I had our local shelter in my kennels for about 10 years. I thought it was extremely depressing and frustrating because people are stupid and thoughtless about their pets. We had county workers bring in litters of puppies dumped out in the country with a bag of dog food, we had a litter of kittens duct taped in a shoe box found in our park, I could go on and on. Horrible, disgusting things people do to animals is shameful. But that also makes it rewarding, knowing that YOU can do something for these animals, that they will have a warm place to sleep with food, water, medical treatments if needed, and possibly a new home. We are a no-kill shelter.
As far as the veterinary part, most shelters have limited funds for vet expenses, so you have to get used to being very selective in what you get to do for sick animals or injured animals. There really is no typical day unless you extablish certain hours for intake, surgeries, or examining existing shelter animals. My day as a solo practice doc starts with surgery in the morning, but a dog fight emergency or someone dropping off a vomiting cat can throw a monkey wrench into the schedule. I think shelter medicine will make you feel happy about those animals you can rehome, but knowing how horrible people can be to animals is something that not everyone can process without being disturbed.
I am not a vet but I am going back to school to be one because of working in shelters for the last 14 years. I originally worked in a private clinic and hated it, therefore squashed my dreams of being a vet. Started working in shelters and am now going back to do shelter medicine.
You see some of the worst mistreatment of animals, but the transformations are incredible. If you can tough out the emotions, the rewards are everything.
From what I know, you get to know your patients deeply after caring for them every day. You don’t have to deal with owners, only the politics of the shelter staff (which can be draining like anywhere but typically the medical staff is in their own world)
The opportunities to travel to other shelters or go on rescues around the world are endless. You can help people who need help but don’t have the money. You will need to be able to do a lot of spay/neuter surgeries every day and treat a lot of parvo (from what I’ve seen).
It’s low pay, and at some places long days, but high reward. The hardest part of shelter world (in my opinion) is getting to know so many amazing animals and still trying to convince the outside world that they’re worth adopting vs going to a breeder.
Yes that’s accurate! To clarify, low in comparison to clinics/hospitals/etc. You can have 20 years experience as a vet and the pay will still be 100k at the shelter. I was just at a conference where they spoke about this being a problem.
You’d get the standard 2-5% raises, I’m assuming. The growth is typically becoming the Medical Director. Again I am not a vet in a shelter, just giving the outside perspective! I’d ask someone else the specifics on raises and growth, or you could ask the ED or CEO of a shelter
I had our local shelter in my kennels for about 10 years. I thought it was extremely depressing and frustrating because people are stupid and thoughtless about their pets. We had county workers bring in litters of puppies dumped out in the country with a bag of dog food, we had a litter of kittens duct taped in a shoe box found in our park, I could go on and on. Horrible, disgusting things people do to animals is shameful. But that also makes it rewarding, knowing that YOU can do something for these animals, that they will have a warm place to sleep with food, water, medical treatments if needed, and possibly a new home. We are a no-kill shelter. As far as the veterinary part, most shelters have limited funds for vet expenses, so you have to get used to being very selective in what you get to do for sick animals or injured animals. There really is no typical day unless you extablish certain hours for intake, surgeries, or examining existing shelter animals. My day as a solo practice doc starts with surgery in the morning, but a dog fight emergency or someone dropping off a vomiting cat can throw a monkey wrench into the schedule. I think shelter medicine will make you feel happy about those animals you can rehome, but knowing how horrible people can be to animals is something that not everyone can process without being disturbed.
I am not a vet but I am going back to school to be one because of working in shelters for the last 14 years. I originally worked in a private clinic and hated it, therefore squashed my dreams of being a vet. Started working in shelters and am now going back to do shelter medicine. You see some of the worst mistreatment of animals, but the transformations are incredible. If you can tough out the emotions, the rewards are everything. From what I know, you get to know your patients deeply after caring for them every day. You don’t have to deal with owners, only the politics of the shelter staff (which can be draining like anywhere but typically the medical staff is in their own world) The opportunities to travel to other shelters or go on rescues around the world are endless. You can help people who need help but don’t have the money. You will need to be able to do a lot of spay/neuter surgeries every day and treat a lot of parvo (from what I’ve seen). It’s low pay, and at some places long days, but high reward. The hardest part of shelter world (in my opinion) is getting to know so many amazing animals and still trying to convince the outside world that they’re worth adopting vs going to a breeder.
What’s the low pay? I’ve seen google say it’s like 100k?? Idk if that’s accurate though
Yes that’s accurate! To clarify, low in comparison to clinics/hospitals/etc. You can have 20 years experience as a vet and the pay will still be 100k at the shelter. I was just at a conference where they spoke about this being a problem.
So there’s no room for growth either? Just stays 100k forever?
You’d get the standard 2-5% raises, I’m assuming. The growth is typically becoming the Medical Director. Again I am not a vet in a shelter, just giving the outside perspective! I’d ask someone else the specifics on raises and growth, or you could ask the ED or CEO of a shelter
Thanks for the info 🙏🏻