A senior dog in Delta will soon have a happier smile thanks to the efforts of a Semiahmoo Secondary alumna.

Naomi Gantug 91裸聊视频� now 23 and living in New Westminster 91裸聊视频� said she was moved to help 91裸聊视频淟C,91裸聊视频� a dachshund she met shortly after starting work as a veterinary assistant in Delta. Gantug sat in on the dog91裸聊视频檚 appointment when her owner brought her in for 91裸聊视频渁 painful snout.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淵ou couldn91裸聊视频檛 touch her nose at all,91裸聊视频� Gantug said of LC (whose initials stand for Little Cutie) at the time.

Examination determined that the plump canine had dental disease, and needed 91裸聊视频� at minimum 91裸聊视频� a thorough cleaning, with extractions also a possibility.

Listening to LC91裸聊视频檚 owner consider how he would afford the procedure was 91裸聊视频渉eartbreaking,91裸聊视频� Gantug said, explaining that the gentleman, a widower with a broken arm, talked of skipping meals to save up for it.

At that point, Gantug asked if he had heard of the online fundraising platform, gofundme, then offered to set up a to cover LC91裸聊视频檚 dental bill.

Setting a goal of $1,000, Gantug said response to the ask was initially slow, but grew over a course of about three weeks to just over $700 91裸聊视频� reducing the owner91裸聊视频檚 tab significantly, to around $100.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 going to be a big, happy day,91裸聊视频� Gantug said of this coming Saturday (May 1), when LC is booked to have her much-needed dental work.

The day will also include a weigh-in for LC, who Gantug has made a point of taking for walks on her work days, as an additional way of helping.

The fundraising campaign was Gantug91裸聊视频檚 first effort of that kind, but far from her first inclination to help others 91裸聊视频� she has had a heart for helping for as long as her dad can remember.

Grant Gantug recalls that even as a youngster walking home from school, his daughter would use a twig to flick snails and slugs off the pavement and onto grassy areas, in an effort to move them out of the path of bicycles and passersby.

In 2012, while in Grade 10 at Elgin Park Secondary, she helped, alongside Semiahmoo Rotary Club, to deliver wheelchairs to disabled children in the impoverished community of Hermosillo, Mex.

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Fifteen years old at the time, the teen said after 91裸聊视频� in a letter to Peace Arch News 91裸聊视频� that the experience helped her finally understand a saying she91裸聊视频檇 heard many times; that of those to whom much is given, much is expected.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e come to recognize our guilty tendency to gain blind spots in our views of life while being blessed to grow up in a developed country,91裸聊视频� she wrote. 91裸聊视频淲e are stuck behind these impediments until we encounter something that can free us. Not everyone is given the chance to experience such an epiphany, and I91裸聊视频檓 glad to say that, for me, it was because of this trip.91裸聊视频�

During her post-secondary studies, Gantug volunteered three of her four years at the University of Western Ontario; first in the university hospital91裸聊视频檚 lab, then two years in its intensive care unit.

The latter was her favourite, said Gantug, explaining that being able to console those who were distressed brought immense satisfaction.

91裸聊视频淏eing able to be there and be a present listener,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淎 lot of people who are coming into the ICU, a lot of them are very anxious and very stressed.91裸聊视频�

As with many others, the pandemic set Gantug on a new path. When it hit, she had been gearing up to follow her 91裸聊视频渋ntrinsically motivated91裸聊视频� childhood dream of going into medicine, with an aim to specialize in plastics. But, while dog-sitting over the summer, she stumbled onto a somewhat different track 91裸聊视频� veterinary medicine.

During one of her weekly visits to see her parents in South Surrey, she brought one of her clients91裸聊视频� dogs with her, and her dad commented on how she interacted with it.

91裸聊视频淗e said, 91裸聊视频榊ou91裸聊视频檇 be an amazing vet 91裸聊视频� why don91裸聊视频檛 you think about (doing) that?91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲hen I look back, I91裸聊视频檓 like91裸聊视频� Everything unfolded so naturally.91裸聊视频�

Gantug is now focused on learning as much as she can as a veterinary assistant, and plans to apply to veterinary school 91裸聊视频渁s soon as I can.91裸聊视频�

Some say additional help in that field can91裸聊视频檛 come soon enough. Professionals and charitable representatives alike have raised the alarm in recent weeks over a growing shortage of veterinarians in B.C.; a shortfall that is projected, without action, to reach 500 by 2024.

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The BC SPCA on April 24 launched a pledge campaign asking government to fund 20 additional spaces for B.C. students at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine; spaces that were relinquished by the province of Alberta in 2018. Located in Saskatoon, Sask, WCVW is B.C.91裸聊视频檚 regional vet school.

Gantug said she can91裸聊视频檛 apply until she gets more experience under her belt, but expects to reach that point in February, which will be the one-year mark of her time at the Delta vet clinic.

Her dad, meanwhile, sees big things in his daughter91裸聊视频檚 future.

91裸聊视频淚 may end up having another Dr. POL in the family one day:-),91裸聊视频� he said, referring to the popular Dutch-born veterinarian whose Weidman, Mich. veterinary practice is the focus of a reality TV show.