Animal Experince- Have to be Hands On?

[russellang]

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I just got a call from a local big cat facility. They said I could volunteer there and I can start on saturday. I was wondering if animal experiences for vet school applications require that you actually touch the animals. I did not ask them specifically about what I would be doing (I have to call them tommorow to confirm I am coming in saturday, maybe I should ask them?). This place is a sanctuary for lions and tigers. I guess I just feel there is a strong possbility I will never touch any of the animals and not get an up close and personal hands on type experience (I realize obviously that it is dangerous). When I have read about animal experiences here it seems they are shelters, wildlife rehab, etc- where you can touch the animals and interact with them.

Thank you

 

[DVMorBust]

Animal experience is generally experience with animal husbandry...from that, it would follow that whatever species it is, experience with the appropriate policies for handling them would be count. So for big cats, I think doing things like prepping food, cleaning, etc. would count - since it's not the 'norm' to get up close and personal with a big cat.

That being said, I have no experience with big cats so someone else probably has a better/more backed-up answer.

 

[HopefulAg]

Well I counted experience where I didn't touch animals. Not real big on going up to pet ostriches (mean little ****ers who can impale you), and I don't think you'd want to go doing the same to tigers. But you can certainly learn a lot without touching them.

 

[russellang]

Yea I guess I just saw that most people have experience touching the animals but granted those are usually dogs etc not big cats.

I basically wanted to do something a bit unusual with my animal experience. I cannot find any wildlife rehab centers so I thought this would be good.

 

[lalzi22]

I worked at a wolf conservation center that was 100% no touching the animals ever and I put it as animal experience. I helped feed them, keep their homes clean, led educational tours and did lots of other random jobs that come with running a small center and I learned a ton about wolves, without touching them. I think it counts and the vet schools never said it wasn't animal experience during interviews. They liked that I had something besides the norm a lot.

 

[Nechochwen]

The majority of my animal experience was in a zoo setting with little hands-on experience. LSU didn't raise any questions about not having enough hands-on experience, so I think volunteering at this sanctuary will definitely provide animal experience.

 

[russellang]

I assumed it would count but wanted to confirm here just in case. While I dont expect to ever touch them the head volunteer that I talked to did say that she personally gives each of them a bath frequently. On a latter note, I did apply for a job at an alligator farm not too far from this sanctuary, I got a reply back and they said they would be doing interviews in a few weeks, I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Magical Realist]

I just started as a volunteer on the Gorilla unit at my local zoo. I can't imagine it not counting, even though I'm not allowed to actually touch the gorillas.

Even though the work itself is unglamorous--picking up poo and heavy cleaning is the bulk of it--there's so much to learn about housing and taking care of zoo animals, how the zoo is run, and what it might be like to work in that environment, etc. So far, the keepers have been extremely forthcoming when it comes to offering explanations for why they do things a certain way, or answering questions about the animals (as a species, as resident troops, and as individuals). It's a great gig, and it just seemed to fall into my lap--I'll eventually volunteer at the Humane Society, but I'm glad I tried the zoo first. I love it.

But one thing about the zoo--even the keepers keep direct, hands-on, human-animal contact to the barest minimum because there's so much potential for things to go very, very wrong. So if you've volunteered to work with animals at a zoo or sanctuary, it's a given that you're not going to get in the cages and touch or handle the animals. If you do, your experience would be the exception, not the rule.

So I say go for it. And while you're there, take advantage of the chance to learn all about different aspects of big cat rescue beyond just the obvious care-and-feeding stuff. It's an unusual experience, one that not many people (and not even many pre-vets) ever get to pursue.

 

[Willowhand]

I wouldn't say something wasn't "hands-on" because you didn't touch the animals. To me, I think of hands-on as anything where you are actively involved in animal care. And as several people have pointed out, there are some animals whose regular care does not involve touching. Volunteering at a big cat facility sounds awesome! It might end up being one of those things you can talk about with infectious excitement in interviews --in my experience, the kind of subject that really got interviewers engaged. Work hard and have fun!

 

[scb44f]

I agree with everyone else that it doesn't have to be directly hands-on (as in touching the animal) to qualify as animal experience. I started shadowing an avian vet who runs a bird rescue on the side. I've never owned birds, and had only held a finch before I started a week and a half ago. Needless to say, I've learned a ton just by feeding all of the birds in the facility (finches, tiels, budgies, cockatoos, macaws, conures, doves, lovebirds, parrotlets, amazons, African greys etc.).

Anyway, it sounds like an awesome experience, so definitely stick with it!

 

[zeebra44]

Well I counted experience where I didn't touch animals. Not real big on going up to pet ostriches (mean little ****ers who can impale you), and I don't think you'd want to go doing the same to tigers. But you can certainly learn a lot without touching them.

Hahaha! Wheeeeeeere oh where did you get to work with ostriches?

 

[that redhead]

I think so long as you are working to help maintain the animals in whatever way (cleaning, feeding, etc), it should count as animal experience.

 

[HopefulAg]

Hahaha! Wheeeeeeere oh where did you get to work with ostriches?

A&M's wildlife center has about...5 or 6 of them I believe. Not sure how many are still around since I worked there, but one of them is real nice and that's the one that the vet students work with. The others are just goofy, insane, or both.

 

[mdnghtdnc]

I am sure this was already mentioned but I didn't read all the posts... most vet schools like you to have a diverse array of experience. So don't miss out on the opportunity to observe these large cats! That counts as animal behavior experience as well! It is better to list on your applications exactly what jobs you performed while observing their behavior...which I am sure would include housekeeping, feeding etc.
I would also rec. getting other hands on experience as well. It looks better for your application and most schools are looking for hands on experience as they do not want to teach you how to restrain an animal...you should know how to do this prior to enrolling as that is what the experience is for. Even if your next experience is volunteering as a kennel assistant make sure you put that you walk, prepared food, gave various medications (IV, IM, PO etc.), and that you were able to restrain for grooming etc.

Good Luck and hope you have fun!! The large cats are by far my favorite!!!