Ortonville-It’s a Thursday night at the Old Township Hall and some creatures are present that aren’t native to Ortonville.
Elizabeth McGhee opens a large duffel bag to reveal a massive, slithering Burmese python. Two children lift the 15-foot snake from the bag and one drapes it around her shoulders. They begin walking around the room as kids and adults alike touch the snake.
Meanwhile, McGhee tells kids to gather around a long table and she opens a bag to reveal another python, but this one is dead. She brings out medical tools, including a scalpel, and passes out medical gloves as they prepare to dissect the snake.
This is the monthly meeting of the Oakland County 4-H Veterinary Science Club and dissections are fairly commonplace. The group, led by veterinarian and self-proclaimed ‘encourager of weirdness? McGhee, has dissected a variety of animals, including sheep, a pig’s heart, various roadkill, and even a horse. The group has also killed old hens (McGhee says they were doomed anyway) and dissected them, too.
It doesn’t make Elisabeth Maurer, the 14-year-old president of the club, queasy at all. But her first visit to the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s, a club field trip, did. Although she was shocked at what she saw, she said McGhee is good about explaining things and getting the club’s members comfortable.
Maurer joined the club a year ago because she wants to be a vet.
‘I love science and the way things work,? she said. ‘It’s all very, very interesting.?
During the dissection of the python, McGhee answers questions, telling kids and adults alike what certain organs are and their functions. McGhee received her veterinary degree from Kansas State University in 1982, and has a master’s degree in neuroendicrinology. She began the club more than 10 years ago, but had to stop because she was having children. She now has nine children, aged 5 to 20. She began the club again three years ago.
‘I want to tweak their brains,? said McGhee of club members. ‘I don’t want them to believe it just because they read it in a book.?
Besides the snakes, a Bald-headed Showroller pigeon is also present at this meeting. The bird is sick and a guest speaker explains the animal has paratyphoid, a form of salmonella. The bird can be cured with a strong course of antibiotics.
Other sick animals have been brought in to teach the kids, too. Not long ago, a labrador retriever was brought in with an ear infection. The club also does case studies and McGhee brings x-rays of animals as a teaching tool. One x-ray revealed a dog with bladderstones. Another revealed that a dog with labored breathing was carrying 14 puppies.
One of McGhee’s favorite activities was when she had the club members make suture boards, to teach them how to suture.
‘I tell them if you want to be a surgeon, learn how to cross-stitch or embroider,? said McGhee, whose husband Chuck is also a vet who plans to open a practice in the area soon.
At the beginning of the year, the club’s members have a meeting at which they decide what they want to do and learn that year. Dissections are popular, as well as trips to the morgue for the forensic-minded.
‘They like the mystery,? says McGhee. ‘They’re sleuths.?
Trips to the morgue serve as a teaching tool in more ways than one. McGhee said staff tell the kids why the majority of people end up in the morgue? drug or alcohol abuse, and give a plug about why the kids shouldn’t do drugs.
The club does several other field trips, too. They’ve learned about birth and reproductive cycles through volunteering at the Miracle of Life exhibit at the 4-H County Fair. They have gone to Sea World and went in the penguin exhibit. Just this year, they toured an emergency veterinary hospital as well as the Detroit Zoo’s new animal hospital, at which they were shown how animals such as lions are tranquilized and viewed x-rays of elephant feet.
Maurer said being in the club has taught her a lot, including leadership, confidence and ‘how to breathe when something really stinks.?
‘I want the kids to learn to think outside the box and I want them to have fun,? said McGhee. ‘The best part is the parents come and are just as geeked as the kids.?
The club has about 50 members and McGhee will continue to accept more. Membership is free. Details: (248) 858-0889 or momofmanymcghees@aol.com.