CROW Feathers: Yasmin Avila
Yasmin Avila is a veterinary medicine extern at CROW. Externs are current veterinary students working towards their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. The length of these externships can vary, but Yasmin’s is two months long. We had a quick chat with her in between her busy schedule treating the various patients in the hospital.
Where are you from?
I’m from the northeast of Brazil, it’s a state called Bahia. And I’m from Salvador—that’s the city. I’m in my final year of vet med school. I’m presenting my thesis in December and then I graduate in February.
What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animal that I’ve worked with at CROW is definitely the pelicans, because I feel like they all have different personalities. They can be so funny and quirky, but also very pecky at times. It’s really fun to work with them. They’re normally here for longer, so they’re patients that we can have more contact with because they get tub time and recess, and we’re always setting that up for them. They’re the ones that I’ve managed to create more of a relationship with, and they’re definitely my favorite.
What is your most memorable CROW moment so far?
It’s not a moment specifically, but one patient that really stuck with me was the first lesser black-backed gull that we had [since I’ve been here]. When she initially came in, she was completely sternal and couldn’t move her legs at all. We got to see her from intake—I was here at CROW on her intake day—and I got to see her up to the point where she was released. I actually got to release her! Just to see her walking around the beach and flying away, that was probably my most memorable and favorite moment.
What is your favorite thing you do in the hospital?
My favorite thing is giving the animals tub time and recess because I get to see them in a more “natural” place than their enclosures and observe their behaviors more freely.
What activities or hobbies do you enjoy outside of CROW?
I’ve been going to the beach on almost all of my off days. I actually went to Venice Beach with another extern. We went shark tooth hunting and found so many! Just spending time at the beach and shelling has been really fun, and Sanibel has some of the best shells ever, so it’s been really cool. I found a sand dollar recently, that was probably the coolest one. The back has a little hole in it, but other than that it’s perfect!
What has been the most surprising thing during your time as an extern?
The most surprising thing is probably how many factors are actually involved in rehabilitating an animal! Even though they normally come in for something specific, we also need to think about preventing other things from developing during their time with us in captivity.
What are some of your goals or aspirations for the future?
I’m planning on getting an internship, and after that a residency. I’m unsure whether I’m going to go into wildlife [medicine], or zoo, or something in that realm, but definitely exotic species and I’ll keep studying after graduating. I love working with [birds] the most, but I do love exotic reptiles, like snakes and turtles, too!