The Veterinary Technician career is becoming more popular as the time goes by. It is a great job for those that are caring and passionate of an animal’s well-being. Veterinary Technician tasks are many; vaccinating, admitting patients for exams, diagnosis performance (blood draw/tests, x-rays, microscopic exams, etc.), surgical assistance, facility maintenance, bathing/grooming patients, and so on. During a few years as a Veterinary Technician not only did I experience the sad moments when dealing with fatalities, there were also moments that were amazing, and at times hilarious! There are so many things one can experience in their work environment, the following happen to be me my top five list of the funniest things I experienced while working as a Veterinary Technician.
The Top Five
1. Urine Being Flung Into My Mouth
How in the world did that happen? Like most veterinary clinics, the one I was working in at the time also offered boarding services. It had become a daily routine to get the kennels ready for the arriving boarders in the afternoon. Keesha, a German Shepherd, was a well-known patient and friend of mine. Her parents did a lot of traveling and were very busy people; that afternoon she was dropped off for boarding. As usual, I was called to go up front to the reception area to greet Keesha. Everything was going well, until we arrived to the boarding area. To my surprise, Keesha must have been a bit nervous because she urinated in the kennel. As I bent down to see if she had soiled herself, her long, fuzzy tail dipped into the puddle and flung quite a bit of urine….into my mouth! So, I placed Keesha in a clean kennel and rushed to the bathroom. You can imagine all the rinsing I did! It was a bit embarrassing, especially since my co-worker happened to be right behind me. After a few minutes of rinsing, I finally just sat there laughing. The best part of all was that poor Keesha had no idea!
2. Being Stabbed by a Needle
You may be asking yourself; how is that funny? Well, let me tell you that sometimes painful things can be funny afterwards, especially if the way it happened was unique. A male cat had been admitted for hospitalization; he presented with lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea. For a better diagnosis, the veterinarian on duty decided to have some blood tests run on the cat. This time, it was my turn to hold for my co-worker while she drew the blood. She chose to use the jugular vein (found on both sides of the neck area) to draw blood from. My job was to gently hold the cat’s head upward with my left hand, while gently pushing into the neck to increase blood flow to the vein. Once she was certain about the drawing the blood she proceeded, at the moment the needle was to be inserted the cat jerked his arm and pushed my hand forward. The needle went into my ring finger about 1/2 of the way deep. Yes, it was quite painful, but it ended up being funny after all the commotion. That cat just had perfect timing!
3. Terrier Urinates While Doing a Hand Stand
One of the most amazing things I ever saw was a Fox Terrier urinating and doing a hand stand at the same time. Funnier yet, he walks while doing it! I was on kennel duty that afternoon, and it was Ted’s turn to go out and do his business. I wasn’t told about his unique way of urinating, but I was told that he was an escape artist so I had to accompany him to make sure he wouldn’t escape. All of a sudden Ted got in an upright position and started to urinate on the walls! It was so funny, that I ran inside to tell everyone else. They all knew about Ted’s wonderful skill, but they got a kick from my expression.
4. Dog Ate a Tampon
This is actually a quite common thing that veterinary professionals see, but it was my first time being faced with the situation. A Pit Bull came into the clinic for an exam; his veterinarian concluded that he was blocked. A radiograph showed there was something in his large intestine, and confirmed the diagnosis. It was recommended that he underwent emergency surgery (as blockage can be life-threatening). As the vet. cut into the intestines, the whole staff gathered to see what the object was that had caused the blockage. The vet. pulled out an engorged tampon….we were all in shock, and after a few moments of silence started laughing. Thankfully, the dog had a full and quick recovery.
5. Anal Glands Squirted in My Supervisor’s Hair
This incident is probably the funniest out of the five. Anal gland expression is actually done on a regular basis in veterinary clinics. A Chihuahua came in for his bi-weekly anal gland expression. A co-worker helped me hold the dog while I worked on the back end. My manager was standing in front of the dog’s rear end, but facing away. As I squeezed the first anal gland, a big stream of anal gland excretion landed on my supervisor’s hair! She knew something had happened by everyone’s expression. She turned around and realized the awful anal gland smell was coming from her hair! We all burst into laughter. The bad thing was that anal gland scent is not easy to remove; my manager spent the whole day in the office smelling like anal glands…even after washing her hair a few times!
The best thing about being a Veterinary Technician is that you do what you love and never get bored. Every day is unique in the veterinary field world!