Comments on: So You Want My Job: Veterinarian

By: Jezyrel Villaruz

Jezyrel Villaruz — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:03:59 +0000

I so want your job!

I’m 28, a college grad and working for years at a radio telecom firm. I’m pursuing this long-time dream because this will also allow me to professionally work with animals and I know I will be happier. I’m preparing for NVAT next year here in Philippines.

Thank you so much Dr. McArroy. This interview is giving me a lot of inspiration today.

By: Briana

Briana — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:22:06 +0000

Great Interview! I really want to be a veterinarian, always wanted to be since i was born, and always worked for it in any volunteer work i could find and sports teams, but as i work on the side i let my grade slip. Is there any possible way to get into pre-vet in college and make up for the horrible high school grades with good grades in college? It was never the misunderstanding in class, more of intentive-ness.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:14:08 +0000

Hi Richard,

I live in NH as well, and my 16-yr-old daughter is passionate about becoming a large animal vet. We found your interview to be very informative and appreciate your candor. Could you possibly recommend a large animal vet, preferably female, that she might secure some type of internship with?

Thanks for your help!

By: Моисей

Моисей — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:20:43 +0000

Thank you! It’s very interesting article.

By: Carl Muthman

Carl Muthman — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:46:51 +0000

I grew up working on farms and ranches and a vet’s job is not glamorous. They may work lousy hours and conditions and the animals owners can be worse than the animals ! They earn their pay, when they get it. But the success brings a warm feeling. I agrre that the small animal vet would be better than large animal vet for many reasons. Just a humorous short story….I took a fella out to watch a vet perform a c-section on a cow in a barn and way before the calf saw light, this fella was almost “lights out” and had to step out for some fresh air . Vet thought we were going to have to do first aid on him. I was working for the county and that fella with me was a young city guy I worked with LOL.

By: Diana

Diana — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:12:21 +0000

Great article Richard. You are a huge compliment to your profession. I don’t know if you knew my dad or not, (a human doctor for those reading) but you remind me of him in your dedication to your patients, your compassion to your patients and to those of us who seek your advice.

By: Mike Hostetler

Mike Hostetler — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:38:10 +0000

Thanks for the informative article.

My girlfriend in college grew up next to her dad’s farm animal vet office. Her stories were a lot like what was described above. What is more interesting is how many free/cheaper drugs and treatments she got. An X-ray machine is an X-ray machine, right? And a dog’s version of Tylenol is still Tylenol, you just have adjust the dosage.

By: Carrie Burrows

Carrie Burrows — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:58:06 +0000

Awesome interview! As a pet owner and wildlife rehabilitator I am grateful for the work that veterinarians do.

By: tc909

tc909 — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:18:39 +0000

I don’t know, the vets at the office I take my 4 dogs (& 3 prior ones) and 2 cats in my town work 3 days a week. 1 vet has 3 houses (in 3 different states), 1 has 2 houses, and the other has his own cattle farm, horse ranch, and a hunting cabin in Montana. They appear to be doing quite well and they are all under 50 years old.

Regarding the biggest misconception and worst part of his job: Herriott was writing about dealing with these same things 60 years ago in England, they are nothing new (people who won’t/can’t pay, animal neglect & cruelty etc.)

Best of luck to him.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:24:49 +0000

Our 11 year old Weimeraner was recently rather ill.
We woke up at 02h00 to find him sitting down and vomiting in the bedroom.
Sitting down because his hindquarters had become paralysed.
He was in obvious distress and after not being able to calm him down after about 30 minutes, phoned our local vet’s office and got the emergency number.
I phoned, the Dr answered. I described the situation, he asked some questions and said that there isn’t much he can do between that time and 7 in the morning when they open. But he asked us to keep an eye on the dog and to let him know if he got worse, especially if he got diarrhoea. Which he did about 45 minutes later. Pretty uncontrollable and being paralysed, couldn’t even lift himself out of his own waste.

The lad was in a bad way so I phoned the Doc again and he agreed to meet us as their offices.
At 04h00 in the morning this man got out of bed to help us care for our dog.

It was touch and go for a while there but Zeke responded to treatment well within the 48hr window the Doc suggested we observe before sconsidering the unthinkable.

Not quite sure if it’s on topic to post this here but I am absolutely amazed by this man’s dedication.

His name is Johann Viljoen and he is my new hero.

Dave

By: Heather Martin

Heather Martin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:58:37 +0000

I loved this article! I had considered going to college to become an Animal Health Technology. (I live in Canada, the process is probably different.) Then I decided I would not be strong enough!

In regards to question: 8. What is the worst part of your job? I can definitely relate to being bothered by economic euthanasia. I work at a pet health insurance place as a customer care representative. (I’m not trying to advertise, btw, my company doesn’t insure the states. It’s Canada only.) I’m not sure if there is any system in place like this in the states, but we give participating veterinary practices vouchers to give to their customers: 6 weeks free coverage. So it really is like getting something for nothing.

It is definitely sad to see how many pet owners just don’t care enough to spend money on their pets! In my line of work I have actually heard people say “Pet insurance costs $50 a month, a bullet costs .50 cents.” I have people canceling because they just don’t want to spend the monthly amount! It more or less doesn’t make sense! (I just wish I could tell them that!)

By: Matt McGee, DVM

Matt McGee, DVM — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:19:18 +0000

Richard, c’mon dude, I went to school with you for 4 years. Easy on the lady large animal vets, most of the girls in vet school were bigger and stronger than you. Furthermore, you know that if they read that paragraph they would want to take you out behind the woodshed and whip some respect into you. Keep up the good work.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:52:44 +0000

This article was very informative. My daughter has wanted to be a vet since she was a little girl. I am constantly pointing out reality to my children and they have grown to appreciate that. I’m glad to be armed with a little knowledge to help her pursue her dream with a dose of reality. Thanks for this one.

By: Cory

Cory — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:38:48 +0000

Great article.

I’m a pre-vet student in CA hoping to become an equine sports medicine veterinarian. I was really encouraged by the paragraph talking about being a well-rounded individual as opposed to the professional student. It’s very disheartening when every student and every professor talk exclusively about grades in regards to vet school. I know acing a series of o-chem is great, but what good is it if one can’t even restrain an unruly dog or a yearling colt?

I’m glad to hear for once that other attributes are considered. Thank you for this interview!

By: chris

chris — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:33:03 +0000

I really love this article. I’m an army animal technician and view my vets as some of the best people around. I’m currently working my way through undergrad with the goal of becoming a vet. Thanks AOM for covering this great profession.