Contrary to what many believe,
working with animals is not all candy canes and lollipops. They're not
all puppies & kittens, and some pets could care less if you're
there. I think this often as I'm picking up mounds of dog poop, spewed
hairballs, scooping really stinky kitty litter, and the occasional pile
of grass that a dog vomited up. Yummy..
I
started working with animals (professionally) when I was 20, as a vet
tech assistant. I started with laundry, cleaning kennels and rooms.
Poop and pee - lots of it. Of course I stuck around long enough to
become an actual veterinary technician and upgraded to working with
blood, flakes of dental tartar, abscesses, open wounds and more! As a
technician, I've had multiple cat scratches up my arms, bruises from
large dogs, and 2 very minor dog bites. This is a large cause of the
high turn-over rate for technicians.
But
as a professional who strives to give peace of mind, I'm always
cleaning up after the pets. Cleaning up kitty vomit and thrown up
hairballs, picking up doggy poop - sometimes big sometimes small, even
getting completely covered in dog hair when they're blowing their coats.
I've even gotten a few thorns in the feet while walking dogs near
mesquite. I joke that I'm also a professional thorn/burr picker, dogs
are always so appreciative when I gently lift their paw up and pull out
whatever foreign body is bothering them.
But to me, it's worth it. Dogs and cats are what I know and helping vacationing families feel comfortable is a priority of mine.
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