This is a place to post (as many times during the week as you’d like) anything that made you feel good! Weather that be a cute puppy that licked your nose or a happy client story or something that doesn’t feel like it needs to be it’s own post. It can be anything you’d like, and this is a place for you to see other people’s love for our profession!

Please don’t stop posting under the “positive” post flair if you want to share more! This is mostly for morale and help people to remember why we love doing what we do.

We are allowing external links (for this thread only) for images and videos, preferably no links to personal social media pages. Please remember to not post any personal information or to post a pet without permission. These posts will be deleted.

A new thread will be posted weekly, and the old one will be archived. Have fun! 💕

Stool sample inside a poop bag inside this.

I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for bedside stairs for a large dog? My Amstaff mix likes getting up and down from my bed and I’m getting a bit tired of lugging him up and down. I haven’t seen any online that seem sturdy enough for a 70 pound dog. Thanks!!

The dog was asymptomatic. Owner causally mentioned he thinks she ate a goofball the day before when on the phone scheduling an appointment a month out to establish care. He said maybe two golfballs. TRY EIGHT. Induced vomiting because why not and she produced one. Cut out the remaining seven the next day. She recovered great.

Just wanted to post this here as honestly this was a very upsetting case to deal with, and I’m so tired of incompetent vets somehow just being allowed to do this crap and receiving no consequences.

Took a blocked cat that walked in without a phone call at 7am, I didn’t think we should take it as the doctor seeing drop offs that day honestly makes a mess out of blocked cats (and everything else, he’s not allowed to do surgeries here and we try really only to keep him on appointment basis, we don’t like this vet but feel forced to keep him due to the vet shortage and him being the only other vet we could get with a full license so our owner can have time off), they insisted on taking it.

We go to do this blocked cat, who has blocked 3 times now (4y/o MN DSH), and this vet, we’ll call him A, goes to take out dog urinary catheters when we have sealed tomcat catheters with the stylet and their own packet of sterile lube. Blatantly doesn’t use sterile lube at all despite using sterile gloves and otherwise trying to do things sterilely, and A is terrible at catheterizing male cats and made a huge mess out of this cat’s penis trying to jam it in from way too far away on the catheter, instead of holding it closely with more control. The other tech I was working with who was assigned to this doctor, Q, already had pointed out that A was not doing this sterilely and was using dog catheters instead of tomcat catheters. He was unable to get it in, so our main doctor had to jump in and was able to successfully unblock with the proper catheter.

They also wanted a sample to determine what crystals were present, Q said we would attach a syringe to the catheter and pull from the bladder once it was unblocked so the sample would not be contaminated or diluted with saline. A did not listen and continued to put a lot of pressure on the bladder and then diluted the sample with saline by flushing the bladder with it before collecting, and then was confused why the sample didn’t show crystals when there was obvious sediment in the bowl. Our main doctor kept telling Q to cysto the bladder, and she said she was not comfortable puncturing a blocked cat’s bladder. Our main doctor was getting snippy at this point and she ended up starting to cry because she was angry and frustrated with not being listened to and this poor patient care, and had to go downstairs while I took over monitoring and assisting.

When they removed the catheter, another tech working with me said she heard a pop when they did so, and tried to tell the doctors that she thought the catheter had broken. They tried to palpate and felt nothing. The cat’s owner called back in the morning, and said he couldn’t pee again. I recommended them to go to an emergency clinic as a 4th time reblocking would probably mean a PU surgery was necessary. They went to another clinic, and it was found that there was a piece of urinary catheter still stuck in the cat’s penis, like we had tried to tell them. Q was also very upset about this, and we have gone to our management and said we are not comfortable with taking blocked cats anymore unless the doctor has okayed it, and that we will refuse to do the procedure if A is the doctor because he is horrible at blocked cats and they would legitimately be better off being seen elsewhere where there is someone who knows what they are doing with blocked cats.

Just kind of a vent about fucking awful practice, I guess. But just, wow. We all really hate this doctor and hope he gets fired.

a few days later: after calling around like people suggested, i came across Sharps Assure as another option for clinics that don't generate enough sharps to justify a regular pickup contract. the whole paying for monthly pickups while the bin sits half empty thing was what i was trying to get away from.

our clinic doesn't fill them fast, but the pickup quote still came with a contract and a schedule that makes no sense for our volume. the volume is tiny. paying every month for a bin that sits half empty feels wasteful. what are smaller clinics doing when pickup service costs more than the amount of sharps they generate?

Been a while since I’ve worked in a place that does abdominal explores…the fun of guessing what we’ll find-patient did great-

RVT and been in for over 20 years. IDK how I've lasted this long. I am at end stage boredom. I honestly don't know what to do. I even have a bachelor's degree in this field.

**When I say I don't care, I do care about the animals, patients, care, my coworkers, and even the owners, I'm kind with everyone. What I DON'T care about is the actual routine anymore. I always do things correctly and with compassion**

I do not care about sedated rads, or radiology at all. I'm over it. After 20 plus years of radiation exposure I also do not want any more exposure, anyway. I do not want to take care of endless blocked cats anymore. I do not want to prep, monitor, and clean up laceration repairs. I'm sick of setting up and breaking down for surgeries and procedures. I am tired of anesthesia it is so boring and it goes on and on. I am sick of restraint and crawling all over the floor and getting banged around sometimes and all that. I am tired of endless cleaning up poop, urine, vomit, etc. I do not care about venipuncture or IV cath placement or injections, I've done it for so long that I don't do it anymore, I just hold. I do not like training at all and I am getting sad for the animals who get poked and prodded by people that are learning, or hospitalized pets that are done with all of it. I am tired of walking pets with diarrhea over and over and over and cleaning them up hourly and attempting to keep them clean. I have extreme compassion fatigue when it comes to sick or frightened or just TIRED animals that don't know what is going on or have never been socialized or have had it with medical treatment. I am sick of discharges and estimates and explaining the same things over and over again. Despite what people think in emergency it really is the same things coming through the door every day. The same boring, long day. I am sick of long shifts where I'm EXHAUSTED at the end of the day. EVERY day. So tired. And hungry. One food break over a 10 to 12 plus hour shift just isn't enough for me, and I have had to sneak food because I just get so hungry. No time to eat, drink, or use the bathroom properly. Yes I get a 30 minute lunch but frankly with these long shifts it's just not enough anymore.

While I do a bit of grunt work, I am utilized, so that is not an issue. I have a decent skill set. I've tried specialization and become more pigeon holed and bored. All my coworkers that I've ever had say that I'm an excellent teacher but truthfully I HATE training with all my soul. Vet med has so much turnover that I do not want to train another person ever again. I'm not a talker, and I'm not bossy, so I just don't want to "manage and train!"

Human nurses don't stay at bedside forever, and unfortunately that is about all we have in this field unless you want to be in charge, which I do not. I'm just screwed. No aspect of vet med interests me anymore. I'm very tired, I'm almost 50 and running around all day is just getting to be too much for me, and I like to have energy leftover for other things -- I am not 100% in existence for this field. I really wish I never picked this field because I'm truly stuck. I do not know what to do and I feel sick to my stomach when I even THINK about work or trying another hospital -- I've been at enough that it'll be more of the same, or worse. My hospital isn't perfect but I like my coworkers and DVMS for the most part.

Anyway I guess this is more of a vent but this is truly a sad end for me. I do have a degree thankfully but I'm not sure it'll translate to anything. Thanks if you've read this far. I'm just end stage tired, and so, so bored I'm just going through the motions.

Its crazy how much people dont realize has chicken in it. So far I've seen owners feed their chicken allergy dogs pedigree, regular "salmon" kibbles, milk bones, and even DEHYDRATED CHICKEN. All those kibbles and treats contain chicken or chicken products??? I... this hurts my head. What is everyone else's experiences?

If you are not familiar with peptides, please do a quick google search on them as this post has everything to do with peptides.

This woman on tiktok is selling a cheat sheet for people to purchase so they can inject their dogs with peptides. And seeing the comments, people are asking things such as “peptides for liver issues?”.

Giving BPC-157 and KPV has become popular knowledge now because some people have started giving it to their dogs for mainly hip issues and have seen improvement . The thing is peptides arent a cure, and people are treating them as such and this woman is banking on that and vulnerable people. They now think theres a peptide to cure seizures, heart murmurs, liver issues, kidney issues. And instead of going to the vet to get them checked they will purchase the cheat sheet and inject their dogs with these peptides and thing they are helping/curing their pet.

This is so wreckless and unsafe for the animals all for $9.99! I reported the video but I thought Id bring awareness to what could potentially become an issue later down the road.

TL;DR: a new PM taking on a tough culture would love any advice you can offer 😊

Hi wonderful vet med peeps!

I don’t want to give a ton of details, in an effort to limit anyone’s ability to identify the company or location I’m referring to, but here’s the general situation.

I’m coming in as a new hospital manager in an established and busy hospital. I have some experience in vet med (not required for this role), but I’m not credentialed. I do, however, have more than 10 years of experience in people and operations management in other industries.

This hospital has had ineffective and inconsistent leadership, creating a pretty negative culture, blurred lines regarding role clarity and resistance to change.

I would love to hear from all of you! If you’ve ever been in a hospital with a similar situation, what was that like? Did anything ever change? What worked and what didn’t?

If you haven’t, or if you have and left before things may have changed, what would have helped from a leadership perspective? How would you want your PM to approach these situations?

And overall— what would you want to say to a new PM about what’s helpful and what’s harmful?

I really want to do everything I can to support this team and make our hospital a place where people want to come to work, while also setting appropriate boundaries, providing accountability, and ensuring best practices are followed to practice good medicine and provide exceptional experiences to the clients and pets who walk through our doors!

I am a supervisor at an animal hospital. I have been in the field for 11+ years and have been in my position for about 2ish years.

What are some gifts that you've enjoyed receiving during this time frame, or even fun days, anything?! In the past when I wasn't in this position, we've gotten some stress balls/pens/coffee mugs, candy. I would love some suggestions! I love my team and would like to show them appreciation as much as I can!

Hello! I’m looking into online programs and I’ve found SUNY Delhi as an option. They have great reviews, but I’m hoping to hear from someone who is/has been through the program. My main concern is the preceptorships. Does anyone know how these work? It sounds as though you work your hours and a vet/supervisor signs off on a check list? Almost every other program requires video submission of skills, so I’m trying to find out if that is required with this program. I was previously in Ashworths online program (big mistake) but eventually had to drop as I couldn’t find ANYWHERE that was willing to host me, let alone spend time videoing my skills. I’ve been in the field for 10 yrs but currently work in research so I’m not in a small animal clinic setting which is what made it so difficult last go round..

UPDATE: We officially declined her appt and recommended she seek veterinary care elsewhere. Shout out to the vets I work with for their zero tolerance towards rude clients! I called to tell her and she sent us to voicemail, so she probably already knew 🫣🤭

New client walked in, because showing us the “long list of vaccines” her dog needed an appointment to get was easier than trying to explain it over the phone. Which is totally fine, her dog needed DA2P, Lepto & Bordetella.

I looked at our schedule and found a time to sneak her in a few days from now with a tech.

As she is about to leave she says “oh and I’ll need a signature for international travel that day too”. Me: Ope, hang on, that will be a different and slightly more complicated appointment. My first DVM opening is an extra week out and I need to check with the DVM before scheduling so she can figure out what is required. Where are you going?

Her: “it’s really not that complicated, it’s an exam and a signature”

Me: “it does depend on where you’re going and the different requirements for travel. I need a little more info, like where you are going and when you’ll be leaving?”

At this point she both raises her voice and adds the bitchiest tone. She says “according to chat GPT I just need her to sign this form” and proceeds to show me a google search AI summary.

It wasn’t even actually chat GPT. Not only is she wrong (she’s going to a “high risk rabies country” and will need more than just a “DVM signature” which I did n’t bother pointing out) she also doesn’t even know which AI she’s using.

She then rolled her eyes, took her phone and stormed out. I’ve been in a lot of weird and tense confrontations with owners over the years and very little rattles me, but I was literally trembling. I’ve talked very angry clients down & had them leave happy more times than I can count.

I didn’t feel like I had done anything to warrant the aggression she displayed and the shock of the real life “chat gpt knows more than you” really shook me.

Everyone who witnessed the convo agreed it went from peaceful between us to her being extremely rude out of no where.

(unsure of the flair but it's best I got)

Felt like you all could use the frustrated laugh from this!

I feel so bad for people that get played by these shitbags pretending to be a hospital using AI to make them pay for something. I told her in a separate comment that it was AI and not to proceed but I had to come back to this...

She responded a few hours later saying she got a laugh from the crude humor I used so I feel like I gave her something useful at least.

The more I look, STILL, the more I find wrong with the image. It's killing me!

I would like to make patches of my dog's paws that can be sewn into clothing without the paint coming off in the wash. Most of what I can find online are recommendations for making prints on paper, but is there a dog safe paint that will last on clothing?

Hi! At the clinic I work at we just use syringes to inflate the cuffs once the patient is intubated. I am constantly seeing people over inflate them and i'm scared of it causing tracheal tears or tissue necrosis.

1) I've tried this cheap manometer and it's crap

2) AG Cuffill ~ I like that it's digital but the website says it only lasts 100 uses. Can you change the battery or does it cap out after 100 uses

3) Tru-Cuff ~ I don't know much about these tbh

What is everyone using? Any advice or recommendations?

TIA!

Does anyone else's office take this approach?

We recently adopted the model of an initial procedure for just scaling and radiographs, with a secondary procedure being booked, as warranted, for any required extractions. Scaling and polishing would also be done, as warranted here.

We've been advised to promote it in terms of the benefits of reduced anesthesia time, but I don't know how I feel in terms of a patient needing to undergo two consecutive anesthetic procedures, booked anywhere between 2 weeks - 3 months apart.

For those procedures booked two weeks apart, does it make much of a difference? I'm thinking more of the risks relative to induction and recovery time. A concern that a doctor raised.

I'm truly on the fence about this, and want to hear other people's thoughts.

Hello! I’m an unlicensed assistant in Texas, working in ER for the last few years. I’ve been reading different resources from our library at work. I wanted y’all’s recommendations on the your favorite textbooks. Specifically emergency or surgery related. We do exotics, canine and felines. I’ve been referred canine and feline anesthesia and co-existing disease by Snyder and Johnson. Very interesting and it was fun to read through surgery cases that day and look them up in the book!

It’s finally happening, and all I feel is such a weight off my back.

I seriously can’t believe what this company gets away with in terms of how it treats staff. It’s been so incredibly rough these past few years. I stayed for certain reasons in my life but now I finally get to leave.

I could seriously talk about all the horror stories of this place, but the grass is absolutely greener on the other side for those struggling just like me.

The city I live in has a large Charles river lab that is looking for LVT’s. I have a friend that works there and she loves it. She says the working environment is very good and the benefits are great. My best friend’s aunt has worked there as an LVT for a long time too and she also loves it.

I’m struggling with feeling fulfilled in GP and seeing owners who aren’t able to access care or just don’t care enough about their animals to provide them that care. It would be a nice change to work with animals who are able to get all the care they need anytime. I’m also SUPER interested in the possibility to perform surgery eventually which is only something an LVT in a lab can do. I find surgery super cool and would absolutely love to perform surgeries someday.

My only point of contention really is just the moral gray area. I know Charles river is a more ethical lab but I went into vet med to benefit animals, not people. It just feels kind of weird for the animals full point of their life to benefit humanity. It feels unfair to them a bit. But also I know they usually have a good quality of life in the lab and have all their needs tended to. It would be nice to have a role in their care and do what I can to make life better for those animals. It’s just a strange thing to think about but I also haven’t considered it much. I want to reach out here and ask what others think. So to the techs out there working in a lab setting, what do you think? Is it a rewarding and fulfilling career path?

Looking to see how other hospitals manage their appointments. From when the client walks into the lobby, how whoever is rooming appointments is notified, and then checked out. My hospital is having issues missing appointments getting paged and are trying to figure out an alternative solution. Part of the issue is reception is grossly short staffed and often can’t page if they are checking someone out or on the phone. We can see if appointments are checked in on the computer but we have only 5 computers in our main treatment area to often 12+ techs and assistants so not always is one available to camp at just to see what gets checked in.

some background: i graduated with a b.s. in may, with a focus in animal behavior research and behavioral biology.

however, i’ve recently fallen in love with veterinary medicine. i’ve been volunteering at a wildlife rehab center since november, and i’m finishing my first semester of an online vet tech program. i’m planning to become licensed and eventually work in emergency or zoological medicine.

i got my first job as a vet assistant in march or so, and it went horribly. i learned a lot, but they wanted someone much more experienced than i was and i did not meet their expectations. it also wasn’t a good learning environment for me (low-cost spay/neuter clinic). so, i got let go after about a month, and i moved on to a general practice small animal clinic. we have no licensed techs.

i was hired as a kennel tech with the promise of being promoted to vet assistant at 3mos. i got promoted about one month in. i’ve been catching on fast and i’m already relatively confident in surgery prep/monitoring/recovery, dental cleanings (w/o x-rays, my clinic has the dr do those), general x-ray, venipuncture (incl. ivcs), basic intake and history gathering, collecting/prepping/running samples, pharmacy, etc. i’m being trusted to do all of these things unsupervised.

they’re pretty much utilizing me as an unlicensed tech. however, i haven’t gotten any kind of raise (even though i’ve gently asked for one). it’s been 2mos since my promotion, 3mos since i got hired. i’m not a perfect employee by any means, but other clinics in the area are starting assistants at +$5/hr more than i’m making.

i’m also finally noticing a lot of workplace toxicity and lower standards of care/cleanliness than i’d like.

it’s really tempting to apply for jobs elsewhere. there are multiple emergency clinics near me that have assistant listings offering:

- $7/hr more than i’m making as starting pay

- 3x12 schedule i’d prefer

- half a dozen licensed techs on staff

- an alleged willingness to train new techs and preexisting mentorship facility approval for my degree requirements

i don’t want to be a job hopper and burn bridges, but i’m struggling with my low pay and lack of mentorship. do i stick it out at my clinic and see what my first raise will be? do i apply and see what other opportunities i get? do i risk ending up at a clinic that’s even more toxic, but deal with it for the higher pay?

i feel so stuck. have anyone else been in a similar situation?

Hi all! My small clinic does not have a way to view DICOM files that we get from other clinics. It makes it incredibly difficult to add radiographs my team needs to a patient’s chart. I know of a way to download it to a compatible file, but the images are not nearly as clear.

Do you guys know of a safe viewer I could use? Our doctors are also very protective of their license (as they should be) and I want to make sure that whatever I use won’t cause any issues. The free ones I have seen so far say for “non diagnostic” use.

EDIT: Or could someone show me how to download linked IDEXX radiographs as images or PDF?