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SentryCake t1_iw65vhs wrote

Animal rescue work can be absolutely soul crushing at times, and you will see things you can’t un-see. Veterinary medicine is even worse.

Good for this guy for making the workers’ days a little easier.

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Red_Iine t1_iw6j6cy wrote

My dream in life was to be a vet. Two years as a tech and I gave it up. Crazy difficult work

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moose_tassels t1_iw6mjnr wrote

Me too. Two years as a vet tech in the south where cruelty was so often the solution and....nope.

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akiomaster t1_iw7j930 wrote

Someone dropped two dogs off to our shelter saying if we didn't take them, he was was going to treat their mange with oil. My naive ass thought he meant olive oil, because it would never occurred to me that someone would actually "treat" mange with motor oil . Disgusting.

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iWillNeverReplyToYou t1_iw7sjob wrote

>... in the south where cruelty was so often the solution...

Well that explains why they vote for Republicans

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Butlerian_Jihadi t1_iw8j03e wrote

I believe both are explained by an essential lack of respect for life in favor of their perception of how others view them.

It is awful and we need to stop them.

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sswarren t1_iw7rz7s wrote

I was a vet tech at ft Riley during a large deployment and all the animals that were left by spouses leaving. And a couple of pretty bad cases of neglect (one dog had an embedded collar). My worst dreams are of animals coming back for revenge for euthanizing them.

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moose_tassels t1_iw7x59o wrote

That's so heartbreaking. Why do people have to be so awful?

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SentryCake t1_iw6mm1o wrote

My dream was also to become a vet- I started going through the animal rescue path.

We all love the happy ending stories, but then there’s the cases where the animals are in such poor condition they don’t make it. It sticks with you forever.

I know that vets (and vet techs) see even worse things. Hope you’re doing okay.

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SchnozzleNozzle t1_iw6u2wd wrote

I did work experience as a 15 year old hoping to be a vet. The RSPCA brought in 30 rabbits from an old woman's house who had died. She'd been keeping them all over the house - in the oven, in the microwave, the bathtub. They were all very sweet but some of them were in a state. Matted, injuries from fights, nails overgrown and curled into their own feet.

I had to hold about 10 of them as they got put to sleep. The rest were treated and rehomed.

I'm a human doctor now. I couldn't cope with playing an active part in death.

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bebe_bird t1_iw745ee wrote

And here I'm dreading the day we have to make the choice to put our 10 yo dog down, even tho she's in perfect health and I'm hoping it's 4-5 years down the line

(she's a beagle, although she had a neck inflammation/pulling her back out type scare about a year ago where the vet was encouraging us to do a $10k surgery - we don't believe in spending that much on our dog, although there are ways to afford it, and I seriously thought we'd had to say goodbye. Luckily she responded well to about $300 in medicines and hasn't had a relapse)

My point is, I'm dreading a one time event that vets/vet techs have to deal with so frequently.

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SchnozzleNozzle t1_iw7gna9 wrote

Same but my dog is 2. I sometimes read rainbow bridge stories on r/dogs and then just worry.

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IndigoBluePC901 t1_iw7hreh wrote

Did you know there is pet insurance?

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moose_tassels t1_iw8fwy1 wrote

This. I have Trupanion and they are amazing. Knocked my 23k bill down to 3k. Which is still a lot but hell, I would have remortgaged my house, sold my vehicle, I would have done anything for my kid. Didn't have to thankfully.

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bebe_bird t1_iwa6vgv wrote

I do - we actually cancelled ours because the annual maximum was $1500 and monthly payments were $40/month - and essentially only accidents were covered (nothing that was preventive care or pre existing condition, which included arthritis for us). That was when she was 6 yo and it kept getting more expensive every year she got older. It just wasn't worth it for us, but maybe there's better policies out there.

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Red_Iine t1_iw72bu1 wrote

You bet. That was 18 years ago (my god). Stumbled into a career I love

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SoulSearchingRaven t1_iw6l6lq wrote

Never too late to seek for your dreams though. Saying that if you don’t feel happy with your current job. 🤘

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Red_Iine t1_iw72f5a wrote

Found a dream I never even knew I had. Life couldn't be better, besides the American healthcare system and the two party government tearing itself apart but that's for a different sub lol

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4_0Cuteness t1_iw7akc5 wrote

As a certified vet tech who changed to animal control and shelter medicine……shelter medicine is worse than vet clinics.

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emleeeee t1_iw95n6c wrote

1000%. Worked in an emergency vet as a break from from sheltering. Shelters are so much worse.

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missjeany t1_iw85dei wrote

My dream job was to be a vet, but then I thought about this and gave up. I can't get any more depressed

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BackHomeRun t1_iw8hwh0 wrote

We just took in more than 50 dogs from a hoarding case. Multiple 12 hour days of bathing, shaving, and treating undersocialized dogs that had never seen a vet in their life, ages from 3 days to 8 years. I love my job but I am just dead tired.

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emleeeee t1_iw95gcn wrote

I ran an emergency vet and now run a shelter.

Shelters are worse. Much worse.

Shelter work has similar suicide rates and typically lower pay and much more physical labor than vet med. It’s a tough gig that not everyone is capable of. Vet med is hard too, not denying, but shelter workers are under appreciated bc people think it’s just playing with puppies without the medical background.

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