Day 11

0900: Not really expecting RM to be here but I show up outside his office and wait anyway.

0930: Off to the farm this morning, to get some more swabs to analyse for Salmonella. This time, we were taking sample from growers and finisher pigs, which was much harder, because they're smaller and lower to the ground - which means they can wriggle out of your grasp much quicker, and can reach your head with ease. Almost lost a swab inside a pig, but luckily got it back (albeit in two pieces!).

1745: Left the swabs up in Bacteriology, then went to help with more otters. Had one animal with hyperthroidism today - the thyroids were *huge*. They didn't help it much though - it ended up as roadkill in the Shetlands. Another animal we found died of end stage renal failure - the kidneys were enlarged, and there was the textbook melaenia, which occurs close to death.

2100: Make the discovery last night that chicken fried with potatoes, onions and broccoli smells like dead otter. Don't think I'll be eating that combination again for a while!