Hi all! I’ll keep this short and sweet.

I am a recently graduated and licensed tech, who was lucky enough to find a job soon after taking my VTNE. I started this new job a week ago, making this my second week.

Today, we had a fractious cat come in. My school and my place of internship were pretty much strictly fear free … but obviously I know the basics of animal language and safety. UNfortunately, the poor fella was really not digging his blood draw and nabbed me. It’s pretty superficial, I’m obviously going to keep an eye on it for any advancements.

My question is, to all you elder techs out there, does that make me inadequate to be a tech? I’m feeling really bummed this happened my second week into the real deal, and I can’t help but feel like the staff are thinking less of me for “letting myself” get nabbed.

I know these things come with time, too, I’m just looking for a little encouragement that getting got does not immediately discredit all the work I’ve put in.

Hi there!

I’m currently going down the rabies rabbit hole since news came out about the mobile petting zoo where the baby goats were positive with rabies.

It brings me back to my Vet Assistant days and even though I did not have an experience with a domestic animal having rabies while working, it makes me feel some sort of way because the Vet Hospital I worked at did not educate the assistants on getting vaccinated before working with them.

It’s funny though. I only worked at this hospital for a week and saw so many red flags. I never saw my manager (she sat upstairs in her office instead of training me and the other assistants. We honestly looked like chickens with our heads cut off working because none of us were trained.), the Vet Techs did not like the assistants, and none of the doctors cared about us enough to learn our names. It honestly felt like I was just another body there.

Anyway, like I said, I feel like everyone there handling animals should have been told to get the rabies vaccines in case of those type of situations, especially if I was bit by a cat or dog who was unvaccinated. I was not told and shouldn’t have been hired if I didn’t get it.

Last I heard, the owner/main doctor retired and sold the building so it’s being ran differently now.

I love animals but I did not have the passion for being an assistant. I respect everything Vets and Vet Techs do, I saw that first hand. But, I don’t know how ya’ll go through your shifts without stressing not only over the animals health, but your own as well. I’d be terrified of diseases like Rabies.

I just hope everyone who was at that petting zoo got their shots after. I wouldn’t hesitate.

Sincerely, a burn out tech with absolutely no benefits with my current job.

Need to vent about a weird stressful day. Sharing pics of my pup that will hopefully help anyone else that is having a weird or bad day as well!

Had an emergency house call for a euthanasia of a Great Dane that is well loved in our clinic. On our way back the woman who hired me into the field (19years ago) calls to schedule a euthanasia for her 17 year old cat that I’ve known since a kitten. On our drive back to the clinic, right after talking about setting the cat euthanasia up, the car in front of us hits a baby deer at full speed!! I nearly jump out of the vehicle while it was moving to try and catch the fawn to check it out!
I’m SO over today!!
(Baby deer sprinted off into the woods and we didn’t find it. We determined that the baby probably hit the car more than the car hitting the deer. But that sweet thing was at full tilt when it hit the side of a car going around 40mph. It didn’t seem injured by way it sprinted off.)
Today I’m ADR, but hanging in.

Swamped day in the E.R. and im just a K.A. Went out of my way to be as helpful as possible - made a run to drop off a patient at a shelter, helping with stats coming in, discharges going home, treatments for in-patients, etc. etc. One of my techs is swamped with their caseload and gets pulled to talk clients through euthanasia. I stop and ask if theres anything I can do to help with the patient we were about to work on before they got pulled. Tech gives me a list of actual treatments to complete for them - some of which I cant do as a K.A. (without a finger) so I rightfully grabbed another less busy tech to help.

While the tasks being asked of me weren't something I could do alone, it felt really nice to know that the tech respected and trusted me enough to ask and give me clear instructions on how to do each one. It really felt like a "they see potential in me and my hardwork means something" moment.

Big shout out to all the techs who value their K.A.s and show them love and respect. Its a small gesture but it really brightens our day.