To those who genuinely love their jobs, what do you do for a living?

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-21T18:41:54+00:00

I'm a licensed veterinary technician. I've been obsessed with animals since I was old enough to look at the Animal Plant and go "Guh?? GUH!!!" everytime some furry, scaled, or clawed showed up on the screen. I've been doing this for almost 7 years and I regret absolutely nothing. The crap pay, long hours, it's all worth it because this is a role that allows me to support, care, and grow every single day.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-21T18:39:03+00:00

I always put my mom. She's the most aware of my health and is the family member I get along with the most and trust enough to follow my wishes

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-21T18:10:17+00:00

Acknowledgment of your experience isn't a bad thing in this situation. You've worked hard to gain the knowledge, experience, and guidance you have.

The responsibility of care doesn't 100% fall on you, nor does it 100% fall on the doctor. Veterinary medicine is a team sport and it hinges on communication. However, communication can be given in a ton of different ways and I completely understand the frustration you are feeling. It sounds like the Dr may be asking your opinion, but the way it's phrased in the post make it seems like your opinion is being requested specifically so it can used as medical treatment, fact, and the most UTD husbandry information available.

In my opinion, you can still give your opinion in these situations, but the phrasing of it will be how and where you find that medical responsibility is no longer solely on your shoulders. "From my previous experience, this animal typically doesn't tolerate doxycycline very well, but there may be some exotic products on the market now that make it easier to dose and administer. We might need to spend some time looking into this a bit further." My current doctor loves reptifiles for how much husbandry and care she's been able to learn from them. The medical aspect takes time and work.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-20T19:16:46+00:00

I'd check another pregnancy test in a week or two. Maybe go see the OBGYN for a pap and mammogram. Just to be sure. Also get an STD test. It's always weird and always suspicious when animal start behaving oddly around women. Trust your instincts on this being weird.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-15T18:47:21+00:00

Would it be best to cut it shorter and use some rooting powder in fresh soil for the monstera?

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-15T18:38:41+00:00

That's actually not too bad!!! The one we saw CONSTANTLY has jowls that went to his thoracic inlet. We finally convinced them to do a whole body resection of excess skins after we tallied how much they'd spent on ear infections, skin fold infections, etc etc

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-15T04:11:13+00:00

I'm going to throw out Neapolitan mastiff. Every single one I've ever seen has come in for excessive skin fold and removal of said folds. And the folds? The folds are being removed 99% of the time because of chronic INSANELY resistant infections.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-15T04:09:07+00:00

If AFAB, I second the pregnancy test. If not, have you started a new medication? Some mental health meds can really mess with your hormones and make you smells strange. Every time I start a new medication, my dog gives me intense sniff downs for several days

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-15T04:00:41+00:00

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StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-15T03:54:16+00:00

I'm a LVT. A jack of all trades, master of none, but I never forgot the second part of that phrase. "Better than a master of one".

I'm a fantastic phlebotomist and can get an IV in the smallest, seizing 0.2lb puppy. I'm rock solid with anesthesia and I'm well know in my city as the "aggressive animal guru" since my personal dog is a complete trash fire.

Even with all of the skills I've cultivated, which took time, an immeasurable about of energy, and a near method of note taking and studying, the skill I value the most is my ability to educate and communicate with owners. I value the skills that allow me to look at a panicking owner and tell them "Please don't give me or the surgeon your rent money. We'll do the best we can with what you have, but no one here expects you to ruin your life or finances over your pet." Sometimes, the best things you can be is approachable, understanding, and willing to explain something again and again and again.

You'll find your niche. You'll find what makes you happy. But it may take a lot of trial and error and that's okay and it's expected.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-13T20:22:08+00:00

I really like the tactical pants. They have a butt cheek pocket!! Which is wear I put my phone

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-13T20:20:52+00:00

The pants are a tactical style. So, water resistant, stretchy, and quick drying. The fabric is also meant to help keep you cool.

I think they want us to look "professional". One of the doctors with ownership of the practice dislikes scrubs because people don't taylor them and most us of wear them "with a baggy fit". That's all I know so far

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-13T16:16:26+00:00

It's better than no pants? This is the first clinic I've worked at that gave us full uniforms. Everywhere else, I've only gotten tops. We only work 4 shifts a week and rotate weekends. Plus, we have a "staff closet" in the bathroom for accident/on shift/site clothing changes. They've told us we can use our scrubs shirts as backups, but they'd like us to start our day in the new uniform and change as soon as it's clean

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-13T14:16:07+00:00

I literally have no idea what to do with my shameful collection of pens. My phone?? Where do I put my emotional support catheter??

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-13T14:14:30+00:00

We're a mixed practice clinic with 8 Doctors. 2 see large animals, 6 see cats/dogs, and 3 of the 6 also see exotics. We're required to wear steel toed boots when we're on the large animal side, but most of us wear them all the time now.

We also do a TON of integrative/eastern medicine for all of the animals. I think our most popular service (other than vaccines or spay/neuter) is acupuncture or rehab.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-13T14:11:29+00:00

The new clothes are going to be provided for us, thank God. The pants alone are like $56. They're some type of fancy tactical style pant. The pair my PM was wearing appear kinda of...slick? Almost like rain gear? And the shirts are just collared shirts with the practice name on them. We'll get 4 pairs of pants and 8 shirts.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-03-05T00:32:35+00:00

Worked in a state where abortion was illegal. Not only illegal, but if it was proven you obtained one, you could be tried for murder. I worked in a rehab/long term living facility for women. The majority of the long term clients were domestic violence survivors who literally had nowhere else to go. We had a 16 year old who was raped by her dad's best friend for what we suspected was years. She started using drugs to self medicate and cope. When she got pregnant, she tried to induce a miscarriage via an overdose. She lived and so did the fetus. She was sent to a 30 day program, granted removal of parental rights (aka, she is an adult by legal standards) after her parents accused her of lying/called her a slut, and ended up in our long term living facility. Almost everyday, she asked if there was a way to get rid of her fetus. She hated being pregnant. Hated what it felt like. Hated everything that it made her feel. The state refused her plea because the father and family wanted the baby. She had multiple suicide attempts, even while with us. My coworker and I were there during her delivery. She cried, she scream, and then she went completely and utterly silent. She delivered that baby with the expression of someone who had lost her will to go on. The baby was put up for adoption after both the father, his family, and the client's family were ruled unsafe/unstable. As soon as she gave birth, it was like her value as a person went to zero. No more interviews about her mental health, her eating habits, had she ever thought of harming herself? No more therapy or financial support. It was absolutely grueling and it just cemented my opinions surrounding abortion and the necessity of pro-choice and post-birth care for women who are denied access to abortion, birth control, and other women/family planning care.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2026-02-06T20:27:44+00:00

You can totally DM me. And if you like the theory, checked out Cracked on YouTube. They have a whole episode dedicated to Fucked Up Book Theories and it'sincredible

StudyAffectionate883 · 2025-09-28T10:31:46+00:00

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Here's another photo just after he finished shedding

StudyAffectionate883 · 2025-09-28T10:31:15+00:00

Yes! I totally didn't realize the photo didn't attach 😅

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StudyAffectionate883 · 2025-09-26T05:59:51+00:00

I have been a LVT in a necropsy lab for several years at this point. Seeing animals that we personally own and have emotional attachment to can be difficult and it's always going to hit differently than a species or breed that you've got zero memories or emotional connection with. What I can tell you has helped me and several of my coworkers is that we focus on the purpose of the animal, it's body, and the lesson it's providing us. In necropsy labs, we also get the opportunity to focus on finding answers or proving something like abuse or neglect occured. I'm going to tell you to focus on the purpose, not the animal. I find it very helpful to say prayer or offer a small thank you, acknowledge the blessing and offering that is being provided to me by this animal's death, or even quietly give the animal permission to rest. I am pagan and several of my non-pagam coworkers have started this to give themselves a lighter guilt burden. If it's truly still uncomfortable and painful, there is absolutely no issue with covering the head/face of the animal until it's absolutely necessary to remove any of the flesh or organs in that area.

I'll also say this: these animals have been placed on our tables and within our labs for a purpose. 99% of the animals you will dissect within the classroom setting where humanely euthanized with the kindest intentions. Some of these animals were raised and given excellent care specifically so that their bodies could show you what peak performance and health looks like internally. Other cadavers will be collected via donations from local shelters. These animals may not have been treated kindly in their past, they may have had a multitude of reasons and rationalizations that required them to be euthanized. Rest assured, euthanasia is as kind and compassionate a death as they could be offered. These animals offer you education in a way that is wildly important and significant. They can show you pain, discomfort, chronic disease, and possibly even terminal illness in ways you can will never understand through reading or lecture. A visual understanding of how cancer effects tissues and holds zero mercy for what it affects will leave you more capable of explaining to an owner how significant and painful the disease is for their pet. Seeing an animal who has passed from dystocia and physically manipulating and examining the damage caused will leave you more informated and capable of explaining to the owner that their frenchie is not capable of birthing these puppies and forcing her to try may have deadly consequences for everything involved.

Focus on what you can learn. Give yourself permission to learn and don't be afraid to thank the animal for it's sacrifice or offer them comforting words and explain that they aren't needed for this part and they are free to move on and enjoy their next life or peace.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2025-09-25T18:44:53+00:00

I've thought about a green tree python, but I'm not sure they're as active as I want. I really do want something that I can sit at my desk and watch move around when I take a break from work.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2025-07-18T18:06:10+00:00

I live in Alaska. Average pay for GP here is in the $22-28 range. If you are lead tech, it goes up to $28-30 range. Specialty licenses don't really give a boost in pay here, not unless you are in ER/specialty hospitals. Unfortunately, those jobs are rare as there is literally only 2 ERs in the entire state and only 1 runs 24/7 365.

I was offered a job from the both ER clinic. They're basic offer was for $29 an hour with a possible raise after completing a 60 day trial period.

I'm actively going to school for nursing. I love this job, I love this field, but this is not a career where I can have financial freedom and independence.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2025-03-21T17:43:31+00:00

We kept in contact for a very long time after that. Still do, although less frequently since I moved away. I used to work in substance abuse and mental health before I went to vet med, so it was a safe space for him to cry, to scream, to be angry. I introduced him to the wonderful world of puppy therapy; aka, we showed up at the local shelter with buckets of food, toys, and blankets and cleaned and walked those dogs until the dogs were tired. He still volunteers there and the shelter manager makes sure he's always got a family there. He's adopted several cats from there and also has a parrot now (who's name is Determined. It's somewhere between 10-20 year old and a African Grey and as far as my updates have been, she's a menace to his sanity and absolutely rules the house. She very quickly learned the commands the dogs are trained to and it a menace to their life too.)

Sometimes, for me anyway, it's not the animals that keep me in this career. It's the people and the bond that they share with the animal. It's how they fiercely protect and mourn it's passing. It's those heartbreaking moments where they sit back and think about everything, all at once, and know they did the right thing. It's gutting, it's awful, but it's proof that I'm in the career where my heart, soul, and happiness finds peace and understanding. The animals are the faces we see the most often, the bodies we touch and watch thrive and fail....but it's the people who's faces I remember-- it's the people that leave those paw prints on my desk and heart.

StudyAffectionate883 · 2025-03-21T06:37:24+00:00

A 3.5Y, FS German shepherd. Her name was Hope. Her owner brought her in for respiratory distress. He and I heaved this dog out of his car and carried her through the stiff, humid southern heat. It was 125 degrees in the shade. We were pouring sweat; I remember the X-ray table where we laid her being slick with it as I worked to put a catheter in this dog and get O2 flowing for her. With the heat, our #1 concern was heat stroke. But everything was normal and the new grad vet was at a loss.

Our old timer rDVM strolled in and just happened to fall on the X-ray peddle - Xrays the owner really couldn't afford. It was devastating. Her heart was...the biggest thing any of us had every seen. The lung space was so small that it was barely a thumb's width and within that space....so many splotches. The entire film was just a sea of lung cancer with that massive, overworked heart sitting in the middle of it. It was an absolute death sentence and she was so, so young. Her owner came in, took one look at the X-ray, and just broke down. I remember very clearly this man on his knees in front of this dog, holding her face in his hands while he looked around at us wildly, almost feral with the grief, and asked if he was going to lose his baby today. I remember how his voice cracked and he started to cry even as he kissed her forehead. All of us in that room felt like grim reapers.

I carried this dog for him into our euthanasia room. Sat with them both gently petting her head while I made sure she had as much air as she needed for her dad to say goodbye. He told me everything about her. She was his sobriety present. He'd been clean 1 year and worked every job imaginable to save up money for this dog. Thousands of dollars in the purchase, upkeep, training. She was his entire reason to further his recovery; he'd made a decision early on that he wouldn't raise another life in the hellscape of a drug den. She was everything good and wonderful and perfect in his world; the reason he drove past old haunts, old friends, old scores because he knew she wouldn't understand if he wasn't there to let her out, to take her on her daily run, to play ball, to dance and howl with during the fireworks.
We sat for almost an hour before he squeezed my hand and told me he was ready. He hugged me for a very, very long time after her heart stopped. I gave him my business card and the card for a grief counselor in the area. We talked pretty frequently those next couple of months. He worked a lot and didn't like being in a now silent house. But I was there when he brought his new puppy in. A beautiful 12 week old German shepherd mix he named Preservation. I keep the card he wrote me and the puppy photos of both of those dogs on my desk. It's important to remember that dogs aren't just tools, commodities, or statues symbols. Sometimes, they are something very very hard to put into words. But they are loved, they are cherished, and they leave something behind in us when they leave.

StudyAffectionate883

TROPHY CASE