Job Shadowing Journal

I job shadowed a Veterinary Office last Thursday, and I'm not gonna lie, I
was expecting a little bit more of a high class facility, or at least
as high class as a Petersburg Clinic can get. From the outside, the
building scared me. It looked sort of like a run down house. The
inside was no better, with it's unfinished floors, small operating
room, and cheap-looking waiting area. The people, however, were
relatively nice. There was one woman, I wish I could remember her
name- I feel like it was JT or something odd like that, and she was so
nice. She was extremely friendly, and she was the one who gave Katie
and I a tour of the (small) vet office. She didn't have a filter
though, that woman cursed like a sailor. One of the three actual
Veterinarians who work there,- Dr. Cline?- was so nice! He was cheery
and he seemed to know what he was doing. Katie and I watched him
operate on a dog who had been hit by a car, and he definitely knew
what he was doing. The other vet, Dr. Stoh, or something like that,
wasn't as nice as Dr. Cline... She was a little snippy, acting like I
was a 4 year old who couldn't read. I do not appreciate being treated
like an unintelligent child, All of the other workers were fine
though, and they even go to lunch together! How cute is that!?

The clinic itself was having a slow day on Thursday. They did not
have very many appointments, so I do not think I really got the full
experience of a busy vet's office. I did get to see how they put an
animal down, though (poor Cow Dog had severe liver failure). I also
got to observe Dr. cline operating on a dog names Leah who was hit by
a car and had a hernia. Her spleen somehow got split into two, but
she had no broken bones! The operation did not bother me, even though
her intestines were falling out of her abdominal cavity. I guess
that's a plus! I also got to stand in on a few appointments. Those
were relatively normal, just what I would expect from a vet. However,
I did learn that, one, people name their animals some freaky things
(Poop Face?), and two, people will bring in their animal for obscure
reasons (Ate the head of a snake?!). Even though business was slow,
at least I got a taste of almost everything that happens inside a
vet's office- putting an animal to sleep, operations, and
appointments.

After job shadowing at the Petersburg Veterinary Clinic, I think I am
still undecided on whether or not I would like to be a vet. I handled
all the situations well, even putting an animal to sleep, so that's a
good thing! I wasn't really feeling passionate about it, though. The
appointments and operations interested me, but I am not sure that this
is the job that I would want to be doing every day. Coming home
covered in cat hair and smelling like wet dog didn't really help
either. I really do love animals and working with animals, but now
that I've seen into the life of a vet, I don't think it is the job for
me.

Also, they are in fact building a new veterinary office- it will have
heated floors! So even though the office they have right now looks
pretty shady, the new one being built right now is going to be
fantastic!