The Zoo

Joseph Mutascio

Latest Posts

The Process

Joe Mutascio, March 14, 2011

“When I grow up, I want to be a veterinarian.” Most kids who’ve ever played with a puppy have had this thought at some point in their childhood. As veterinary schools across the country finish interviews and start accepting applicants, this month is for those who didn’t let daunting odds or obstacles stop them from reaching the last phase of that goal.

The Importance of the BBQ

Joe Mutascio, January 4, 2011

If you could go back in time and give advice to your younger self, what would you say? Aside from the obvious Biff Tannen move of providing the winner of every major sporting event, the chance to prevent major regrets from ever occurring would be priceless.

Giving Thanks

Joe Mutascio, November 25, 2010

The holiday season is a time to reflect on the people and things in our lives that we are most thankful for. As this semester comes to a close for the vet students of WSU, here are a few things that come to mind.

Diagnostic Challenges: The Pressure is On

Joe Mutascio, October 29, 2010

Think of the most difficult or uncomfortable aspect of your job. Now think of the first time you faced it without anybody there to help, and how overwhelmed you felt. Feeling like Homer Simpson during a reactor meltdown, you were probably nervous that you couldn’t do it, scared of what would happen if you did it wrong, and worried that your training wasn’t enough.

Post-Exam Day

Joseph Mutascio, October 25, 2010

“It was like something horrible and awkward just happened, and we all had this unspoken agreement that we would never speak of it again.”

No, that isn’t a quote from the victim of a tragedy. That was a vet student’s semi-joking answer to how she thought the class had done on the hardest exam of the semester thus far.

Pre-Exam Day

Joseph Mutascio, October 25, 2010

It is the day before a big exam and the second-year veterinary students of Washington State are buzzing with excitement. Maybe excitement isn’t exactly what you get when you mix confidence, preparation, and knowledge with a little bit of terror and dread, but it’s close enough.

Future Veterinarians Have the People Skills to Change the Industry

Joseph Mutascio, October 19, 2010

I became a journalist because I’m interested in people. I love to talk to them, uncover their stories, and interact with personalities widely different from my own. My impression of my parents’ old veterinarian, and deeply scientific minds in general, was that they liked people…less. That perception has happily been shattered by my time with the veterinary students of Washington State, and I am excited for the future of their industry because of it.

The Veterinary Community: An Outsider's (Inside) Perspective

Joseph Mutascio, October 19, 2010

Unlike many of the amazing writers on this site, I am not a veterinarian. I’m not a veterinary student, and I unfortunately don’t know the meaning of the word polioencephalomyelitis (I saw it in the open veterinary dictionary today on my kitchen table).