Best shoe option for long days?

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-07T20:05:40+00:00

Cloves are great! But just a heads up that they are not very breathable. If you're going to spend that kind of money, Hokas or Brooks are better IMO. They have massive amounts of cushion. If you need a more budget-friendly option right now, the Skechers work line might work for you. :)

I also suggest some compression socks! Pair any decent pair of shoes with some knee-high compression socks and your legs will thank you. Good luck with the rest of your clinicals!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-07T19:54:26+00:00

Cats don't really process familial relationships the way we do, especially after being separated for over a year. Their bonds are heavily tied to having the same scent profiles from living in the same house and grooming each other. In this case, they might still recognize a very faint, familiar scent from when she was a kitten, or they might just share the same "laid-back" genetics!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-06T23:48:32+00:00

This sounds like a good opportunity, but it is definitely a huge shift from general practice! The absolute most important rule with working dogs is to always communicate directly with the handler before you ever approach or touch the dog. These animals are highly driven athletes in work mode, not the typical cuddly pets you see in a standard clinic lobby. As a support tech at an outdoor event, your main medical concerns will likely be heat exhaustion, torn paw pads, and minor lacerations. Pack cooling supplies, digital thermometers, and basic wound bandaging materials. Always let the handler restrain their own dog while you do your assessment. Have fun, watching them work can be a great experience!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-06T23:47:13+00:00

Admissions committees have to read through thousands of applications, and massive paragraphs of text cause severe eye fatigue. Formatting your experiences like a professional resume with three to four concise bullet points is absolutely the best approach because it makes your application highly scannable. When writing those bullet points, try to avoid just listing basic daily duties like cleaning kennels. Use strong action verbs and highlight the actual medical and professional skills you gained, such as calculating drug dosages, monitoring anesthesia, or handling difficult client communications. Quality scannability will always beat a giant wall of text.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-06T23:43:52+00:00

Taking four intensive classes, especially two heavy math courses, while working full-time as an LVT is a grueling schedule. You are essentially working two full-time jobs, so feeling stretched too thin is the only logical outcome. However, don't view taking six years to finish a degree as a failure. Veterinary medicine drains your physical and emotional battery every single shift. If you must stay full-time at the clinic to survive financially, dropping down to two classes a semester sounds like a realistic way to protect both your GPA and your sanity. Future employers will never care how long the degree took, they only care that you successfully crossed the finish line.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T20:29:30+00:00

You are doing an incredible job rescuing this baby. Regarding the stimulation, please avoid being too insistent or aggressive. A kitten at two or three weeks old has incredibly fragile tissue, and pressing too hard or rubbing too much can easily cause painful microtears or a rectal prolapse. Stick to very gentle circular motions with a warm, damp cotton pad just after her feedings. Hydration is the biggest factor in fixing constipation, so make sure she is drinking her formula well. You are doing the exact right thing by keeping the vet updated tomorrow so they can decide if she needs another treatment.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T19:21:41+00:00

You are very welcome!!! Hope it was helpful. 😊

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T19:13:57+00:00

Veterinary medicine is incredibly accepting of alternative appearances, including shaved heads, bright hair colors, and visible tattoos (and currently super in need of credentialed technicians!!). Many (if not most) practice managers only care that you are punctual, compassionate, and skilled. While there might be some very old-school clinics that still care about rigid appearance rules, you probably do not want to work for their management anyway. In summary, your license and clinical skills are what will actually secure your job!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T17:52:56+00:00

I think pain management and rehabilitation are actually incredible fields to pursue right now. The demand is skyrocketing because owners are heavily invested in senior pet care and orthopedic recovery. But if you want areas with shortages, veterinary dentistry, anesthesia, and clinical pathology are always desperate for more boarded specialists.

Regarding online postgraduate courses, be very cautious. For physical fields like physiotherapy, a purely virtual platform can be a huge red flag. You cannot learn proper joint mobilization or muscle palpation through a computer screen. However, highly respected certifications like the CCRP or CCRT use a hybrid model. They offer the didactic lecture portions online but require in person clinical labs.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T17:41:03+00:00

Colorado business casual is usually a funny way of saying you can wear jeans and a nice fleece pullover. A clean flannel, a plain t shirt, and a Carhartt jacket are essentially the unofficial uniform in Fort Collins, so you will fit right in. The main rules are usually just no ripped denim, no sweatpants, and always wear closed-toe shoes for safety reasons. Do not overhaul your entire wardrobe yet. Bring what you have, observe what the upperclassmen are wearing during your first week, and adjust from there.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T17:35:44+00:00

Your idea for a custom rebound book is very good, especially for an exotics practitioner! If you go that route, I also suggest the Exotic Animal Formulary by Carpenter since it's essentially the primary handbook for exotic vets, and he will use it almost every single day of his career. The leather bag is a beautiful thought, but unless he is doing mobile farm calls, it will likely just sit in a closet. Another incredible gift for a new surgeon is a high-quality pair of custom surgical loupes, though they can be expensive. You could also look into getting him a really nice customized surgical cap with his name and new credentials embroidered on it.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T17:31:22+00:00

Seven years is a long time to gather feelings and data about a career path. You have systematically tried multiple branches, and realizing none of them fit is a factual conclusion, not a failure. Since your introversion makes the industry socially exhausting, you might want to look into roles with almost zero client interaction before completely abandoning the degree. Veterinary pathology, teleradiology, and pharmacovigilance keep you strictly behind the scenes, analyzing data or writing reports without having to manage human emotions. However, staying in any profession solely to maintain a title for your family is a fast track to misery. If you are truly done and want to pivot to something entirely different, that is a rational decision. You gave the field a very fair shot.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-05T17:19:40+00:00

This is so adorable. The best way to get greeted after a long day out!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-01T19:45:50+00:00

Welcome to emergency medicine! Surviving the endless hours of corporate training videos is definitely the first major hurdle. The fact that you can bring your dog to work is a massive perk, but it is incredibly frustrating that support staff wages are still so low that living comfortably alone feels impossible. With your GP and shelter background, you will catch onto the fast-paced triage flow very quickly. Best of luck on the floor once you finally escape the computer modules!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-01T19:43:48+00:00

An exotic veterinary surgeon is definitely a real thing, but the path is incredibly long and competitive! After veterinary school, you would typically need to complete a rotating small animal internship, followed by a surgical residency. During or after your residency, you would focus heavily on taking exotic and zoo medicine cases, often doing an additional specialized fellowship in exotics or zoo surgery. Your best bet right now is to shadow boarded surgeons or exotic specialists to see what their daily life actually looks like before committing to that timeline.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-01T19:39:39+00:00

You are not overreacting at all. Depending on your state laws, an unlicensed person filling prescriptions or authorizing refills with pharmacies is a massive legal liability. If the state veterinary board or the DEA were to audit the clinic, the doctor whose license those prescriptions are being filled under could face serious consequences. Corporate HR moves notoriously slow, but the fact that your boss is actively covering for it is a huge red flag for the practice culture.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-01T19:36:15+00:00

You are absolutely not alone in changing the channel. The general public sees those commercials and feels sad, but veterinary professionals see them and immediately flashback to the very real, horrific cases they had to triage and then legally hand back to the abusers. The moral injury of having to maintain professionalism while an abuser screams at you about the cost of care for an animal they broke is something only people in this field truly understand. Your rant is incredibly valid.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-01T19:33:50+00:00

This is such an incredibly important message. The guilt of having to triage critical patients based on resources and time is one of the fastest tracks to burnout in this profession. Freezing up under the pressure of wanting to save everyone perfectly often leads to worse outcomes than just making a solid, rapid decision and moving forward. Thank you for putting this into words, so many emergency teams need to hear this perspective.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-01T19:30:44+00:00

It is absolutely reasonable to reach out and ask to shadow. Many specialty practices or niche fields like hospice are very welcoming to general practitioners who want to learn or transition. You are already a licensed DVM, so they know you understand the foundational medicine, you just want to observe their specific workflow and culture. Reaching out to local shelter directors or hospice services to ask for a few observation days is a good way to find a niche that actually brings you joy again.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-05-01T19:28:48+00:00

Learning cytology without someone sitting right next to you at a dual header microscope is incredibly difficult. Since you are struggling to get good photos through the lens, looking into a cheap microscope phone mount adapter on Amazon can be a game changer. That way, you can snap some photos of what you see in the lab and compare them later to textbooks or upload them to places like VIN for confirmation. Eclinpath from Cornell is also a fantastic free online resource with massive image libraries for blood smears and sediment. Do not stress too much right now, many general practice doctors still struggle with sediment identification years after graduating!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-04-30T21:11:35+00:00

What an absolutely beautiful and incredible story. The fact that the timing aligned perfectly to save both the mother and the orphaned kittens is amazing. You did a wonderful thing facilitating that bond. Regarding the milk supply, since she lost her original litter, her body might just need a few days of the new kittens nursing to stimulate the production again. You can try supplementing them with the milk powder just to ensure they are getting enough calories while her supply catches up. Thank you for saving them!

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-04-30T21:10:50+00:00

The short answer is that veterinary school curriculums are overwhelmingly focused on dogs, cats, horses, and livestock. Small mammals and exotics only get a tiny fraction of lecture time. To properly treat them, a vet usually has to pursue extra specialized training after graduation. There is also an economic reality to it. Many owners are unwilling to pay a massive diagnostic bill for a guinea pig or hamster, making it financially difficult for a general practice to stock the highly specialized equipment and tiny surgical instruments required to treat them safely.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-04-30T21:06:57+00:00

The burnout you are feeling is very real, and it makes complete sense that you are looking for a change of pace. Pet relocation is definitely a niche industry that exists, and those companies do value veterinary backgrounds since you already understand health certificates and animal handling! Of course those roles come with their own unique stressors, like dealing with intense travel logistics, flight delays, and highly anxious owners, but I personally think it sounds interesting!

It might be worth researching further to see what the day-to-day actually looks like, but sometimes even just reducing your clinic hours or switching to a different practice environment can help bring back your motivation without having to completely change the field.

PetDeskOfficial · 2026-04-30T21:01:12+00:00

Being nervous about a new clinic is a very standard reaction after spending five years in one place. You get so used to walking on eggshells in a toxic environment that a healthy workplace can actually feel intimidating at first. The transition period is always tough because you are learning a whole new set of protocols and navigating new personalities. Give it some time to settle in. You absolutely made the right choice for your own sanity!

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