One of our star team members, Zoey, gives us some inside information on what it takes to be a Licensed Veterinary Technician
If you have ever brought your pet to us here at SLVS, you know that we have a team approach when it comes to the care of your furry family member. Veterinary technicians are an important part of that team. They provide comfort to all of our patients and provide technical support for all aspects of patient care, just like nurses do in human medicine. They are often the unsung heroes behind the scenes.
We wanted to introduce you to one of these heroes, Zoey, a licensed veterinary technician (LVT) who has been part of the SLVS family since April of 2015. We hope to give you a bit of insight as to what our veterinary technicians do, what it takes to become an LVT, and why they are such import members of the veterinary care team.
What goes in to becoming a Licensed Veterinary Technician?
I attended Blinn College’s Veterinary Technician program. This is a 2 year associates of applied science program. There is a minimum of 40 hours of veterinary experience required and any and all animal experience is highly preferred. In school we had a lot of hands on learning to reinforce what we learned in the class room. The goal of tech school is to give you the knowledge base so that you can go out and expand yourself as a technician, always building upon that sound foundation.
What do you find to be the most rewarding thing about being an LVT in a specialty hospital?
What I really love as an LVT working in specialty medicine is the trust between all of the staff members that we know what we are doing and we work together as a team towards our common goal of superior patient care. I also am so blessed that I get to work with some of the best doctors out there and have them as a resource to grow my knowledge and skills.
What is the hardest thing about this job from a patient care perspective?
The most difficult thing I see is that sometimes we love our pets too much and they suffer for it. Sometimes pets suffer because their people aren’t ready to let them go so they keep fighting past when the pet itself has given up. The emotional journey at the end of any loved one’s life is always difficult. That struggle between doing what is best for the pet and what their people want to do is something that I will probably never find easy to be a part of.
Do you have a favorite patient/case that you have worked on that really stands out in your memory?
My favorite patient I ever had was a Border Collie named Dolly. Dolly had her left front leg amputated and developed a tetanus infection. She required weeks of intensive care and physical therapy before she regained function of her remaining three limbs. Dolly had to be hand fed and receive many medications over the course of her hospitalization. I spent many hours tending to her, keeping her clean and fed, maintaining her catheters. Once Dolly began to regain function, her physical therapy started to intensify as she had to relearn how to walk and go to the bathroom. Throughout all of this rigorous treatment Dolly stayed a bright and happy girl, giving kisses and loving scratches behind her ears.
Tell us about your fur babies and how they ended up in your life.
My fur babies consist to 3 cats and 3 dogs. All of my pets are rescue animals. Lei Lei, my oldest, is a Papillon mix rescued after neighbors moved out of the state and abandoned her in their garage with a litter of puppies. Cooper is a 2 year old lab mix born to a dog who wondered onto a friend’s property one winter. Shade is a year old mutt who was found on the side of the highway. He has severe orthopedic disease for his young age and had his first corrective surgery at 6 months old. Artemis, Zena, and Amp are all rescued cats. Artemis was brought in through emergency as a kitten and I bottle fed her. Zena was rescued from a shelter after a questionable background. Amp was adopted from a rescue. All of my fur babies enjoy relaxing at home and playing with their abundance of toys!
Sugar Land Team