- M
Hello, for those of you that do not know me, my name is Rainbow, or Leah if you prefer “proper” names. Ever since I was 6 years old, I knew I was destined to work with animals. Originally, I thought it was through veterinary medicine, although, I wasn’t too far off. In high school, I drove my mom crazy because I refused to get a typical job such as bagging groceries. When I was 17 (legal age to work in Texas), I went in for an application at a local veterinary clinic. I was only expecting to fill out an application, but the doctor happened to be available, and after talking to me, I HAD A JOB!! That was back in 2000. Well, not much has changed since then. I LOVE my job, the gross, sad, aggressive, and cuteness fill my heart to the brim, and after 16 years, I’m not bored with it either.
Once I began working as an assistant, then technician, I realized a couple things:
1. I didn’t want to be a veterinarian
2. Perfectly healthy animals were being euthanized due to behavior problems, yet the vets had little to no training regarding behavior modification.
Growing up, my dad was a dog trainer, and taught me everything he knows, and I ran with it! I’ve worked at a private kennel-training dogs, and learned more from them, than I ever thought possible. Ultimately, my dream is to have my own dog training business (which I’ve taken baby steps towards), and have a small sanctuary for farm animals. In the meantime however, I need to put food in my kids bowls, and maintain a roof over my head.
I’d like to share with you my proudest moment as a vet tech; It was one of the first few years in my career, and I was living in Texas, working at the Wellborn Road Veterinary Clinic. It was a hot summer day, and a client drove up in a small 4-door car and stated that something was wrong with her Great Pyrenees (Big white fluffy dogs weighing ~100). She told me that her two dogs, who happened to be siblings, were outside all day, and when she got home, the brother had come up to greet her as usual, but the sister was lying down and did not get up to greet her. She said that the dog was in the car, and she needed help getting her out due to her size. I rushed out to the car, and saw no dog in the car at first, just someone sitting in the passenger seat. They got out of the car, and to my surprise, there was a giant, filthy dog basically folded up on the floor of the car and she didn’t appear to be breathing. I asked the owner if she died on the way to the vet and the owner seemed shocked that I thought that. I immediately realized that the owner had no idea how close to death her dog really was. I heaved her into my arms and hurried to get inside the building, she was limp and breathing very shallow. Upon attaining her vitals, I found that she had a temperature of 109.9! I rushed to place an IV catheter, began administering fluids, ran some flow-by oxygen, and started giving her a cooling bath. While she was responsive, she was limp the whole time and barely moved. The doctor came back to find me frazzled, and frantically trying to stabilize the dog. He very calmly asked for her most recent vitals, looked her over and said, “Hmm, job well done Leah! You clearly have this under control, so I’m going to go and get the owner and bring her back to see the dog.” How was he so calm?! The owner came back, was shocked by the severity of the whole situation, and began thanking the doctor for saving her. He abruptly stopped her and said, “Oh no, your mistaken. I was in a meeting when she came in and Leah has single handedly handled the case. If it weren’t for her, she’d be dead. Leah here saved her life.” The dog walked out of the hospital a few days later, probably short a few brain cells from being at such a high temperature for so long, but the owner didn’t care, her dog was alive.
So now that your up to speed with a hint of what it takes to do my job, lets get down to business!
Over the last 2-4 years, California has begun to really crackdown on legalities involving veterinary technicians and the duties they are able to perform. Until recently, most vets considered someone with my amount of experience a technician. In the last 6 months, California passed a law stating that for those working in the field as techs, but without a license, we must be referred to as an assistant. So after 16 years, I’ve now been demoted to an assistant. New laws keep popping up every few months, and my livelihood is at stake.
VASE is a 17-week online “alternative route” program designed for people like me. It allows me to use their coursework, combined with the knowledge/skills I already have to be eligible to take the state, and federal test needed to become a Registered Veterinary Technician. Once I have this registration, I will be able to demand a higher pay, which in turn, will allow me the resources I need to focus on my dog training business, and possibly a human nursing degree as well. Unfortunately, it is not cheap. A good friend of mine, who went through the program, stated that by the time tuition, books, and testing were accounted for; the total cost came to around $6000. I am asking for $7200, because Go Fund Me takes around 20% (5% per transaction), and that would be the difference.
Regardless of my dog-training career, I will always be involved in veterinary medicine. I love it, and what I love most, is that you never stop learning…. Ever. There is always room for growth, and having a license only opens more doors for me, and makes me that much more valuable in my future. If you have it in your heart, and pocket book, I promise I won’t let you down. I’m a hard worker, and after 16 years, I should know the stuff! Below is a link to the VASE program, so that you can see for yourself the costs, and a breakdown of the program.
RVT-VASE PROGRAM
http://www.vetstaff-edu.com
Once I began working as an assistant, then technician, I realized a couple things:
1. I didn’t want to be a veterinarian
2. Perfectly healthy animals were being euthanized due to behavior problems, yet the vets had little to no training regarding behavior modification.
Growing up, my dad was a dog trainer, and taught me everything he knows, and I ran with it! I’ve worked at a private kennel-training dogs, and learned more from them, than I ever thought possible. Ultimately, my dream is to have my own dog training business (which I’ve taken baby steps towards), and have a small sanctuary for farm animals. In the meantime however, I need to put food in my kids bowls, and maintain a roof over my head.
I’d like to share with you my proudest moment as a vet tech; It was one of the first few years in my career, and I was living in Texas, working at the Wellborn Road Veterinary Clinic. It was a hot summer day, and a client drove up in a small 4-door car and stated that something was wrong with her Great Pyrenees (Big white fluffy dogs weighing ~100). She told me that her two dogs, who happened to be siblings, were outside all day, and when she got home, the brother had come up to greet her as usual, but the sister was lying down and did not get up to greet her. She said that the dog was in the car, and she needed help getting her out due to her size. I rushed out to the car, and saw no dog in the car at first, just someone sitting in the passenger seat. They got out of the car, and to my surprise, there was a giant, filthy dog basically folded up on the floor of the car and she didn’t appear to be breathing. I asked the owner if she died on the way to the vet and the owner seemed shocked that I thought that. I immediately realized that the owner had no idea how close to death her dog really was. I heaved her into my arms and hurried to get inside the building, she was limp and breathing very shallow. Upon attaining her vitals, I found that she had a temperature of 109.9! I rushed to place an IV catheter, began administering fluids, ran some flow-by oxygen, and started giving her a cooling bath. While she was responsive, she was limp the whole time and barely moved. The doctor came back to find me frazzled, and frantically trying to stabilize the dog. He very calmly asked for her most recent vitals, looked her over and said, “Hmm, job well done Leah! You clearly have this under control, so I’m going to go and get the owner and bring her back to see the dog.” How was he so calm?! The owner came back, was shocked by the severity of the whole situation, and began thanking the doctor for saving her. He abruptly stopped her and said, “Oh no, your mistaken. I was in a meeting when she came in and Leah has single handedly handled the case. If it weren’t for her, she’d be dead. Leah here saved her life.” The dog walked out of the hospital a few days later, probably short a few brain cells from being at such a high temperature for so long, but the owner didn’t care, her dog was alive.
So now that your up to speed with a hint of what it takes to do my job, lets get down to business!
Over the last 2-4 years, California has begun to really crackdown on legalities involving veterinary technicians and the duties they are able to perform. Until recently, most vets considered someone with my amount of experience a technician. In the last 6 months, California passed a law stating that for those working in the field as techs, but without a license, we must be referred to as an assistant. So after 16 years, I’ve now been demoted to an assistant. New laws keep popping up every few months, and my livelihood is at stake.
VASE is a 17-week online “alternative route” program designed for people like me. It allows me to use their coursework, combined with the knowledge/skills I already have to be eligible to take the state, and federal test needed to become a Registered Veterinary Technician. Once I have this registration, I will be able to demand a higher pay, which in turn, will allow me the resources I need to focus on my dog training business, and possibly a human nursing degree as well. Unfortunately, it is not cheap. A good friend of mine, who went through the program, stated that by the time tuition, books, and testing were accounted for; the total cost came to around $6000. I am asking for $7200, because Go Fund Me takes around 20% (5% per transaction), and that would be the difference.
Regardless of my dog-training career, I will always be involved in veterinary medicine. I love it, and what I love most, is that you never stop learning…. Ever. There is always room for growth, and having a license only opens more doors for me, and makes me that much more valuable in my future. If you have it in your heart, and pocket book, I promise I won’t let you down. I’m a hard worker, and after 16 years, I should know the stuff! Below is a link to the VASE program, so that you can see for yourself the costs, and a breakdown of the program.
RVT-VASE PROGRAM
http://www.vetstaff-edu.com