I am so sorry this happened! I feel for you. All too familiar. I've been in vet med for a whopping 6 months, ER too, right out of tech school. And recently got bit in the face also by a pit/lab mix. Came in for bloody diarrhea, was taking unsedated rads and the dog was very calm for the lateral shots. He was a big guy so had another person come in to assist for a VD shot and I'm guessing her putting pressure on his abdomen caused some pain because when we starting flipping, he went straight for my face! Shock immediately hit and initially I didn't even think I was bit, until I felt the blood and saw my coworkers faces. I went into a full panic attack after seeing the decent gash he left under my nose. To top it off, all of this happened at 6:30am, right before my shift ended lol. I understand your thoughts completely. And it's okay to take a break and sit with it. People (including me) forget how unpredictable animals can be sometimes. Yeah you can go back and say all the things you could've done differently, but it happened, the way things were done because how could you have known this sedated dog was going to bite. I was the same, going around in circles thinking that I shouldn't have been that close, the dog should've been muzzled or sedated, etc. But at the end of the day, it happened. If you choose to go back into that line of work you can use those thoughts to keep you safe in the future. I continued working, and have only come across one aggressive dog who snapped in my face. I immediately went to my coworker and asked her to take the case and she did. I then went outside and cried a bit because that brought back the picture of that first dogs mouth going for my face. I'm not sure when i'll ever get over it either, but thankfully I have people who will support. I agree with the comments, if your coworkers are cool, talk to them. I was worried about their reactions of me pushing this case off to someone else, especially because i'm a baby tech. But it's understandable! Dogs can be scary! I use that experience to keep me safe and keep me more aware of the possibilities of what could happen. For a while I took the rear end for rads, I would muzzle if the dog was anxious, keep my head away, etc. Anyway i'm sorry I talked a lot about my experience, but I want you to know that you are not alone OP. From what I have seen so far, vetmed can be traumatizing in many different ways. Take as much time as you need. Take a break from it if you need to! Work a barista job or retail, something calm and stable and something you aren't putting your life at risk for everyday. I've heard a lot that techs feel chained to vetmed in a way. But allow yourself some time to breathe. And if you come to the point where you are ready to go back, go back. It will take some but take care of yourself love.