Tag Archives: Switzerland

Mother’s Day Flower Storm

Il faut que je vous raconte ce qui s’est passé samedi : comme chaque année, un petit groupe de personnes dont Claire fait partie organise un marché aux fleurs le samedi avant la fête des mères.

I have to tell you what happened on Caturday : like every year, a small group of people, including Claire, organize a flower market on the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

The flowers are beautifully presented, and it is also an opportunity at noon to share a friendly meal with a good glass of local wine.

But this year, the market opened in the cold and under a heavy rain. The nice month of May ! Fortunately, people still braved the bad weather and started coming.

Suddenly, around 11h30, a stormy wind arose : it was so violent that the tent that housed the market began to rise, and the canvas began to tear. All those present activated : some clung to the structure of the tent to prevent it from flying while others dismantled the canvas, others sheltered the flowers and the meal.

In the end, everybody was in a little room next door. The mood quickly came back : no one was injured, and there was no damage to be deplored, except a torn tent and a few broken flowers.

The storm calmed down in the meantime, but the weather remained very uncertain all weekend.

All’s well that ends well !

World Vet Day

Today, we have chosen to introduce you to the profession of veterinarian to celebrate World Vet Day.

In Switzerland, the future veterinarian has to pursue university studies for 5 years at the Vetsuisse Faculty ; he has the choice between two sites, the University of Bern or the University of Zurich. After his diploma, the veterinarian becomes an assistant for a few years at an experimented veterinarian or at the university, to acquire some practical experience and begin to specialize. He can exercise his activity in an independent way in all Switzerland, through a cantonal authorization.

The largest number of the veterinarians have then their own practice and take care of the health of pets or farm animals ; this aspect of their profession is moreover the best known by the general public. They also advise the owners of animals on the questions of detention, breeding, as well as food.

But a veterinarian can also work in other domains : food safety, animal welfare, research, teaching to the future veterinarians, or still postgraduate of operational veterinarians, the list is not exhaustive.

The knowledge quickly evolve in the field of the health ; the training of a veterinarian is never ended, he perfects himself non-stop. A variety of choices are available to do it : doctorate, continuing education, additional training (physiotherapist or osteopath for example), specialization (particular species, exotic species, pathology, alternative medicines, behavioral medicine, laboratory, …)

Veterinarian’s job is finally a highly varied job, which allows every veterinarian to find what he’s looking for according to his skills and to his interests.

We would never have imagined that so long studies were needed to treat us, cure us, and stick us a thermometer you know where !

Many thanks to our veterinarian Christophe and to all his team at the Cabinet du Molage !

Wonderful news and wonderful week

First of all, the news : we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we received a Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association for our article about pain in cat !

This is the first time Claire has dared to submit one of our articles to the CWA contest ; we are pleased and proud to see our efforts rewarded, and to find ourselves among famous and talented bloggers.

Then, what a week ! The sun shone every day, and we can say that spring has really arrived. Insects are shaking, trees are budding, and we’re enjoying the garden while Claire is cutting the raspberries.