Thank You, Vet Techs

As a part of Petside's week-long celebration of National Veterinary Technician Week, I could not help but put the reporter persona aside and take a minute to pay homage to the group of hard-working animal lovers that comprise the vet tech community.

You see, although I am not a vet tech myself, I do have personal ties in the form of family to the profession; and I can honestly say that I have the privilege of seeing firsthand the work that these folks do.

There's not a work day that goes by that my mother, the family member who ties me to the profession, comes home and is not physically drained. After spending eight hours (or more) on her feet each day, doing heavy lifting (putting animals up on the tables for tests, blood work, IVs, etc.), running around her hospital and handling the various administrative items she's tasked with, she is, for a lack of better words, completely spent.

Each night, though, she comes home from work satisfied with what she's done. Some days are better than others, but there has never been a day where she's come home and not looked forward to going to work the next day. To be sure (and I'm sure she'd let me quote her), she is 100% happy with what she's doing. After all, all she does is for the animals she is trying to help on a day-to-day, case-by-case basis. And that, really, is what it's all about.

For those who don't know, or who aren't familiar with this fraternity of CVTs, RVTs, and LVTs, veterinary technicians are a group of people whose love for animals can't be quantified. And it's this love for animals, and the work ethic they bring day in and day out, that allows us to take our pets to the vet and trust that they'll receive better than adequate care.

As a pet "brother" (my mother and father are the pet parents) to two Golden Retrievers, a beautiful Jack Russel Terrier and an array of four felines, I can say that I am thankful for vet techs like my mother who devote their time and energy to their care. Without them, veterinarians would not be able to do their jobs. And without them, our animals would not be taken care of.

So thank you, vet techs, and please, keep doing what you're doing.