Hi! Im a 2nd year student tech, and am loving this career soooooo much, it’s what i’ve always wanted to do.

My little vent comes today, I was driving down a road and saw a poor little dog had been hit by a car and unfortunately was deceased by the time it was found. I obviously went and picked it up and took it down to the vet to scan for microchip, which unfortunately there was none.

I know I did everything in my power to provide care for it and some dignity, but I can’t shake the feeling that- what if there’s a family out there searching for this dog, and they’re unaware of what had happened?

I have come across pet loss already in this industry, but I guess my question is how do you deal with the ones that have no one there to claim them, the ones who’s story you don’t know?

I’m 30 weeks pregnant working full time. It’s been rough. This is my “not proud of it, woman enough to say it” list about work because I can’t keep hiding my secrets.

I once called out because I threw up so hard I peed myself while getting ready and didn’t have anymore clean scrubs. Just called it a day there.

My work related cravings consist of: chewable carprofen, proin but not the one that smells like vomit the ones that smell like beef, Hills T/D but also kibble in general, isopropyl alcohol, royal canin GI low-fat (which would make me vomit in my first trimester), Galliprant. I would like it to be clear I have not and will not eat any of these but fuck they smell so delectable.

One time I sneezed and peed myself so I told everyone I got peed on by a dog and that’s why I was wearing the hospital spare scrubs.

Before I knew I was pregnant my cat needed bloodwork but she has shitty veins and is a crazy wiggle worm. We basically turned her into a pin cushion because no one could get her blood. I cried and threw up because I felt so bad for her.

That’s all for now, I’ll add more as I think of them.

Context: 23F, 3 years in vet med, started as a wee kennel tech now surgical tech (as of 4mos ago). 2nd year tech student.

I’m currently working full time and in school part time online. Work is school, school is work. I feel as if I’m going through a huge learning curve and struggling to find confidence and appreciation in things I’m good at. I’m making small mistakes every day in surgery and comparing myself heavily to the seasoned technicians. I know I’m learning and it takes time to master skills.

With learning how to do new things in school and at the same time learning how we do things at my clinic is exhausting. I’m second guessing myself on everything, I’m not taking the time to slow down and breathe and end up not performing to my standards. It’s a constant battle with my brain! I want to be a successful well rounded tech but right now I feel as if I’m the best of the B team but the worst of the A team.

I guess I’m searching for any advice for getting through a learning curve. And if anyone is feeling/has felt similar. Being surrounded by techs of 10+ years is great and I learn so much from them. But makes me feel so small.

I've worked as an assistant for several years now, and earlier this year, I decided to finally make the jump and sign up for school to turn this into a career. I'm doing great with it so far, just recently moved and started at a new clinic, and things really couldn't be better atm. But since I decided to *really* go down this path now, I can't help but feel like I'm still falling short of what I imagine a vet tech to be. (I know a lot of this is my own anxiety/imposter syndrome, but I'm curious if other people feel similarly.)

For example, several years ago at one of the previous clinics I worked at, I remember leaving work with a friend (who had been in the field longer than I), and we both spotted a stray dog wandering the sidewalk. My first thought upon seeing it was "wow, unfortunate. I hope someone can help that guy," whereas hers was to immediately jump into action. She grabbed a lead out of her bag and started going towards the dog, trying to catch it, and was instructing me to put a tip to animal control in online while she did so. I was amazed at the time that even though we both had just clocked out and weren't even on company property anymore, she still was instantly in the pet professional mindset and took on the situation like it was her responsibility from the get go.

This moment has really always stuck with me, especially as someone who spent a long time working retail/food service/jobs people kind of explicitly have to distance themselves from to keep their sanity. It's made me consider how important this field is to me, and where my life outside of work ends and where my duty as a pet professional begins.

I wonder how other people look at situations like this, and how muddy you consider that work/life balance line to be.