Javier Fernández Martínez

My name is Javier Fernández Martínez. I am a veterinary medicine graduate from the Complutense University of Madrid.

Lecturer in the Complutense University course: Technician in Maintenance of Exotic Herpetofauna in Zoological Centres and Nuclei

General Practitioner Certificate in Exotic Animal postgraduate from the European School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ESVPS)

I am a member of AVEPA (Spanish Small Animals Veterinary Specialists Association), GMCAE (Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery Group) and HSVMA (Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association).

My story goes back to the time when I was a child. I always wanted to be a veterinarian (I had no idea of the adversities I would have to confront later on) thanks to my family and all the values of love for nature they taught me. I loved visiting zoos and natural parks with them.

Getting to veterinary school was not easy for me. Knowing that was my vocation I worked as hard as I could during my sixth form years to be accepted there. Unfortunately, during my application process I found out that the cut-off mark was 1 percent higher than mine. For that reason I decided to take one year of biological sciences and reapply to the Complutense University Veterinary School with a higher grade.

My college years were really exciting. Everyone there shared my love and passion for animals. I did not waste any time and I made lots of friends, many of whom are now colleagues. I did a student internship in the department of anatomy during my first two years. Luckily for me, since the very first moment I started my degree I was allowed to help in La Pedriza Veterinary Clinic with veterinary surgeon Guillermo Perna and was able to use my knowledge of anatomy there. During my second year (2007) I took part as a speaker in a congress for the first time during a lecture called “Surgical resolution of anterior cruciate ligament rupture using osteotomy techniques: a review” during the 7^thVeterinary and Biomedical Sciences Congress, with Professor Julio Contreras (current Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs in the Complutense University) as a tutor.

During my third year I served as an intern student in the Anaesthesia department of the Complutense Clinical Hospital. There I discovered my passion for anaesthesia and analgesia and I started my first 24h duties with real excitement (my passion for the lack of sleep decreased slowly though). That same year 4 colleagues from all the veterinary schools of Spain and I were accepted to make an internship on summer in L’Oceanogràfic, an oceanarium in Valencia, the biggest of its kind in Europe. There I learnt much about microbiology and that was my first professional experience in a zoo.

I joined the Erasmus Programme to study at the Degli Studi University of Milan during my fourth year, were I learnt Italian perfectly. This proved to be really useful during my professional career, as I was able to travel back several times to Milan to keep on learning from different colleagues.

I almost could not finish the fifth and last year of my degree due to a severe head blow I suffered in a car accident. Despite all the lectures, congresses and courses I attended and thanks to the support of my family, friends and professors I was finally graduated.

This is the hardest part of all, being a newly graduated facing his working life for the first time. One thing was clear to me: I still had many things to learn. As soon as I left veterinary school I started working for a veterinary hospital in the Canary Islands. I decided to cover all the emergencies so I could apply the entire medical, surgical and anaesthesia knowledge and skills I had acquired so far.

For personal reasons I moved back to Madrid and joined La Pedriza Veterinary Clinic, the same place where I had done my internship during my degree. During this same time I started collaborating and learning with the exotics service in the Retiro Veterinary Hospital and I joined AVEPA and GMCAE as a member.

I had the opportunity to do an internship at Cape Wildlife Center in Massachusetts (https://www.humanesociety.org/animal_community/shelters/cape), a rehabilitation centre for wild animals located in a natural reserve, with renowned Dr. Roberto Aguilar (author of “Atlas of exotic animal medicine” amongst other books) one of the best colleagues I have ever met and currently a very good friend too. It was a great experience considering the cultural, idiomatic and veterinarian medicine knowledge I acquired (it was also a very enjoyable time). I was able to attend the inauguration of a veterinary hospital in Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch (Texas), an enormous ranch with animals seized from circuses and Customs where they could find a second opportunity. The hospital was based on Temple Grandin’s work. She was an ethologist awarded for her designs of facilities that could reduce animal stress (http://www.fundforanimals.org/blackbeauty/).

This was my first contact with veganism, which is a very important movement in the USA, given the huge amount of meat a regular American eats daily. It is also worrying the condition in which some animals can be found there. I once witnessed 32000 cows completely packed together. The Humane Society, organisation to which I belonged, had programmes to encourage schools to serve a meat free menu just one day a week. As they used to tell me: “our intentions are not to make people vegan, we would just be satisfied if you reconsider and reduce your intake of animal products”. This stage of my life is when I joined HSVMA.

Back in Spain I started giving talks in places such as Grefa, Avafes, etc. telling my experience and showing how the rehabilitation centres in the USA work. At this point I considered getting accredited as an exotic specialist. I finally took and passed an Exotic Animal examination from the European School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies, given that there are no official Spanish qualifications in this subject.

I joined the Exovet Clinic team with veterinary surgeon Pilar González-Iglesias Sitges, one of the highest experts in the exotic animal field, where I met Pablo Casar, my current business partner and mate in many adventures, as those saving animals throughout the mountains of the Sierra de Madrid.

After this I started my self-employment experience running the exotic animal service for different veterinary clinics in Madrid and giving training courses for veterinary nurses, which they do an essential work. This is why I consider it is extremely important to train veterinary nurses the best as possible.

Keep learning is a must in this profession. For this reason I applied to the course “Technician in Maintenance of Exotic Herpetofauna in Zoological Centres and Nuclei” where I acquired some knowledge and skills about reptiles and amphibians I was missing and gained some practical experience in the Madrid Zoo-Aquarium. I was admitted as a lecturer in this same course on year later.

These are some of the articles I have written about rabbits (my passion) on my own or as a co-author:

• Analgesia and anaesthesia in rabbits. Canis et Felis 2014; 129: 36-50.
• Exploration and most common techniques with rabbits. Canis et Felis 2014; 129: 20-34.
• Gastrointestinal pathology in rabbits. Canis et Felis 2014; 129: 64-78.
• Bowel obstruction in rabbits. Argos. June 2015; 169: 88-89.

Lecturer in different talks, such as:

• Most frequent pathologies in rabbits
• Beaks and legs, forgotten extremities

during the ‘Exotic Animal Days’ (CEU Cardenal Herrera University of Valencia) and the ‘Medicine and Conservation of Wildlife and Exotic Animals’ Congress (Complutense University of Madrid).