[kjc]

The dentist has a doctorate in dental surgery, which is 7-8 years of college study. He majored in chemistry, with a minor in biology, and courses in human nutrition.

I completed 2 years of a 4 year degree program majoring in biology, minor in computer sciences at the University of Maryland. I finished all the required courses, when I complete the elective courses I will graduate.

I began working as a night tech at an 24 hr emergency animal hospital. Worked nights for 3 years. There was an ICU for more critical patients, an Isolation ward for infectious diseases, and the general population ward. I worked alone for 2 years, with a vet being on-call. Triaged incoming pets and had to keep them alive with the vet on the phone till the vet arrived. I took Xrays, drew blood, ran bloodwork in-house, set up for emergency surgeries, monitored anesthesia during surgeries, assisted the vet during surgery, started IV’s, prepared and gave vaccines when appropriate, sutured up any incisions on pets that did not survive a surgery, prepared any samples needing to be sent out to the lab, cleaned, wrapped and sterilized the day’s surgical instruments and packed surgery kits for the next day, gave meds, updated patient charts, performed dentals with vet supervision, restrained animals for whatever was necessary, assisted with neuro exams, behavioral assessments, TPR’s, assisted with Ultrasound exams, electrocardiograph tests, removed ticks and fleas, clipped nails, hair, expressed way too many anal glands, filled prescriptions, wrote up discharge instructions for clients when their pets were discharged and explained/demonstrated any special procedures necessary for their pet’s care, did laundry, cleaned cages, mopped floors, disinfected exam rooms and tables. Then I switched to day shift for the next ten years. OJT involved a VNAC (Veterinary Nutritional Advisor Course) developed by Hill’s Pet Nutrition for training vets and techs on the proper use of their line of Prescription Diets and the medical conditions that would benefit their use and why. There was a 500 question exam at the end. I did not make 100%, I missed 3 questions. So I am basically familiar with the nutritional requirements of dogs, cats, parrots, eagles, owls, seagulls, rabbits, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, lizards and turtles, and horses.

Incubators, MRIs, Xrays, ultrasound machines, etc. and many medical procedures and medications have come from human medicine, adjusted and tweaked to work on our pets. Human IV fluids are still being used. Animals are currently being used to test stem cell therapies, cancer treatments, and many other things that could prove beneficial and be applicable to human medicine, and vice versa.

Just saying...