Dear Friends of Carolina Value Pet Care,
I understand that each of you received a very recent email informing you that this week of October 15th thru 21st is National Veterinary Technician Week.
What few people realize is the structured education that is required to become a Veterinary Technician. In order to receive certification as a Veterinary Technician, these students must complete an intensive and rigorous 2-year program, with an emphasis on preparing students to assist veterinarians by being very involved in the day-to-day activities of a veterinary practice. Their tasks are endless, such as providing pet examinations, prepping pets for surgery then assisting with the surgery and anesthesia, performing laboratory procedures, educating pet parents, performing dental procedures, taking x-rays, communicating with clients for a variety of concerns, helping console a broken-hearted pet parent when they lose a beloved pet, dispensing medications, collecting lab samples (such as blood, urine and poop). And ~ no exaggeration here ~ they perform so many more duties and responsibilities each and every day.
While all Vet Techs deserve recognition for their efforts, I especially want to give a personal acknowledgement to the 4 incredibly special and gifted Veterinary Technicians that we have on our team: Kris, Sonia, Zach and Bailee.
Kris has been with us at CVPC since Day 0, the beginning of October 2012 (btw, we just celebrated our 11th anniversary). She is crazy about her own pet menagerie of rescued dogs and cats, and she particularly adores Golden Retrievers and old dogs and old people (like me) ... and especially old Goldens ! Kris was also a teacher / instructor at the Veterinary Technician school in Gastonia at one time.
Zach was still in high school when he started working with us about a month after we began CVPC. He works during the week at a full-service vet clinic, yet still makes time to help us when needed. He has an awesome dog Tater that he rescued while attending Veterinary Technician school.
Sonia has been with us for 7+ years, and she makes about a 3 hour commute from her farm in South Carolina to be with us for our weekend clinics. She has a broad range of pets, including dogs, cats, horses and chickens. She has been a Veterinary Technician for more than 25 years. And with her Ecuadorian background, she is able to help other Spanish-speaking pet parents learn how to better care for their pets.
Bailee has been with us for 4+ years, all while working a full-time job at a vet clinic and raising a new baby and taking care of her own pets. She and Zach were classmates at the Veterinary Technician school in Gastonia.
I cannot begin to express how deeply each of these compassionate, dedicated, hard-working individuals have meant to our team members and to me. Their commitment to our mission is a significant reason for the continued growth of our business to make basic pet care affordable to everyone.
Kris, Sonia, Bailee and Zach are all very passionate about helping pets and educating pet owners, knowing that the better informed you are about your pets, the better pet parent you can be.
Many, many thanks to each of them for all they do for CVPC … and for You ! - Dr Bob Parrish