To All the Vet Techs and Assistants, We Thank You
I take pride in remembering every dog I ever cared for. All vet techs and vet assistants do. I want to mention something on that topic:
Thank your vet techs and assistants at the clinic you go to. They are capable, smart, kind, compassionate, thoughtful, witty, funny, and have an incredible work ethic. And those women are STRONG too. Effective.
The job of a vet tech is often thankless. It is WILDLY underpaid. Inflation rises, exam costs and medication costs rise. The clinics increase their fees just like any other business, yet the staff at vet clinics remains vastly underpaid. Which brings about a poor quality in employee. High turnover rate.
It's sad really. You do that job bc you love animals, not for the money. You can't support yourself in any kind of life with that job as a single person. I could barely feed my children. There were days I had to borrow money just to buy chicken nuggets.
All that passion, concern, care, knowledge, desire to do good...peddled away for $13/hr. At the end, only making $16/hr when I retired.
You have no idea what is in the mind of a vet tech. How much your animals well being depends on them doing a good job. How much of it depends on their compassion and patience. Their kindness. Their knowledge. We have to know every facet of the clinic. We often work in crappy conditions for incredibly low pay and still smile and still are grateful for the ability to work with animals.
We cry when we lose them. We feel unheard when we don't agree with the doctor. We get frustrated when the clients don't listen to directions. We get upset when we are talked down to bc we aren't the doctor. Our whole hearts are in that job. Every day.
Next time you're in the vet clinic, take the time to thank the staff for the incredible work they do. I can promise you, they do not hear it enough. And if you're like me, and dreamt of more...GIRL YOU BETTER GO DO IT. That is valuable intellectual property in your brain. Start using it to make YOU money instead of an ungrateful boss.