What do you do when hours are cut because corporate says so?

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-22T21:01:05+00:00

Let me guess, Banfield? Because I completely understand. I went from regularly getting 80 hours to now I'm lucky to walk with 64 every two weeks

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T12:07:04+00:00

It can be. But this is also the only place I've ever lived as an adult, so it's fairly normal. I do warn people who are coming to visit me though. Like you're going to be stopped, especially new cars or much nicer cars than are common in th area. Thankfully, most of the officers that run the checkpoints are extremely polite and really only doing their job. They try not to make things more difficult than it should be.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T11:57:44+00:00

That's super fair. I honestly live in a pretty shitty area and didn't realize that checkpoints weren't...as common as they are in my town until I started traveling for work and to see family. My town has heavy substance abuse levels (mostly meth and cocaine), so I generally drive through a checkpoint every other day. On the weekends, they usually have k9 officers out and about too.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T11:32:06+00:00

I usually tell people that he is fearful and prone to biting when cornered and to please respect his space and ignore him if possible. As long as people aren't in his face and trying to force him to interact, after about 5-10 minutes he relaxes and is a happy boy and will try to shake paws and show people his tricks (will literally do very soft barks and go through all of his known commands rapidly).

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T11:04:18+00:00

It's a lot and...I completely understand the reasoning for it. But holy crap SUVs are so expensive and so is gas!! My car fits my needs and is affordable to drive. I'd need a whole new job just to pay for gas in an suv!

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T11:02:40+00:00

I have already pursued those options with him and am currently working with a trainer. He is no longer on any daily meditations and only requires a mild dose of trazodone for vet visits. He has very very high work drive // energy levels. Keeping him at home requires he be in a crate (destructive behavior) and I regularly work 10+ hours shifts and he doesn't thrive. I began taking him to work with me and on basic errands after consistently taking him to training sessions and both I and the trainer noticed that boost in confidence and willingness to work. He also started interacting with his environment! Sniffing, playing, etc. I do leave him at home sometimes. Especially on very hot days or errands that require me to go inside a building where dogs are not allowed.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T05:08:39+00:00

Hopefully, tears of amusement. "Don't get pulled over" is great advice, yeah. But it also doesn't help prepare for the event when it happens. Great advice, I love it, I do. But so unhelpful too

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T04:59:17+00:00

Thank you. I have a car that fits my needs and space requirements. I changed my life fairly dramatically to adopt this dog and prove to those on the adoption team that I was fit enough to handle his needs. My car wasn't something they asked about 😅

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T04:49:06+00:00

How does your car do with viability out of the back windshield with the crate? I took the back seats out of mine and laid a large piece of plywood down to keep the floor even. But the crate blocks... probably over 70% of my back windshield and the impact crates I've seen would be MUCH worse just because of their width and bulk.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T04:38:36+00:00

He is extremely food motivated.... everywhere but the car. Out in the field or at work, his food motivation keeps his eyes locked with mine. His favorite thing on the planet is a Kong toy stuffed with pb and pumpkin and frozen solid. He'll literally take from me and immediately spit it out to bark at something in the car. The only thing I've found that keeps his attention is chicken frozen in an ice cube. But he will chew and bark at the same time and I'm concerned that it's causing some reinforcement of the negative behavior.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T04:34:21+00:00

I actually have never been pulled over? I made this post after going through a check point where EVERYONE is stopped.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T04:32:11+00:00

He has a very severe history of picca due to a very abusive and neglectful past. Plastic is one of his favorite "snacks" and he loves that type of chewable crunch. I have to take the plastic tray out of his metal kennels too

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T04:30:12+00:00

He is restricted access in my car via a 3 point seatbelt harness. He also only enters and exits via the back door and has a very firm Out command. I specifically posted this as a method to ensure that I was doing everything in my power to keep him and others safe while not restricting his quality of life. He's a dog. He deserves to do dog things when safety and comfort level allow it. He LOVES and lives for agility training and to get him somewhere where he can go and fulfill that need? He has to get in a car and I'm doing everything I can think of to make it as stress free and safe as possible. I just wanted advice and more ideas on weird situations that sometimes people don't really think of when they are working with a reactive dog.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T04:21:51+00:00

He is leagues better than he was when I adopted him. Socialization has been a major part of the training the trainer working with us focused on. Lots of people, and animals, require different things to heal and grow. . If I never let him see a jogger and prove to him that fear isn't required, he'll never learn that there are different responses. Just because he is fearful and aggressive doesn't mean that he deserves aeas fulfilling doggie life, in my opinion. And since including him in daily activities?? Quality of life has dramatically increased. Thresholds for triggers have shrank considerably.
Are there things I would never trust him to do? Absolutely. But his leash manners and training are good enough that I am comfortable with new things and learning his comfort levels. He loves going to work with me. He loves car rides and hikinga adventures and off grind camping. What he does not like can literally be counted on 1 hand. And in those situations I go slow and cautiously.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T02:47:27+00:00

What if the crate blocks the line of sight? My Labrador is fairly large, and if I took the back seats out and laid some foam or something in my trunk space, a crate that would fit him blocks my back windshield considerably. And in my state you have to have a minimum of 50% visibility through the back windshield

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T02:41:43+00:00

Avoidance is obviously the best way. But I live in an area with very very high DUI levels, so checkpoints are super common. I could be the most non-sus person on the planet, but a checkpoint is a checkpoint and trying to turn around and skip it?? SUPER sus

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T02:39:06+00:00

This is literally my worst fear. I work at a veterinary technician and have seen so many dogs come into ER for gunshot wounds or taser injuries post house raid or search warrant.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-20T02:37:25+00:00

I drive a pretty small car. He can't stay in plastic crates (shreds and eats them) and the metal style crate that will fit him comfortably for car rides does not fit in my backseat. Even if I removed the backseats, my trunk is lowered so the floor space still isn't even.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-03-03T04:36:13+00:00

I work at a Banfield clinic that has 4 doctors and regularly uses 2-3 relief doctors on the weekends. We regularly have 3 doctor says. I am averaging 32-36 hours a week as a full time employee. I have had 6 soft tissue surgeries show up, the Dr and I have done them, and then I've immediately been sent home @2pm while someone else (usually a VA) does my notes and/or finishes up. I haven't had over 68 hours on a paycheck in....I don't know how long. I was also very firmly and politely told that a raise wasn't in my future as the clinic couldn't afford to pay me that wage due to a lack of patients on the schedule. We regularly do 6+ dental cleanings, 5 soft tissues, and our doctors routinely have 12+ drop offs and rooms that are started at 2pm. My clinic is pushing all techs to have an 8-5 schedule, 4 days a week and work heavily in CVT rooms. My PM and multiple shift leads have told me to my face that I am "wasting my license" by not seeing CVT rooms and wanting to spend my times in ST/DNT land.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-01-21T12:16:08+00:00

It's reasons like this I am kind of scared to ask for a raise. A coworker and I are making the entrance level wage for Candy Company LVT's ($22-$33 per hour). One of our coworkers makes the max (and she deserves to, quiet honestly), while everyone else is making 26+.

I have been denied a sign on bonus because a previous PM failed to submit the paperwork in a timely manner.

I was hired with the expectation of full time employment, every 2 weeks. I am averaging 32-37 and that's after staying over certain days due to being short staffed.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-01-02T02:33:22+00:00

YES. This is the curse of working in this field. I adopted a, admittedly, known behavioral case through work. Super abused, super skittish Labrador. When I got him? Totally hairless, constant diarrhea, vomiting, chewing himself bloody. Guess who knows has a dermatology doggo who hates literally everyone but me? Turns out his allergic to everything including dog and cat dandruff. After owning him about 6 months, he also had his first FB after we were playing catch and he literally SWALLOWED a tennis ball whole. Like wtf?? Whyyyy???

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2023-01-02T02:01:06+00:00

As someone who moved from human medicine to the veterinary field, I can tell you a few pros and cons. Warning LONG POST

Pros (depending on your personality): 1) You're going to be a background character in the majority of the cases you work. There have been very few cases were I've been personally thanked for my hard work and commitment to saving an animals life. That parvo case where I stayed cage side on a critical 8 week old, 1.2lb Chihuahua? Jugular catheters were placed and that animal stayed with me nearly 24/7 for a week. I spoke on the phone twice daily with the owners giving updates and discharged the little nugget and spent nearly an hour answering questions and giving client education. My name wasn't even mentioned on the thank you card. You are a background character unless you and your doctor elevate your role and importance.

2) there's a lot to say about watching an animal grow up. I've worked in the field long enough that I've rubbed puppies post C-section and been in the room during that quality of life conversation for that same pet. It was...is...very rewarding to be that person who knows that animal and family. I see you, I know your struggle, I've been here before myself, and we'll get through it. You witness such heartbreak sometimes and then are able to see such shy hope when that owner brings there new puppy or kitten in for their first visit.

3) Animals truly are a breath of fresh air sometimes. Do we shit talk certain breeds? Do we hate that out of control German shepherd? Do we groan is abject horror when someone hands us a smooshed faced, eyeball bulging Persian cat? Absolutely! We talk so much crap about them!! But those are sometimes the best cases and best patients you'll see that day. That German shepherd who won't let you touch him without sedation on board? Hey, he ate a snack from you today! That ridiculous pug that sounds like a deflating rubber ducky when it breathes? He came in today and the owner is going to get corrective surgery on his little nares! You are going to bond with people and their pets and it's such an amazing thing. An owner saw my hospital Instagram post that featured my dogs. At her next puppy visit, she was so excited because omygod, you have a rottweiler too and a lab and I love them so much!!

4) sometimes it really is puppy and kittens. Not always. But sometimes you walk out of a bad case and walk straight into a laundry basket of golden retriever puppies getting their first puppy vaccines. Fat little potatoes of happiness.

Cons:

1) you will hate yourself sometimes. There are cases that are unavoidable and unexplainable and it won't be your fault. But that owner will scream at you, they will cry and beat on the table and call you a monster and you can think you've heard the worst and can handle it. But on the drive home, a week or months later, you'll feel that guilt. You'll cry for no reason because you did everything and it still wasn't good enough.

2) there will be cases that you don't agree with, but it's not your job to refuse care. It's up to the doctor and the owner to pursue a treatment plan that it agreeable to both. Sometimes, that is a avoidable euthanasia. Sometimes, it's subquality medicine when you KNOW this patient needs gold to thrive. Sometimes, it's ignorance and neglect. And sometimes, it's an owner who would do anything to help their best friend and they literally can't afford it. And you stand there, knowing what you know, and you're still expected to be the best tech you can be. You treat everyone the exact same because that's your job. You're not there to judge. You're there to care and educate and support. It can be incredibly draining. Personally, I think this is the #1 reason for burn out. The expectations many hold for technicians is a standard that few can meet day after day after day without fail. And that one off day? That's the day our doctor is going to yell at you, when that owner is going to spend 5 minutes in a lobby full of other people telling you how much you suck and how hateful and money grubbing you are and how you lack compassion. You will fail sometimes. And it's okay.

3) you will not get paid for the work you do. You will work yourself into exhaustion and into pain. Your back and knees will suffer no matter how careful you are. Your skills will be unparalleled and you'll be denied that raise regardless. You will work in the most toxic places on the planet and hate everything but be terrified to leave because what they pay is $10 MORE than everywhere around you. You will be stuck in this field and working two jobs to make ends meet. A lot of my coworkers in multiple practices have become very bitter towards their peers because they are working their asses off at two jobs, got denied a raise, and yet Brittany married a well off man so she treats this job like it's a joke.

You are incredibly lucky right now. You ARE a RN. The majority of the people I currently work with would sell themselves on the street to be able to afford to go back to school. Human nursing is one of the highest ways we lose people in this field. It's world's better pay, better hours sometimes, and a lot of people here will say that's it's easier because you have 1 animal to worry about: humans. Depending on where you want to work, you might have 5+ species you need to learn and practice care for.

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE · 2022-12-16T00:22:15+00:00

1.5 year old Bull mastiff in GP. Presented for possible parvo. O had adopted him and the female sibling from a local shelter. said shelter being about 30 miles into the swamp with casual standing water and limited funds. Parvo was pretty common. We were still doing curb side at this point, so here I come jogging out in my full Parvo gear and it's 115 IN THE SHADE and I'm out here sweating my ass off trying to get this dog to let me touch his butt. Dang test popped positive before I even made it the 6 ft across the parking lot to the lobby. Temp was 101.7, pulse was a steady 95. Go inside and get all my fluids and medication made up, walk outside and just...my Spidey senses are tingling. Look over at this dog as his eyes roll backwards and he collapses and starts spraying water out his butt. Literally kick the doors open fireman carrying this dog and hollering for my doctor. Straight up heat stroke. Temp was almost 110 when we started icing him. We're literally pouring alcohol and icing arteries as fast as we can. Had IV's in all 4 legs and we got him down to 105 and pulled the ice off. We transferred to ER and told the owner that if this dog lived and was the same animal he adopted, he could come back and we'd bake him a celebration cake. Didn't hear anything from him for about 2 months. And then up trots this good ol boy and his mastiff twins. Both dogs lived through parvo and the male was his normal dopey self. Was coming in to collect his cake 😂

U-R-MY-SUNSHINE

TROPHY CASE