.
Ever since Angela was a young girl barely able to walk, she has loved animals and wanted to be a vet. She has a special gift. People say she got her love of animals and kind heart from me but I must disagree and say she got these special gifts from her Papa. He was an amazing man. He never said a harsh word or raised a hand in anger to people and especially to animals. He had animals following him home from walks, dogs just gravitated to him. Even my first horse, Big Red, who distrusted men from being abused, loved my dad. Red would do anything for him and Dad could do no wrong. Angela unfortunately never knew her Papa. He passed away when she was two. I think part of him remains with her and he would be so proud of her right now.
When Angela was a little girl, she would bring home all kinds of critters. We had many pets, gerbils, hamsters, rabbits, birds, turtles, horses. If she could of, we would of had a virtual Noah's ark. A couple of stories stand out for me. Can't remember how old she was but she found a baby squirrel and I mean really small, probably just a couple weeks old. It had fallen from the nest so she brought it in, made a nest for it and looked after it. She hand fed it with and eye dropper every two hours, including during the night. She was exhausted but insisted on trying to keep it alive. Well as nature would have it, the poor little thing didn't last more than a couple days but it was then that we could see her compassion and committment to helping all animals. We have fixed birds, taken in stray kittens, and numerous other critters.
Her passion and committment toward being a vet really took hold when we moved our old horse Schiroc to Fernvalley and came involved more with Sherry and helping her with the animals and the day to day activities of the farm. Sherry was very willing and comfortable in letting Angela tag along and observe how she did things.Also growing up with Animals, especially dogs and horses, Angela became very comfortable around the animals of the farm. After a few years, she was actually allowed to participate in vaccinating and treating the animals. All three of our children have a love and respect for animals and nature, but Angela is the most committed to making it her life.
When Angela first started University, she was talked into going into human medicine instead of veterinary medicine. She tried this for one semester and realized her heart and soul were not in it. She returned to Veterinary and has never second guessed herself again. While in University she worked her summers doing research with the University working with chickens and dairy cattle. In fact, she has an article published about her findings with nutrition in dairy cattle. She collaborated with the Professor she was working for.
Then thanks to her Aunty Sherry she was able to volunteer with Onoway vet for a summer. This started at the time of the BSE crisis and after one incident, she agian was questioning whether she could do this. Another year of school and maturity and she again volounteered with the clinic and this time her mind was made up. After two years at the U of A, she applied to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon and was accepted for the graduating class of 2012. In the four years since starting vet school, she has worked somewhere in the field of Veterinary medicine. She took two externships in the US at equine facilities, worked on diary farms, mixed practices, helped on Fern Valley Farms and now in her last semester she is heading to Winnipeg to work at the Canadian Diesase control facility for two weeks. She is working with Animal Welfare department, checking feed lots, processing plants, farms, ranches etc. Angela has always been a very determined and focused young lady and we are so proud of her and know that wherever she goes for her career, she will do nothing but give her best and put the animals first.
She now has to love, two horses, one cat, two love birds, a school of fish and is hoping to add a puppy as soon as she settles into her first actual job after graduating.
I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.
