Christina Negretti recently completed a rotation in California where she worked with a variety of species of wild sea lions, seals, and sea otters in rehabilitation before their release back into the Pacific Ocean.
Given Christina is headed to work at a mixed animal practice on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, and her attraction to wildlife, chances are high she could find herself working with some of those same marine mammals later in her veterinary career.
“Throughout veterinary school, I have had an interest in learning about various fields of veterinary medicine and WSU has a club for just about every interest from aquatic animal medicine to nutrition,” Christina said. “These clubs allowed me to gather experiences, learn more about these fields and explore my own interests.”
Christina, born and raised in Spokane, Washington, said she wanted to be a veterinarian as long as she could remember.
“At first, it was because I had a passion for science and animals alike. Today, it has morphed into my love of fostering the human-animal bond. A number of animals have had an impact on my life, and I love being able to foster that for others in any shape and form that that may be in,” she said.
As of the last few years, one of those animals has become her two-year-old border collie mix and adventure partner, Huckleberry. Christina adopted Huckleberry in the fall semester of her third year of veterinary school.
In addition to more hikes through the forest and road trips, Christina hopes to start agility training with Huckleberry after graduation.
“He loves to learn new tricks and I enjoy coming up with them,” Christina said. “Not only is it great mental and physical stimulation but spending time training has also allowed our bond to develop and strengthen.”
Fun Fact: Peppermint is Christina’s favorite ice cream flavor from Ferdinand’s and since it is seasonal, she usually buys multiple pints at a time.