Four County Career Center gets SynDaver dog model for veterinary simulations

Students in the Veterinarian Assistant program at Four County Career Center in Ohio have the chance to get their hands on something that no one else can: a SynDaver Dog.

"Vera" looks like a real dog and feels like a real dog, but she's not. And she's the only SynDaver dog model in any school in Ohio.

She's a rare breed and she belongs to the veterinary assistance program at Four County Career Center.

"I feel like this is as close to actual animal that I have on the table for surgery as you could possibly get," said Stephanie Pippin, a registered veterinary technician at the career center.

With the help of a grant, the SynDaver was delivered to the career center just a few months ago and is helping the high schoolers get a head start on their futures.

"They can check her pulse. When we do surgery on her, she will actually bleed."

From her tongue and paw pads to her muscles and tissue, Vera feels completely real.

"They can expand the lungs and the heart's not beating," said Dr. Tasha Small, owner of Pondview Veterinary Clinic. "That's about the only thing that's not as real."

This means she's fully operable. The vet assistance students can remove swallowed toys, stitch up internal wounds and even control Vera's heart rate, giving them the chance to bring what they learn in their textbooks to life.

"We get to finally put those pieces together and it's been really amazing to finally be hands-on with that," Kalen Rauch, a senior at the career center.

They can also get used to the overwhelming sights and smells of real surgery.

"All I have to worry about in the room is the smell and overcoming that to be able to do the surgery," said Maggie Weller, another senior.

Without Vera, they wouldn't have the chance to experience this until college.

SynDaver also makes human, cat and frog models for doctors and vets to use for practice and teaching.