Turtle Teams come together every spring and summer to save the world one turtle at a time. These first- and second-year veterinary students get the opportunity to work with the turtle dogs and develop their clinical skills. The morning begins with the turtle-finding hike with following physical exams, venipuncture, and swabbing of the found turtles. The students then have the opportunity to return to the lab to practice their laboratory skills such as reading hemocytometers, PCV, and blood smears.

Each Turtle Team spends the days divided into teams. A Canine Search Team, which follows the Turtle Dogs closely and mark where each turtle is found with a GPS location and flagging tape. Another team member labels each turtle found with a specific code to keep track where the turtles came from. Back at the tent, there is a venipuncture team, doppler team, demographics assistant, and a student aiding Dr. Laura with physical exams. Once the swabs are taken and the blood is drawn, some students take the return hike to place the turtles back where they were found. Other students go to the lab to preform all of the blood work analysis.

Our latest Turtle Teams:

May 2022 Turtle Team: Vermillion County