This post is going to be about all my dream and future jobs.
So, my absolute dream job is to become a veterinarian, I love animals and everyday I want to be able to help them. But with so many different types of animals, it's hard to narrow it down between helping exotic, marine, general (dogs, cats, etc.), equine, or agricultural.
After I had finished my inspirational day at Big Cat Rescue, an animal sanctuary for big cats, I had to figure out how I was going to get as much experience as I could before going to vet school. The first opportunity came about when I was visiting my extended family in North Carolina. My uncle Pete, who's a veterinarian, is teaching at North Carolina State University. When I went to visit him and my cousins, he just so happened to have a surgery planned that very day.
The Surgery
This was my chance, to see what it was like to be a veterinarian and see if I had the stomach to watch a surgery and eventually be able to do one myself. My cousin and me got scrubbed up together in preparation, once we got in the car to go to NC State I was extremely nervous, but once the surgery I began to calm down. The dog that was being operated on broke a part of his back. Before that surgery, I imagined everyone being on edge in a dark room with a spotlight on the dog. I was so wrong! Everyone was focused yet still casually talking, music was playing, and everything was very relaxed. I finally had to ask why people were listening to music wasn't it distracting? It turned out the music was used to keep everyone working calm. I thought that this was a great idea. If they didn't have something to distract them, the surgery would be too intense and people could make mistakes. I was really shocked about how casually this surgery was being done! I loved it and thankfully, the surgery was successful and the dog was fine after the recovery time.
Volunteering
The next step in my mission was to get some hands on experience with dogs that aren't under anesthesia. Being under 18, it’s hard to find a volunteer service that allows me to work with animals. Then, I found an organization called “Pet Rescue by Judy”. They have a shelter in Sanford and the majority of their dogs and cats have come from either abusive situations they’re strays, from other shelters, or just given up. In Oviedo, they used have a mall location where people shopping in the mall who are interested in adopting, or even just petting, dogs can admire dogs from the shelter. It’s amazing because it gives the dogs the opportunity to have human interaction and find an adopter. I worked at the mall location. Here I got to take care of a dog for the day. I would have to walk it, clean up after it, and talk to people who were interested in it. I remember the first dog I ever had. It was such a great experience and I got to play with him all day and it was so fun, I got to talk to a lot of people interested in the rescue. By the end of the day I got him adopted. I was so excited because he was originally given up by his owner, and it felt so good to know he found a loving home that accepted that he was blind in one eye.
Thank you for reading this blog! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed the experiences that I talked about.
So, my absolute dream job is to become a veterinarian, I love animals and everyday I want to be able to help them. But with so many different types of animals, it's hard to narrow it down between helping exotic, marine, general (dogs, cats, etc.), equine, or agricultural.
After I had finished my inspirational day at Big Cat Rescue, an animal sanctuary for big cats, I had to figure out how I was going to get as much experience as I could before going to vet school. The first opportunity came about when I was visiting my extended family in North Carolina. My uncle Pete, who's a veterinarian, is teaching at North Carolina State University. When I went to visit him and my cousins, he just so happened to have a surgery planned that very day.
The Surgery
This was my chance, to see what it was like to be a veterinarian and see if I had the stomach to watch a surgery and eventually be able to do one myself. My cousin and me got scrubbed up together in preparation, once we got in the car to go to NC State I was extremely nervous, but once the surgery I began to calm down. The dog that was being operated on broke a part of his back. Before that surgery, I imagined everyone being on edge in a dark room with a spotlight on the dog. I was so wrong! Everyone was focused yet still casually talking, music was playing, and everything was very relaxed. I finally had to ask why people were listening to music wasn't it distracting? It turned out the music was used to keep everyone working calm. I thought that this was a great idea. If they didn't have something to distract them, the surgery would be too intense and people could make mistakes. I was really shocked about how casually this surgery was being done! I loved it and thankfully, the surgery was successful and the dog was fine after the recovery time.
Volunteering
The next step in my mission was to get some hands on experience with dogs that aren't under anesthesia. Being under 18, it’s hard to find a volunteer service that allows me to work with animals. Then, I found an organization called “Pet Rescue by Judy”. They have a shelter in Sanford and the majority of their dogs and cats have come from either abusive situations they’re strays, from other shelters, or just given up. In Oviedo, they used have a mall location where people shopping in the mall who are interested in adopting, or even just petting, dogs can admire dogs from the shelter. It’s amazing because it gives the dogs the opportunity to have human interaction and find an adopter. I worked at the mall location. Here I got to take care of a dog for the day. I would have to walk it, clean up after it, and talk to people who were interested in it. I remember the first dog I ever had. It was such a great experience and I got to play with him all day and it was so fun, I got to talk to a lot of people interested in the rescue. By the end of the day I got him adopted. I was so excited because he was originally given up by his owner, and it felt so good to know he found a loving home that accepted that he was blind in one eye.
Thank you for reading this blog! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed the experiences that I talked about.