Running Head: CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 1

Cleft Palates Aren’t Just In Humans: A Look Into Veterinary Sciences

Molly Ryan Gates

Author’s Note:

This project was completed with the help of my mentors Dr. Carlo Attia, DVM, and Dr.

Laura Stolzenberg, DVM of Pungo Veterinary Clinic in Virginia Beach, VA. Without them

taking me in and mentoring me over the summer, I would not have obtained all of the knowledge

that I have now about Veterinary sciences. I would also like to thank my mentor Mrs. Graves for

her unwavering support and help through my senior project journey.

In the fall of 2024, I will be attending The University of Mary Washington to continue

my academic career and my athletic career as a lacrosse player. I plan to major in biomedical

sciences and hope to follow the pre-med or pre-vet tract.

For any questions regarding my project, my shadowing experience, or my senior project

please feel free to contact me at mollyryangates@icloud.com. My mentors can be contacted

through their clinic at pungovet@gmail.com.

CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 2

Introduction

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in the United States, 38.4

percent of households have at least one dog and 25.4 percent of households have at least one cat.

There is also a total number of 76,811,305 dogs in the United States. This means that just over 60

percent of American households have at least one dog or cat, an animal that they treat as a family

member. Many pet owners want the best for their dogs and will go to great lengths to keep them

healthy and safe. We do this because our pets aren’t just animals, but our kids and siblings. Our

pets’ health has been commercialized all around the globe with stores that only focus on animals'

health and needs, like Pet Smart, and with online shops that ship needed products/medicine

directly to your house, like Chewy.com. The modern accessibility of medicines and foods for our

pets through these stores shows how greatly people care for their pets. With pet owners wanting

to tend to their animals, there is a need for highly trained veterinarians and safe veterinary

practices. This makes the study of veterinary sciences an important area of study globally.

While veterinary sciences and the study of it has vast impacts globally it also has more

local impacts within the city of Virginia Beach and the surrounding areas. First off, Virginia

Beach is filled with lots of families and coincidently households. With a larger population of

families, statistically, there’s a chance that there are more families with pets in Virginia Beach

than in our surrounding areas. This higher probability of pets in our city leads to a desire for

more veterinary clinics and hospitals in our area, especially emergency clinics for late-night

visits. We are also a very large city with many different recreational areas like parks and woods.

Having this open space could lead to a larger increase in dogs in the Virginia Beach area,

possibly even surpassing the average 38.4 percent of households with at least one dog. The final

reason why veterinary sciences would be extremely beneficial and important for our local
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 3

community is because our city is about half farmland. These farms aren’t just crops and

equipment but animals like horses, pigs, and goats. These large farm animals often require

medical attention to keep them healthy and allow them to live long lives. The need for medical

attention then translates to a greater demand for highly trained veterinarians who can take care of

these loved and hardworking animals.

Delving deeper into the levels of importance of veterinary medicine, we can examine

how it is important to me on a personal level. At home, I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. I also grew up

around other animals like birds and previous cats that have sadly passed away. In my household

specifically, our pets aren’t just animals, but they are siblings and kids who often get priority

over the humans that live in the house. My pets, and dogs in particular, have been through a lot

of health problems over the years. My golden retriever boy Boston has had both of his knees

replaced and is constantly dealing with pain. As he gets older these problems don’t just go away

but continue to get worse. Boston now needs injections of pain medication into his shoulders

every week just to help him stand up without being in pain. Bailey, our female golden retriever,

has high blood pressure and cataracts. We’ve had to put her on multiple different medications

and are now up to six pills every twelve hours. However, the fact of the matter is that without the

veterinarians who take care of and diagnose my pets, they wouldn’t be able to live as fulfilling of

a life. I doubt that Boston would still be able to wrestle and play at the age of twelve without the

surgeries that skillful veterinarians performed on his knees. Due to these actions that

veterinarians have performed for my family and pets, the study and improvement of veterinary

sciences is an important topic and an integral part of my life.

Through interactions with my dogs’ and cats’ veterinarians, I had some prior knowledge

about veterinary medicine before starting my senior project. I understood that a veterinarian is
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 4

someone who treats animals when they are sick or hurt and there are many different specialties

within the vet field. Even with multiple specialties most pet owners see a general vet who does

yearly checkups, vaccines, and surgeries when they take their animals into a vet clinic. The third

thing I was aware of was that bigger dogs have more joint and bone problems. Having a larger

dog helped me gain some more specific information like what it’s like for dogs with high blood

pressure and how susceptible large dogs are to joint problems. After some more thinking, I

formed driving questions about the veterinary profession, that I wanted to have answered by the

time I finished my senior project. I wanted to know what the things that occur during an annual

check-up are and what the daily life of a veterinarian looks like. I also had more specific

questions like, how common is genetic testing with animals and why are large dogs more

susceptible to joint injuries? When I began my internship and research, these questions paved the

way.

My Story

As I approached the end of my junior year, I knew that I wanted to focus on veterinary

medicine. During my sophomore year, I focused on one of my driving questions, how common is

genetic testing in animals because I enjoyed learning about it in my tenth-grade biology class.

Throughout my research that year, I learned that genetic testing was a majorly commercialized

area of veterinary medicine and was normally used by pet owners who wanted to know the breed

of their dogs. I also went to my dogs’ veterinary clinic and asked the doctor if genetic testing was

something that they did often. He responded by saying that it wasn’t something they did unless a

breeder specifically asked for it. This response led to me wanting to focus solely on veterinary

medicine, however, I was unsure of any specific path in veterinary medicine that I wanted to

pursue.
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 5

My process of finding a mentor was one of the hardest things I had to overcome during

my junior year. I emailed and called four different veterinary clinics in my area and got three

different responses. a) Sorry we are too low-staffed and can’t take on an intern at this time. b)

I’m sorry but we don’t allow interns here. c) No response. Following the first round of rejections,

I returned to my advisor and asked for any other recommendations. After the second rejection, I

began contacting my family's veterinary clinic and any other clinics I could think of. By April

17th, I had contacted the four different clinics with still no luck at finding an internship. I started

to lose hope that any clinic would want to take on a high school student over the summer.

I went back to my project advisor empty-handed once again it wasn’t until the fifth clinic

that I contacted that I received a different answer. I contacted the Pungo Veterinary Clinic, where

another senior from my school was also shadowing. Normally, our academy advisor doesn’t like

having multiple students at the same place of business, but this seemed to be our last opportunity.

Eventually, on Friday, April 21, 2023, I received an email saying the clinic would happily take

me on as an extra intern. I had heard many great reviews about this clinic from a previous senior

so I was grateful and excited to work get to work. It helped that it was extremely easy to

schedule times and that they were also very excited to work with me.

As most high school students would be, I was extremely nervous and excited on my first

day of shadowing. However, from my first moment in the building, I could tell that I was going

to enjoy working with these doctors. I was able to spend an original forty-five hours at the Pungo

Veterinary Clinic and eventually, at the end of the first forty-five hours, asked to extend my stay

at the clinic. Reluctantly, the staff was eager to have me stay longer because they loved working

with me and were impressed by my drive to learn. I ended up with a total of fifty-seven hours of

shadowing at the clinic. While I was there I sat in on annual check-ups, surgeries, grooming,
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 6

paperwork, and other miscellaneous activities. One of the best parts about my shadowing

experience was spending time with the women who worked there because they were always

having fun and making everyday tasks fun and exciting. Annual check-ups or progress checks

and surgeries were what most of the days were filled with so I got a lot of experience with those

specific aspects of the job.

Appointments started with the doctor talking with the owner and asking about any

specific problems that they wanted to let the doctor know. Then the dog or cat would be taken

into the back room where many routine tasks were performed. First, the doctors would check

weight, heart rate, and temperature, much like what a human doctor would do when they first see

you. Next, the veterinarian will feel for any abnormalities on the dog. They check for both

problems on the skin and problems with bone structure. Following that, the doctor would

normally inspect the dog's eyes, ears, and teeth, making sure that those all looked healthy. If the

owner had anything specific that they wanted the vet to check on, we would then focus on that

issue. If we noticed anything out of the ordinary, the doctors would diagnose the problem and

return to the owner with the next steps. Most annual visits ended with yearly vaccinations.

When veterinarians assess the animal for any bone abnormalities, they usually look for

joint problems. The problems that I encountered were hip dysplasia and luxated patella. Hip

dysplasia is a deformity in the hip that occurs during growth. It is when the socket of the hip joint

is too shallow and the ball of the bone doesn’t fit correctly. The ball will begin to slip partially or

completely out of the socket when the animal moves causing pain and discomfort (Llera, R. et

al.). Veterinarians will look and feel for weakness in the hind legs, limping, slower movements,

and a popping sensation in the hit joint. Hip dysplasia is a hereditary condition that can be

worsened by other outside factors and is more common in larger breeds (Llera, R. et al.). A
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 7

luxated patella is similar to hip dysplasia but it occurs in the patella or knee. The joint problem

occurs when the dog's kneecap ‘pops out’ or moves in an abnormal direction because the groove

it sits in is too shallow (Weir, M. et al.). So instead of moving just up and down, the knee cap

also moves side to side. To diagnose this problem, veterinarians externally move the kneecap and

see if it moves in any direction that it isn’t supposed to. This is one of the only joint problems,

that I’ve come across in the clinic, that can be fixed by surgery (Weir, M. et al.).

When asking owners about issues, the most common concern they have is itching and

scratching, which is most often associated with skin and/or ear infections. Both of these

problems are commonly caused by allergic reactions to either food, other animals, or their

environment. Virginia Beach is one of the worst places for animals and people who have

seasonal allergies because of the strong amount of pollen in our area (Noe, 2023). This correlates

to skin and ear infections being extremely common in dogs in this area, I would assume about

ten patients per day have either type of infection.

When veterinarians diagnose a dog with an ear infection, they will notice inflamed and/or

red ears and use an otoscope, an instrument designed for visual examination of the ear, to view

the build-up in the dog's ear. There is also often a strong unpleasant odor associated with the

infection (Ear Infections in Dogs: Symptoms & Treatment). Vets will take samples of the

material within the ear, using a swab, and look at it under a microscope. This allows them to

determine what kind of bacteria is present. The type of bacteria that is present tells the vets what

kind of medicine to give to the dogs to mitigate the impacts of the infection and get rid of it.

Veterinarians can recognize a skin infection by a lack of fur, red skin, and crusty, dark

spots that tend to flake. It’s often a spot of enormous discomfort for the animal and needs to be

treated with medication. The medication that combats itch and irritation for both ear infections
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 8

and skin infections is cytopoint, which is a monoclonal antibody, or antibody that is derived from

a single cell or protein, that can be administered by the owner at home.

Another common task that I talked about as a part of yearly check-ups is vaccinations.

During my time at the clinic, I came into contact with five vaccinations and tests that were

performed pretty routinely. The first is bordetalla which is given to dogs who are around other

animals, like during daycare or overnight boarding. The vaccine is an oral vaccination and helps

prevent kennel cough which can lead to secondary infections. Another common vaccination is

the leptospirosis vaccine, which protects against leptospirosis, a disease caused by the Leptospira

bacteria that is passed through outdoor water or soil. Leptospirosis has many different symptoms

so it’s often hard to diagnose making the vaccine extremely important.

The third vaccine that I encounter is the rabies vaccine. It protects against the rabies virus

which attacks the central nervous system of animals. This virus attacks the central nervous

system by multiplying itself and then moving towards the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain,

it can cause it to swell and slowly deteriorate, eventually causing the death of the virus-host (The

Rabies Virus). Fourth, is deworming which is an oral medication that is given if the owner has

noticed any worms in the dog's stool. If worms are in a dog’s stool, they are also in the dog's

organs and we need to get them out. The final item that I encountered isn’t necessarily a

vaccination, but it is a test to see if a vaccination is needed. This test is the heartworm check and

is done by taking a drop of the dog's blood, along with another clear substance, and placing it

into a virus checker. If the test returns positive, the vets I worked with would administer a

Proheart injection, killing the heartworms and protecting the animal from further infection.

As stated above, surgeries or other major procedures are also a day-to-day task, but they

start earlier in the day and last longer than a normal visit. The dog or cat is dropped off in the
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 9

morning around 8 am, weighed, and administered the appropriate amount of medication to get

them calm and sleepy. Surgeries would start around 9 am after the anesthesia had time to work.

The doctors would administer some more anesthetic and then scrub in as the assistant got the

animal prepped.

Most of the surgeries I observed were spays and neuters, which removed the

reproductive organs of the animals and took less than thirty minutes from open to close. The ages

of the spayed animals ranged from six months old to two years old. While watching these

procedures, I found that the veterinarians had an easier time performing the surgery with a

younger patient, normally about one year old. After doing some individual research and asking

questions, I learned that veterinarians prefer animals between the ages of nine and twelve months

old. With younger animals, this surgery stunts growth because it doesn’t allow for the animal's

hormones, like estrogen, to fully develop. Estrogen, the female sex hormone, influences when

growth plates close, but if estrogen doesn’t fully develop the growth plates stay open longer

making dogs taller (Effects of Spay…). Additionally, early spays can slow an animal's

metabolism causing obesity problems later on (Effects of Spay…).

On older animals, spays become more difficult because the animals have larger blood

vessels and more fatty tissue from going through their menopause cycle a few times. The

increased fat decreases the veterinarian's visibility and the larger blood vessels increase the risk

of hitting one with the scalpel, which could cause unnecessary bleeding and a longer surgery

time. I also discovered that waiting this long increases the risk of breast cancer in the animal as

the mammary glands have completely developed (Effects of Spay…). From watching so many

spays and neuters, I became very familiar with the process by the end of my internship.
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 10

Alternative procedures that I witnessed included x-rays and the removal of cancerous

items in/on the animal. X-rays are involved in this category because most animals need some sort

of sedation to cooperate with veterinarians. The X-ray that I was able to see focused on a dog

with severe arthritis. Arthritis, or osteoarthritis, is the destruction of the coating on the ends of

the bones and narrows the spaces between joints (Arthritis). From experiences with large dogs, I

knew that arthritis normally occurs in larger dogs but it was interesting to see how it looked on

an actual x-ray. In the spine, you can visibly see arthritis in vertebrae that are rigid, lumpy, and

oddly shaped compared to the rest. Through my shadowing, I learned that arthritis is hereditary

and isn’t necessarily caused by anything except for common wear and tear of already

compromised joints and bones (Arthritis). Symptoms include trouble walking or jumping,

trouble with stairs, limping, and trouble sitting down or standing up. A procedure such as the

removal of cancer normally involves quick splicing of skin or tissue from the animal, which is

then sent off for testing. Animals need to be sedated for these procedures because even if you

aren’t slicing through their entire skin, it still causes a lot of pain and discomfort for them.

After any kind of procedure or surgery is performed on an animal they are held until

about 4 pm or later. The veterinarians keep them for so long to ensure the animal recovers fully

from the procedure. Periodically, veterinary technicians will check on the animals, give them

fluids, and make sure no stitching has opened up. Once the anesthesia has worn off and the dog

or cat can walk properly, the clinic calls the owner and gives them an estimated pick-up time.

Depending on the procedure that was performed, the doctors will send the animal home with

pain medications and some form of protective gear to prevent the stitching from coming undone.

In between appointments and surgeries, the doctors would get caught up on paperwork

and make calls to owners with updates on lab reports and other items. During this time, I was
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 11

able to ask clarifying questions that I formulated throughout the day and play with the animals

that belonged to the workers. Three dogs that I met, Gus, Griffin, and Alli, all belonging to the

veterinarians, had either a cleft palate or cleft lip. Before my mentorship, I knew that humans had

cleft palates because of the Operation Smile Foundation, but I was unaware that cleft palates

occurred in dogs. I wanted to learn more about the dogs’ cleft palate conditions so I asked one of

their owners Julie, a veterinarian technician and the clinic. Conversations with her eventually led

to extreme interest in dogs with cleft palate and a spark for a potential senior project.

My Product

After my mentorship and time at the veterinary clinic, I weighed my options on potential

topics for my product. I knew that I wanted to focus on the driving question of what occurs

during a general or annual check-up because I gained most of my knowledge and experience

during these times. My two options were ear and skin infections in dogs or cleft palates in dogs.

For both topics, I had a lot of information that would allow me to build great products. I saw skin

and ear infections multiple times each day while at the clinic and learned how they occurred,

what they looked like, and how to treat them. Cleft palates were not seen as often in patients but

were a prominent problem that I had experience with. After talking with the clinic, friends, and

my advisors, I decided that I wanted to focus my product on cleft palates in dogs. Overall, this

topic was more unique and interesting than ear and skin infections. The topic connects to the

guiding question because veterinarians look in the mouths and ears to make sure everything is

working well during annual check-ups. Cleft palates would be found during the first general

checkup of the puppy. Another reason why I decided to go with this topic is because I had grown

a bond with the two dogs I met and I wanted to tell their story and spread more awareness about

their condition.
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 12

Before I even thought about what my actual product would be, I wanted to determine

who my target audience could be. During my summer meeting with Mrs. Graves, she suggested

that I look into working with the Operation Smile Foundation in some way. I loved this idea

since the Operation Smile Foundation works specifically to raise awareness and money for cleft

palate surgeries in countries without access to proper reconstruction surgeries. I started by doing

some more research into the foundation itself to see what kind of things I would be able to do

with them. The foundation takes many trips to schools in the Virginia Beach area, mainly

younger grade levels, to spread awareness about this condition in humans. They also have

multiple clubs that have been set up in different schools in Virginia Beach. I looked into what

school would have a club dedicated to the Operation Smile Foundation through school websites

and Instagram accounts for the clubs. I found that Ocean Lakes High School has a club for this

organization and they meet quite frequently. I decided that high schoolers who are already

interested in helping people with cleft palates would be the best audience for my product.

After deciding on my target audience, I wanted to figure out what my product would be.

I knew that I wanted to get a lot of information out to my audience in the most pleasing way

possible, so I looked at the best way to do this. When looking at options, I came across a

pamphlet style and infographic style of presentations. Both allowed me to be creative with how

they were laid out and what kinds of pictures were on them, but a pamphlet would be easier for

my audience members to take home and look at since it is smaller and meant to be folded. I took

this idea to Mrs. Graves and she agreed that it would be a great way to present my information.

However, she did suggest that I don’t just focus on dog cleft palates but also compare them to

human cleft palates since my audience was already familiar with human cleft palates. With this

piece of advice, I decided to keep my pamphlet as my main product and have the information be
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 13

strictly about dogs. However, I would also create a slideshow presentation highlighting the

similarities and differences between human and dog cleft palates. This slideshow would then be

what I presented to the Operation Smile Club. For both the pamphlet and slideshow I looked at

different platforms that I could use to create them. In the end, I decided to use the app Canva

because it’s easily accessible, has lots of templates to choose from, and allows me to be the most

creative with pictures and layouts.

Next, I needed to focus on what information I wanted in my physical product. Knowing

that cleft palates in dogs aren’t largely known about, I decided to focus on an overview of the

condition rather than diving into specific parts of the conditions like treatments. For the pamphlet

(Appendix A), I first started with what a cleft palate is. According to the Centers for Disease

Control, CDC, it is described as “a condition when the roof of an animal's mouth is deformed

and creates a hole or strip into the nasal cavity” (Facts About Cleft…). A cleft lip is a similar

condition that occurs the same way but on the lip rather than the roof of the mouth. After

defining cleft palates, I wanted to talk about what animals are more susceptible, what problems

they cause, how to care for an animal with a cleft palate, and what kinds of treatments there are.

When looking into what animals are more susceptible to cleft palates, I found that the

disease is normally genetic but can also just be a rare occurrence due to a mom being overbred

(Cleft Palate in Dogs). Additionally, through observation, I discovered that cleft palates are more

common in mixed breeds as well as pitbull breeds. This condition causes lots of problems for the

dogs including trouble eating and drinking due to food getting stuck in the palate and constantly

getting sick due to the high risk of infections in the respiratory system. With these problems, an

owner needs to know how to take care of their animal. From the experience of Pungo Veterinary

Clinic, the first 3 to 4 weeks of the dog's life are the most unsure. It is the period where they are
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 14

most likely to pass away. The first 3 to 4 weeks include a very intense feeding schedule of tube

feeding every 90 to 105 minutes since the puppies aren’t nursing from their mothers and need to

keep up a high intake of protein. After those 4 weeks, owners just need to make sure that food

isn’t blocking their airways and doesn’t get stuck in the palate. They also need to be more alert to

changes in the animal's breathing or personality as that might be a sign of complications. When

looking for solutions or treatment most people go for reconstruction surgery. The goal of surgery

is to separate the oral and nasal cavities and to reconstruct the hard or soft palate. This is most

commonly done using a flap technique, which involves relocating existing, healthy tissue in the

mouth to cover the cleft (Jones, 2022). Less common surgical strategies include stem cells, bone

grafts, and prostheses.

Something that I decided to add to the pamphlet later on was a QR code that led to a

separate document (Appendix B). When students scan the QR code they will find individual

experiences on dogs that I met at the Pungo Veterinary Clinic and how their experiences were

similar and different. It also included information about how to tube feed a puppy since that is an

important part of keeping a cleft palate puppy alive. Finally, it contained all of my sources in

case the person wanted to do any extra research or read themselves.

After gathering all of this information and compiling it into a pamphlet, I started to work

on my slideshow presentation (Appendix C). I used all of the information from above but

compared it with human cleft palates. Some notable differences include the quality of the animal

with the cleft palate. Humans struggle more in social settings and with speaking when they have

a cleft palate. Often children need speech therapists and regular therapists to overcome these

challenges. Dogs, on the other hand, don’t have any trouble with communicating and are great in

social situations because no one is teasing them. Another interesting difference is that in humans,
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 15

cleft palates are often associated with cleft lips while in dogs you normally find one or the other.

Things that are similar between humans and dogs are the causes of cleft palates and the surgeries

that are used to fix them. To make my slideshow easier to read and comprehend, I put shorthand

versions of the information on the actual slide and then added extra information into my speaker

notes so that my audience could read an overview of the topic but then listen to me for a more

in-depth understanding.

Outcome/Results

After presenting to the Operation Smile Foundation Club at my school, I needed a way to

measure how well my presentation went. Since my entire goal was to spread awareness about

cleft palates in dogs, my first question was, did you learn something new or interesting and if so,

what was it? My second question was asking them to provide any feedback and/or things that I

could improve on for another presentation. I had the students answer both of these questions on

the front and back of a sticky note (examples on Appendix D) and then return them to me once

they were finished.

In total, I presented to 28 students and they all answered at least one of the two questions.

Six students only answered the first question, three students only answered the second question

and the other 20 students answered both of them. Given that information, the results that I

obtained may be skewed or could be subject to change if all 28 students answered both

questions.

With the answers that I was able to collect, I split them up into categories. Then, using

Google Sheets, I created pie charts (Appendix E) which gave me an accurate representation of

the responses that I received. For the first question I split up the answers by what they found the

most interesting and/or what was something new that they learned. The majority of students,
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 16

40.7%, learned that dogs can have cleft palates, and it’s not just something that humans get. This

statistic shows that I reached my goal of spreading awareness about cleft palates in dogs as the

majority of the students didn’t even know that cleft palates occurred in dogs. Another six

students found it very interesting that cleft palates are more common in mixed breeds than any

other.

For the second question, I split up the answers by what kind of critiques they gave. 52.4%

of students said that I had a great and well-thought-out presentation and didn’t find anything to

critique or change. 28.6% of students said that I did an amazing job, but I could maybe fix this

one small part of my presentation. Finally, four students only gave a critique with no positive

aspect to it. Most of the critiques that I received included adding more pictures to my slideshow,

speaking a bit slower and/or louder, and including more information about myself and why they

should be listening to me (Appendix F has exact responses).

After looking over my results and the answers to my questions, I feel that my product and

presentation were highly successful and completed what I was trying to do. If I were to take

some more time to work on my product, I would make sure to add more pictures to my

slideshow so that it was a bit more pleasant to look at. I would also add the questions that

measured my success to the end of my presentation to ensure that the students answered both

questions instead of one or the other.

Throughout my senior project, I’ve had some struggles, ups and downs, and lots of

triumphs. Everything that I have done has allowed me to become a better communicator, writer,

organizer, researcher, and presenter. At the beginning of junior year, this project seemed

extremely scary and daunting, and each step of the way I got more and more nervous about the

next step. I had to learn how to overcome things that weren’t in my control and not freak out
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 17

about the situations I’m in until I’ve tried every option. For example, I contacted endless

veterinary clinics but lots of them couldn’t take me on as an intern. Clinics not being able to host

me was something that was out of my control, but also something that wasn’t acceptable.

I discovered that I needed to keep reaching out until I found a place that would take me

on which is exactly what I did. A second thing that my senior project has allowed me to improve

on is my time management. Often when it comes to large tasks, I wait until two or three days

before it is due to start it. Now even though this isn’t completely last minute, it still isn’t a good

habit to get into. However, because of my senior project, I learned how to spread out tasks and

delegate them to different times and priorities. Like my literature review and this easy I was able

to break up into sections, making it easier for me to get them done and holding me accountable

for smaller tasks rather than large ones. I’m excited to take the skills and information that I’ve

learned from this senior project into college as I continue my academic career.
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 18

References

American Veterinary Medical Association. (2018). U.S. pet ownership statistics. American

Veterinary Medical Association.

https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/reports-statistics/us-pet-ownership-statistics

Arthritis. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Medicine.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/arthritis#:~:text=Osteoa

rthritis%20is%20caused%20by%20the.

Cleft Palate in Dogs. (n.d.). Animal Trust.

https://www.animaltrust.org.uk/conditions/cleft-palate-dogs/#:~:text=A%20cleft%20palat

e%20is%20a.

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CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 19

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Appendix

B The link to the extra information document can be found here https://bit.ly/3tJkHIj

C The link to my slideshow can be found here https://bit.ly/3NOzqJ3

CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 21

E
CLEFT PALATES: VETERINARY SCIENCES 22

F The link to exact responses of question can be found here https://bit.ly/3ttTrxD