My Life as a Veterinary Technology Student

Everyone has been asked at one point or another, what their dream job would be. Some might say an astronaut, professional hockey player or award winning writer. I was recently asked this question and after giving it some thought, there isn’t anything else I would rather do; except win the lottery and spend my days on a beach but that just isn’t going to happen.

 I have always loved animals but never considered the veterinary field as a career option until my childhood dog passed away. I went on to complete a Veterinary Assistant program at Durham College and worked for awhile in a different field. After a bit, I realized that I needed to be working with animals and went back to school and will be graduating from St. Lawrence College’s Veterinary Technology program this June. The program I’ve completed is unique in nature as it deals extensively with lab animals such as rats, mice and rabbits.

Courtney and Briar

My final semester has been spent doing my five and four week co-op placements, the last being here at Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic. No two veterinary clinics are the same, so I was looking for a special kind of fit from a clinic. I came across Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic online and was extremely excited to see that they worked with wildlife and exotics as well as small animals. I also wanted to make sure that the place I would be at every single day, was willing to teach me and guide me to be a great future Registered Veterinary Technician. The last four weeks that I’ve been here, I have learned so much! All of that is thanks to the amazing Registered Veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Assistants, kennel staff and receptionists. Some of the awesome things I’ve been able to do here are things like syringe feed baby squirrels (definitely adding “professional squirrel cuddler” to my resume now), participate in all aspects from pre-op preparation to post op recovery of surgery patients, run lab tests on various samples and even meet two very cute, but wild, Ocelots!

Clowning around at Puppy Happy Hour

Its clear to me that all members of staff here at Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic are absolutely dedicated to the care and love of all types of creatures. It’s not often that a clinic goes above and beyond all aspects of care and caters to their patients as well as their families. Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic runs some amazing complimentary programs like Puppy Happy Hour, where I got to play with some adorable puppies and help socialize them all at the same time; it doesn’t get much better than that! The Junior Vet program also provides some insider insight into the veterinary field for some of the younger audiences. 

Next time you’re bringing in your four legged (or two legged) pet into Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic, be sure to thank the staff for their tireless efforts while caring for your pets and teaching others like me how to as well.

Courtney Fraser 

3^rd Year Veterinary Technology Student, St Lawrence College