It’s time to look back on 2025! Check our blog between Christmas and New Year’s for a variety of stories and memories of 2025 from the staff of the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
Being a veterinary professional in a busy clinical setting requires constant motion, active coordination, and meaningful communication. We rarely stand still—and most of the time, that’s exactly why we love what we do. We become adept (or are always trying to be) at shifting priorities on the fly, turning mid-stride because one patient needs immediate attention while another can wait a little longer. Some days, that means moving from a Bald Eagle with a broken humerus to an opossum struck by a car, her pouch full of young. These are the cases you often hear about on the news or see shared online. They’re the days you come home bone-weary but smiling, knowing you made a difference.
Just as important, though, are the days when you triage a wounded frog or bath a Big Brown Bat found stuck to a glue trap. These patients may be smaller in size than the average intake, but they matter just as much to me—and they should matter just as much to you, too.
One of my favorites, and the smallest patient I've treated thus far, was Gray Treefrog #25-3326, brought in on August 20 after being caught by a cat. The frog had a small puncture wound on its back from which lung tissue protruded—an injury easily overlooked, but one that would lead to serious complications and death if left untreated. Neither the size of the wound nor the size of the patient stopped us from providing comprehensive care. Sedation for surgical repair, pain management, and antibiotic therapy were all initiated.
The surgery itself lasted less than five minutes. The exposed lung tissue was flushed with sterile saline and gently pushed back into the body, and a single cruciate suture was placed to correct the defect. Despite the brevity of the procedure, careful planning went into establishing an unconventional dosing protocol with medications typically intended for much larger animals. We also had to consider maintaining appropriate skin moisture during care and coordinate closely with the rehabilitation team to ensure this frog was placed in an environment that would support proper recovery.
When this frog was finally released, I felt just as much joy as I would for any other patient. In fact, I felt immense pride knowing that my job meant caring for the tiny and often misunderstood creatures of the earth. Better yet, that I get to do it with a team of people who feel the exact same way. This case challenged what I know about animal medicine and the lengths to which we can make a difference, no matter the species, no matter the size.
– Dr. Olivia Galeuzzi, Veterinary Intern