Lancaster County Pet Summer 2020

VETERINARY TECHNICIANS AND ASSISTANTS work hard every day to ensure pets are happy and healthy. Whether your pet needs routine shots or is battling an illness or injury, technicians and assistants work alongside veterinarians through every step of patient care, helping pets and their families along the way. They are the animal world’s nurses who rarely receive recognition for their role in saving and preserving furry, feathered, and scaled lives.

Technicians and assistants perform various tasks, including pet intakes, drawing blood, restraining animals, performing pre-operative and postoperative care, assisting during surgeries and dental care, and speaking to pet parents to gather data or update them on the status of their pet. Since Covid-19 precautions have taken place and curbside visits are standard in today’s world, you can also count on these professionals to spoil your pet while you wait in the car. Veterinary technicians, who receive more extensive training through schooling, may also administer and monitor anesthesia during surgery and perform other specialized care.

Becoming a veterinary technician or assistant means dedicating one’s life to the often stressful work that goes into veterinary medicine. Veterinary professionals, while they certainly do have their moments of fun, do not spend all day playing with animals. The reality is their days are filled with physical and psychological demands. From lifting and restraining animals who may be aggressive or temperamental, to dealing with tragic realities such as pets receiving terminal diagnoses and providing comfort to grieving pet parents, these special people continue their jobs because they love and care for animals deeply.

It takes a lot more than an interest in animals to become a veterinary technician or assistant. To advance in their careers, they must continuously learn and grow through daily experiences and continued research. Although a selfless job, they go through every challenge to see pet parents take their pets home at the end of the day. Every tail wag, every purr, and every fluffing of feathers makes the difficult moments worthwhile.

Due to Covid-19 and our new normal, it is especially important to remind your pet’s health care providers how much you appreciate them. A small thanks could be just what they need to get through a stressful day.