Reason No. 2: Inspiration and Trust

I was going to write more about the fun case studies I've been a part of over the past weeks but instead I think I'm going to focus on something I've read recently. It's in an old magazine that my parents get to change the way their thinking or something. Either way, it's Positive Thinking (May/Jun 2007 pg. 48-51). I want to share an excerpt with you:

"The owner pulled the door open. A full-size horse came flying out, snorting, chest heaving, eyes rolling. His skinny chestnut-brown body was crisscrossed with long scars. He shook his black mane, and chunks of dried mud and manure fell to the ground. He stomped his feet and looked at me. 'That horse will kill you,' the owner muttered. Then those big brown eyes locked on mind and I saw a different story. 'I've had such a terrible life of pain and abuse. I'm scared,' his eyes seemed to say. 'Won't you give me a chance?'...I looked down at the fallen horse and saw what he could become if only someone helped him. 'Get up,' I whispered....He rose and faced me, then lowered his head, waiting for me to make the next move." (p.50-51)

It's stories like this that constantly amaze me. In this crazy, messed up world I'm often one to think that human beings do more harm than good on a regular basis. That we can be compared to a swarm of locusts that demolish a crop at such an alarming rate that there is little to be saved at the end of it. But it is animals like the horse in this story that constantly amaze me. Animals that have been abused all their lives and with patience, a quiet word and a lot of love you can turn the meanest animal around. I've always said that no animal is mean. They're usually scared, angry or very sick. The only creature I've ever encountered that could be outright mean for the hell of it are humans.

I want to be a vet, because I want inspire trust in animals that don't trust.

Reason No. 1: A way with animals

Let's be honest and 100% in the open here: I prefer large animals to small animals. That being said, I currently work in a small animal hospital, and I have had a lot of trouble adjusting to the mentality and my co-workers.

The morning started off as any other morning did. I made up vaccinations and filled prescriptions that either didn't get done until later that day or were from messages left on the voicemail of the hospital. Usually, I'm left perfectly alone in that precious hour. It is glorious as I am not totally awake yet, and the jobs are simple. Either way, that morning went by rather tediously with room after room, and a few disparaging comments from my boss in the area of my abilities to hold animals or something along those lines. Anyways, I took the next room up and it happened to be a cat. The kitty was huge, a New Forest variety.

Basically this woman wants to make sure that her new cat is healthy, and after asking her the standard questions she takes a hard look at me. And she goes, "Are you going to go to vet school?"

Surprised, and slightly taken aback I stumble over my own response. "Well, uh...actually I applied for next year but I'm really hoping that I can get in somewhere."

She picks up the cat, stroking his long multi-colored fur and looks up at me. "Well you should do it. Because you have a way with animals, I can tell these things."

I didn't question it because I wanted to believe it. Instead I sputtered, got embarrassed and I think I managed to say thank you. So from that moment on, I trust this strangers words of encouragement.

I will be a vet because I have a way with animals.

Reason 0: An Introduction

All the best books I have ever read had some sort of introduction. Sometimes it was just a foreword from the author, or other times it was setting the scene with background on the era the book takes place. This is my introduction.

I have wanted to be a veterinarian since I was a small child, and while this seems to be a common theme in the whole veterinarian pursuit for some people, it is such a critical part of who I have always been. As a child I practiced being observant on my own pets, from my fish to my cocker spaniel. This developed when I got accepted in college as an Animal Science Pre-Veterinary Medicine major. Although there was a time that I allowed myself to be discouraged by those who told me I could not do it, after exploring several other options and being pointed to vet school over and over again, I've decided that I'm going to apply and hope that someone gives me a chance.

This is my list of reasons why I believe I should go, why I can go, and remind me about what I love about this field that will keep me going.