The event featured a variety of events such as a petting zoo with visiting animals from the Potter Park Zoo, horses running on treadmills, agility demonstrations of dogs, a horse painted with skeletons on the outside of its body and the chance to feel the inside of a cow’s stomach.

Flory said all of the events were meant to be educational for the public by allowing them to use tools and have experiences similar to the daily experiences of veterinary students.

Veterinary medicine student Julia Kurliak worked in the section of the hospital that taught guests how to use medical tools, such as a stethoscope and endoscopy tool. Children learned about the tools by digging into stuffed animals to find candy.

“We would use one of our shorter endoscopy tubes with a little light on it to kind of move around and use the grabbers to retrieve pieces of candy, so they can get an idea of what surgery would be like for them,” Kurliak said.

Ten-year-old Ciara Hughes, a Jackson, Mich., resident, said this was her second year attending Vet-A-Visit, and her favorite part of the event is getting her face painted.

The aspiring veterinarian said when she comes to MSU, it makes her more excited about her plans to become a veterinarian herself someday.

“I see dogs at my mom’s work and I have two dogs at home,” she said. “I love animals.”

Veterinary medicine student Paola Fernandez said because she first realized she wanted to be a veterinarian when she was about five years old and spent time with her pet dog, she was excited to invite young children into the hospital to learn more about animals. She loves any interaction with animals because they are such great company, she said, and events like this are a great way for children to learn more about the field.

“I like the idea of promoting our profession,” Fernandez said. “Hopefully we can get some young minds to start thinking about a career in veterinary medicine in the future.”