I really need you opinions.

[rawrcakes]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I posted a thread a few months ago, but i did more thinking and i am starting to maybe reconsider.
My main goal in life is to own a no-kill shelter that mainly takes in the animals from shelter that are about to be euthanized. Also i want a pet boutique/cafe. and to make dog food 🙂
That being said i really do not know what i should major in. I really want to go to vet school and be a vet (or something) then maybe move on to shelter vet work then own my own shelter. I really have no clue if i want to go to vet school because the cost and debt might not let me ever achieve my goals. 😕 I am considering maybe just majoring in business and either minoring in animal science, but the uni. near me is mainly just farm animals. Or maybe major in business, and maybe see if i can just take the urban animal health and animal nutrition classes. The only problem with business major is it seems so extremely boring and you have to take a public speaking class, which is not a strong point at all for me. Vet school seems like it might be interesting and fun.
also would i have time/money to have my spoiled rotten chihuahua who needs attention all the time? I know i can study with her because she just mainly wants a lap, haha, but would you be at school for more than like 5 hours?
I really am just so confused. 😕

also, the vet school where i really wanted to go says this: (costs)
resident- about $8,000 for 15 hours.
non-resident- about $20,000 for 15 hours.
it says this for every semester, so i pay the price for 4 (or 2?) semesters for 4 years?
would a resident be in-state or live on campus in the campus dorms?
(i am talking about LSU)

if you actually understand what i am trying to say and can answer my questions and help me Thanks 🙂

 

[variegata]

Why not try shadowing a vet to see if it's something you're interested in. If you decide to apply, you'll need the experience anyway, and if you decide it's not for you, at least you know that before you go invest a lot of time, effort, stress, money and sanity going down that path.

And yes, you'd be in school for longer than 5 hours, for sure.

 

[crittergal]

My main goal in life is to own a no-kill shelter that mainly takes in the animals from shelter that are about to be euthanized.

Have you ever volunteered or been involved with a no-kill shelter? I cannot think of one off the top of my head that is privately owned. Most are run by a non-profit corporation that is overseen by a board of directors or municipally based.

That being said i really do not know what i should major in. I really want to go to vet school and be a vet (or something)

Are you absolutely certain you want to be a vet, or is it more a desire to work with animals? There are numerous opportunities to be involved in direct animal care beyond being a vet.

If you do think vet med is your calling, I'd suggest majoring in biology or animal science in the beginning. That would allow you to get your feet wet with the sciences to see if you are able to handle the academic requirements.

you have to take a public speaking class, which is not a strong point at all for me.

I am fairly confident that public speaking is a requirement for most undergraduate degrees and is also a pre-requisite for many vet schools. Weak point or not, you'll have do get through this class.

Vet school seems like it might be interesting and fun.

While I can't speak from personal experience (yet🙂), interesting and fun are not the two choice words I would liken to 4 yrs of a rigorous professional level science curriculum.

also would i have time/money to have my spoiled rotten chihuahua who needs attention all the time? I know i can study with her because she just mainly wants a lap, haha, but would you be at school for more than like 5 hours?

Again, no personal experience, but it's my understanding that a 5 hour class day would be rare- as in the majority of them will be much longer between regular class, labs, and extra studying in the labs, clubs, etc. Honestly, a good portion of my undergraduate career had class days longer than 5 hrs. I am prepared that will increase significantly in the coming years.

resident- about $8,000 for 15 hours.
non-resident- about $20,000 for 15 hours.
it says this for every semester, so i pay the price for 4 (or 2?) semesters for 4 years?
would a resident be in-state or live on campus in the campus dorms?
(i am talking about LSU)

Resident means resident of the state, it has no bearing on living on campus/dorms/apartment, etc. The data in the VMCAS book lists LSU at $13,500 IS and $36,000 OOS. These are annual costs which may (probably will) increase while you are in school. Also realize that this does not include living expenses which factor significantly into loan/education costs.

Vet med may be right for you, but it really sounds like you need to do some homework first. Start shadowing or volunteering at shelters, humane societies, vet clinics, etc and begin taking coursework. A good dose of both will likely help you find your guidance.

One added note: if your interest in no-kill facilities is rooted in an opposition to euthanasia, you SERIOUSLY need to contemplate whether veterinary medicine is the correct path for you. Like it or not, euthanasia is an integral part of vet med and something you will have to face.

 

[Crazy Hippos]

Hey there. I actually set out to do the same thing (be a veterinarian at my own shelter). I majored in both business and biochemistry. The major itself isn't that important. Some schools like Penn have a dual degree DVM/MBA program.

As variegata said, you should try shadowing a vet to see if you like it. I would highly recommend that you volunteer at a shelter. Even no-kill shelters euthanize dogs (sometimes they are just too sick), and there is a lot of abuse and neglect you should prepare yourself for. Working at a shelter has definitely strengthened my decision to go into shelter medicine, but I know several people who decided it was too emotionally draining for them.

From what I've read, you're generally in classes for 7-8 hours a day. There are two semesters in an academic year so you would be paying for 8 semesters total (4 years). In order to be considered a resident of Louisiana, you should live in the state, have a Louisiana driver's license/car registration, earn wages, and file Louisiana state taxes. There are various exceptions to this, such as if you are under a certain age and your parents are residents, if you marry someone from Louisiana, etc. Also, I believe you have to be a resident for at least a year before you apply to LSU in order to be given the resident rate.

 

[david594]

My main goal in life is to own a no-kill shelter that mainly takes in the animals from shelter that are about to be euthanized.

As someone else said, your not going to own a shelter. You could organize and open on, and be the director of it. But not something you would own.

If this is your goal in life then you should get a job at one now to try and get your foot in the door and see how they actually run. Then in college go the business major route, become proficient at public speaking and learn everything you possibly can about grant writing.

 

[GSDgirl]

I am planning to pursue shelter med as well. (Woot woot, Crazy Hippos! maybe we will be colleagues!) [PS--I know you were offered an interview at WSU and declined--and I will tell you that I did NOT feel the shelter med love at WSU during my interview... The interviewers made a point of telling me that it was one of, if not the absolutely least, lucrative positions in vet med... I can't speak for you, but money is not a motivating factor for my interest in shelter med. ] Ok, don't want to hijack...

I have worked in two no-kill shelters, and as Crazy Hippos pointed out, there are still a good number of euthanasia cases. Just because a shelter does not euthanize for space (definition of "no-kill") does not mean that you won't get in animals that are either too ill to treat, too unsocialized or too aggressive (i.e., have a bite history) to adopt out. Not to be doom-and-gloom! there are definitely a good share of happy endings. [And shelters/rescues with more resources can and do take on the more challenging cases...so the above may not be true for every organization. But euthanasia will always exist in sheltering...]

Both "operations managers" that I worked under were not DVMs. Both are well established in shelter operations but do not hold advanced degrees (but I don't know what entering the system is like now).

I second a lot of what has been said previously: definitely get involved in your local humane society/animal shelter! Even if you start out as a volunteer cat socializer or dog walker, soon enough you will feel comfortable enough to ask the questions you need to ask and to get more involved. The humane society in your area would be best suited to direct you in the path you need to fulfill to become a shelter-worker in your area (for example, being certified in euthanasia...)

If "operations manager" is the position you think you are most passionate about, people already in that position are probably best suited to answer your questions (not that you won't get good advice from SDN). I personally don't think that pursuing a DVM is necessary (or maybe even the wisest of decisions) if you want to run a shelter, unless you also want to be intimately involved in the medicine involved in sheltering... a lot of actually "running" a shelter does not involve directly interacting with all of the animals all of the time.

I wish you the best of luck!

 

[sumstorm]

My main goal in life is to own a no-kill shelter that mainly takes in the animals from shelter that are about to be euthanized. Also i want a pet boutique/cafe. and to make dog food That being said i really do not know what i should major in. I really want to go to vet school and be a vet (or something) then maybe move on to shelter vet work then own my own shelter. I really have no clue if i want to go to vet school because the cost and debt might not let me ever achieve my goals

First, where are you at educationally? Are you in HS? What year?

Second, if this is your main goal, then there isn't really a need/reason/place in there for DVM. There MAY be a place in there for a degree in business and/or nutrition and/or non-profit management. As others have noted, it is rare for a shelter to be a privately held business, but there are a few exceptions, however in every exception I am aware of it a hobby project by someone with sufficient wealth for such an extensive hobby. Vet school isn't something you go into because the title sound cool, or you want to be called doctor, or it is the career you imagine when you think ‘works with animals.' The demands and challenges are too high for that. Also, vet med isn't a stepping stone into shelter work. If you do not want to work, day in and day out, as a vet, doing veterinary work (which occurs in a lot of fields and may even occur in some shelters) then it isn't worth taking on the costs to be a vet (in time, energy, or money. The vast majority of shelters and rescue groups don't hire vets, many don't even use a vet routinely, and a larger percentage ask practicing vets to heavily discount treatments for shelter animals. I am all for shelters, and believe in giving back, but there is a reasonable amount of conflict in non-profit animal care and veterinary businesses that have to pay bills, salaries, etc from the care of animals, which is something to be very aware of if you do pursue vet med.

extremely boring and you have to take a public speaking class, which is not a strong point at all for me. Vet school seems like it might be interesting and fun.
also would i have time/money to have my spoiled rotten chihuahua who needs attention all the time? I know i can study with her because she just mainly wants a lap, haha, but would you be at school for more than like 5 hours?

Public speaking is a huge part of shelter work in terms of working with clients, providing public education, possibly dealing with media outlets, obtaining funding, etc. This is one of those areas well worth getting over sooner rather than later; it is a skill that can be developed. And you are very right about vet school….after 4 years of undergrad, the microbiology professor who drones endlessly about the former names of every organism and the research throughout time is fascinating and learning every tiny aspect of the immune system of humans, then trying to relate that to dogs, just rocks my world! (there is some sarcasm there); realistically, every field is going to contain aspects of drudgery and tedium.

As for your chi, have you thought about what you are going to do when you work? While I love my dogs, and they are fairly spoiled, I am easily at school 40+ hours a week, and when I was employed, I worked 40+ hours a week. And there wasn't an employer around who cared whether my dogs wanted a lap or not.

My best piece of advice is choose a college and a major for undergrad that you enjoy. Do some reading/learning about vet med, and if that is still of interest to you, take the pre-reqs for vet med. Deal with any significant weaknesses you may have now (math, public speaking, written communications, etc…not saying these are yours, just examples of some) as early as possible, because practice will improve performance over time. Explore the fields you are interested in by volunteering/shadowing. Talk to people who have done what you think your interested in and see what they say about education, what they wish they had done differently, what would have helped them, what they did right, and how they got there.

 

[sumstorm]

[PS--I know you were offered an interview at WSU and declined--and I will tell you that I did NOT feel the shelter med love at WSU during my interview... The interviewers made a point of telling me that it was one of, if not the absolutely least, lucrative positions in vet med... I can't speak for you, but money is not a motivating factor for my interest in shelter med. ] Ok, don't want to hijack...

This may not be a lack of 'love' but an attempt to understand how realistic you are concerning finances and whether you understand some of the conflicts in shelter med with private practice. Saying money isn't important isn't a good enough answer; you have to say how you will handle money (independently wealthy, have looked at the average income post tax for shelter vets and looked at the COL in those areas and calculated my costs including SL debt and after PLIT and such I will still have X for rent, food, luxury.) If they felt you were treating it as a lack of ‘love' rather than an expression of concern about the perception of reality, they may have been very emphatic about the future realities.

 

[Crazy Hippos]

I am planning to pursue shelter med as well. (Woot woot, Crazy Hippos! maybe we will be colleagues!) [PS--I know you were offered an interview at WSU and declined--and I will tell you that I did NOT feel the shelter med love at WSU during my interview... The interviewers made a point of telling me that it was one of, if not the absolutely least, lucrative positions in vet med... I can't speak for you, but money is not a motivating factor for my interest in shelter med. ] Ok, don't want to hijack...

Woohoo! Future shelter med colleague! Did you decide on ISU?
During my OSU interview, I was also told that shelter med was not lucrative and was asked where I would get the money to run the shelter. I told them I would receive some money through donations, but I would also have a private practice to help offset the costs of the shelter. When they asked me who would pay me (after I spent all my private practice money on the shelter), I said the dogs at the shelter would pay me in love (jokingly, of course). Luckily, they laughed. *whew* 😳

 

[GSDgirl]

Woohoo! Future shelter med colleague! Did you decide on ISU?
During my OSU interview, I was also told that shelter med was not lucrative and was asked where I would get the money to run the shelter. I told them I would receive some money through donations, but I would also have a private practice to help offset the costs of the shelter. When they asked me who would pay me (after I spent all my private practice money on the shelter), I said the dogs at the shelter would pay me in love (jokingly, of course). Luckily, they laughed. *whew* 😳

Haha! Doggie love...

Yes I did decide on ISU! I absolutely fell in love with the school, faculty, etc. during my interview... (I doubt I'll get off any wait-lists either).

Did you decide on anywhere yet? (Seemed like you had an awful lot of choices.... )

This may not be a lack of 'love' but an attempt to understand how realistic you are concerning finances and whether you understand some of the conflicts in shelter med with private practice. Saying money isn't important isn't a good enough answer; you have to say how you will handle money (independently wealthy, have looked at the average income post tax for shelter vets and looked at the COL in those areas and calculated my costs including SL debt and after PLIT and such I will still have X for rent, food, luxury.) If they felt you were treating it as a lack of ‘love’ rather than an expression of concern about the perception of reality, they may have been very emphatic about the future realities.

I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers... We definitely discussed the cost of attendance, means of payment, time to pay back student loans, starting salaries etc. (Got these questions directly after the question about shooting feral cats in southern states...😕) Granted I didn't have a spread-sheet with me, I was able to answer these questions because I have looked into it. (Not totally naive).

Since the "there's no money to be made in shelter med," came after discussing my field interests, and just before the "no one actually goes into shelter med after graduation" statement, it felt a more like the interviewers did not value the field (and less like they thought I was underestimating financial realities).

If I have to sacrifice a cruise to Hawaii because I don't make as much as the private practioner, fine (I look silly in a bathing suit anyways). I doubt that shelter vets make sooo little that they can't own a home, a reliable car, and have plenty of dog-food to pass out at dinner time.

 

[sumstorm]

If I have to sacrifice a cruise to Hawaii because I don't make as much as the private practioner, fine (I look silly in a bathing suit anyways). I doubt that shelter vets make sooo little that they can't own a home, a reliable car, and have plenty of dog-food to pass out at dinner time.

I'll assure all the cruise-vacationing Hawaii traveling vets I have met know...oh, wait, that is a very short list of 1! though I do know of at least a half dozen vet students who could/do on thier folks' dimes.

and depends on the shelter vet; the ones in my husband's county and 5 of 6 surrounding counties make -$ (the 6th makes ~$30k). I am sure there are positions out there, but I find it interesting that you think the private practice vets live lives of luxury. Obviously, I am looking at a lower paying field myself.

 

[rugbychick16]

If I have to sacrifice a cruise to Hawaii because I don't make as much as the private practioner, fine (I look silly in a bathing suit anyways). I doubt that shelter vets make sooo little that they can't own a home, a reliable car, and have plenty of dog-food to pass out at dinner time.

....have you actually consulted with shelter vets on their salaries? I as well know no vets that take vacations like this, so I think that is a not well thought out answer, and the couple shelter vets I know have to have other jobs/relief work on the side to supplement their income (aka enough to pay their mortage).

Unless you are aware of some very well paying shelter vet jobs that are not common knowledge, I agree it is not a good choice for someone right out of vet school.

 

[marycatherine]

I
My main goal in life is to own a no-kill shelter that mainly takes in the animals from shelter that are about to be euthanized.

Have you ever worked in a shelter? Not just volunteered a few hours here or there petting the nice cats/dogs, but actually worked and seen more than just what a shelter puts on the floor?

I don't mean to make assumptions or be a pessimist, but every single adult I have met in favor of no-kill has been absolutely ignorant to the real needs of animals and reality of shelter medicine. I think rehabilitation places and sanctuaries are great, but all no-kill shelters I have seen just ship their unadoptable animals out to be euthanized elsewhere-- which I don't think should actually qualify them as "no-kill".

If you actually think you want to own a shelter, you should get a paid job working in a shelter so that you'll actually have a chance to learn what rules and bureaucratic hoops everyone has to jump through on a daily basis. It is a lot tougher than it seems-- and not just for the "you see sad animals!" factor.

 

[marycatherine]

....have you actually consulted with shelter vets on their salaries? I as well know no vets that take vacations like this, so I think that is a not well thought out answer, and the couple shelter vets I know have to have other jobs/relief work on the side to supplement their income (aka enough to pay their mortage).

Unless you are aware of some very well paying shelter vet jobs that are not common knowledge, I agree it is not a good choice for someone right out of vet school.

I agree. At my shelter we don't technically have a vet on staff, but rather rotate through the vets in the area who work in private practices. We have a "vet of the month" every month, who spends a few hours per week walking through the shelter to make sure our animals are doing okay. From that, they get business at their private practice from our adopters so we all help each other out-- however to my knowledge they aren't paid at all for their work at the shelter.

 

[bunnity]

Another shelter med person here.

The whole shelter vet / salary thing depends on location (like everything else). I asked the shelter vet I worked with about this, and she said that shelter vets in western PA making salaries on par with private practice associates. It may be a supply / demand issue, and it may be that the shelters there make their money through a public clinic, and that a good vet is worth the money because of the income they will provide for the shelter. So don't take the salaries for granted either way - do research in the area you want to practice in.

There are many ways to be a vet and involved in shelter med. I'll give you a bunch of examples. The shelter where I currently work has several full-time surgeons. They do spay and neuter (and amputations, and enucleations, and mass removals) all day, every day. They work on both owned animals and shelter animals. There are also clinic doctors that see patients all day. They work on owned animals and pretty much do what a private practice doctor would do. The money they bring in subsidizes the shelter rather than the practice owner, but on a day to day basis their job is that of regular small animal vet. Then there is one vet that works with the shelter animals and does everything from critical care (dogs shot by police etc) to forensic exams on cruelty animals to any routine care that is out of the technicians' scope. She does some surgery too. At the smaller shelter I worked at, the two vets would do a mix of all of the above (minus cruelty work), as well as a little wildlife here and there.

There are also many vets around here that work in private practice but will donate a day here and there to work in surgery or work in the feral cat clinic. I volunteer a little with a rabbit rescue and there are many local vets that do discounted exams and surgery for the rescue - partly it brings them in a high volume of surgery (like multiple animals in a week) and partly it's just out of the goodness of their hearts. There is also a vet nearby that runs a rabbit sanctuary. He does all the medical care for them himself. I'm not sure if he practices on the side as well.

There are so many ways for vets to be involved in shelter medicine, and I wish that more would get involved. I do understand that shelters and rescues are not always the easiest to work with, and that private practice vets often feel threatened by the nonprofit shelter clinic down the street.

In conclusion, get some exposure to the field and go from there!

 

[sumstorm]

The shelter where I currently work has several full-time surgeons. They do spay and neuter (and amputations, and enucleations, and mass removals) all day, every day. They work on both owned animals and shelter animals.

However, that is the other issue, as I mentioed above, that some vets have with shelter med; in some areas the funds (via grants/dontions) generated are then used to undercut the services of private practice vets who are then given grief about being too expensive, not caring, greed, etc EVEN when their price barely covers cost generated by the procedure. And some open admissions shelters also get frustrated with no-kill shelters 'cherry pick' as the OP mentioned. drove us nuts at the shelter I volunteered at; we lost every highly adoptable animal to rescue groups, reducing the ability to even bring in foot traffic, not to mention funds (minimal as they were.)

I am glad that vets want to work with shelters....and be shelter vets, but when people wonder why some ad coms and other vets may not see it as favorably, these are some of the reasons. My husband is a wonderful man, and we support a lot of organizations, but after our last encounter with a humane society (where I received death threats, threats of lawsuits, animals dumped on our property, harrassment...and am still dealing with some of the fall out) I doubt my husband will ever be ok with me working with another one. We have discussed setting up a non-profit in conjunction with the for profit business, but we want to go the other way; we will provide care for the pets of clients who have fallen on hard times or have an unexpected large expense in a highly treatable animal. That is, if I don't get into zoo med, as is my current plan.

 

[GSDgirl]

....have you actually consulted with shelter vets on their salaries? I as well know no vets that take vacations like this, so I think that is a not well thought out answer, and the couple shelter vets I know have to have other jobs/relief work on the side to supplement their income (aka enough to pay their mortage).

Unless you are aware of some very well paying shelter vet jobs that are not common knowledge, I agree it is not a good choice for someone right out of vet school.

Found this pretty easily:
http://jobs.aavmc.org/jobdetail.cfm?job=3301140

Not to say that every position at every shelter with a full-time veterinary team is going to necessarily pay the same... but there are some positions that are well-paying. I agree with bunnity, like everything else, salary is going to vary with location, need, etc.

And, in fact, I do know a vet that is preparing to go on an extended vacation with her husband. (I don't even see how this has become important to this thread. Apparently I'm the only person who doesn't know vets that are living in cardboard boxes and eating ramen noodles).

Sorry to have annoyed some of you--but at the same time, unless you are worried that you will have to help me pay back my student loans (or pay my mortgage), I think you shouldn't worry about what I decide to do after vet school. I'm not the OP looking for advice.

 

[Crazy Hippos]

Haha! Doggie love...

Yes I did decide on ISU! I absolutely fell in love with the school, faculty, etc. during my interview... (I doubt I'll get off any wait-lists either).

Did you decide on anywhere yet? (Seemed like you had an awful lot of choices.... )

I've heard great things about ISU. I'm sure you'll love it there! 😉
I'm about 90% sure I'm going to OSU. I was lucky to have a few choices, but I was rejected by my top 3 schools. LOL.

Sorry OP. Last hijack, I promise!

 

[Minnerbelle]

However, that is the other issue, as I mentioed above, that some vets have with shelter med; in some areas the funds (via grants/dontions) generated are then used to undercut the services of private practice vets who are then given grief about being too expensive, not caring, greed, etc EVEN when their price barely covers cost generated by the procedure. And some open admissions shelters also get frustrated with no-kill shelters 'cherry pick' as the OP mentioned. drove us nuts at the shelter I volunteered at; we lost every highly adoptable animal to rescue groups, reducing the ability to even bring in foot traffic, not to mention funds (minimal as they were.)

So I have a question. How exactly did the "cherry picking" happen at your shelter? Did you just have rescue groups coming in all the time scoping out all the animals, and taking all the highly adoptable ones? Ugh, that would totally piss me off, because a lot of rescue groups have ridiculously high adoption fees that are much much higher than that of the open shelters. Did these rescue groups take the animals after they were spayed/neutered, vaccinated, etc...?

With the open shelter I worked at, I'm pretty sure rescue groups were seen as a valuable resource that we tapped into only when we found animals (esp breed specific) that were not adoptable by our standards, but would be fine with a no-kill rescue.

As for the low-cost spay/neuter, I can see why it can be frustrating for a private practice when clients come in and call the vets greedy... but what's the alternative to that? The shelter I worked at had a policy where spay/neuter for pit bulls (and pit mixes) were not only offered for free, but the owners would actually be paid $10 per animal to get them fixed. It definitely got a ton of irresponsible owners who would otherwise have never fixed their animals to actually come in. We had people who brought us their pretty vicious breeding pits along with their deranged puppies. Even at 3 months of age, these pups were soooo ferocious we needed to control pole them before knocking them out. The mom had to be darted. I can say the world is probably a much better place now that all of those animals were fixed.

at least where i worked, it seemed like the loooong wait list for low cost s/n (you'd have to make appointments 3-4 months in advance at least because the schedule fills up so fast) was a good enough deterrent for anyone who could actually afford to s/n their pets at a private practice to go elsewhere.

 

[sumstorm]

So I have a question. How exactly did the "cherry picking" happen at your shelter? Did you just have rescue groups coming in all the time scoping out all the animals, and taking all the highly adoptable ones? Ugh, that would totally piss me off, because a lot of rescue groups have ridiculously high adoption fees that are much much higher than that of the open shelters. Did these rescue groups take the animals after they were spayed/neutered, vaccinated, etc...?

pretty much scooping - small, cute, friendly 'lap dogs' all taken up the minute they could be 'adopted', often before we could even get them viewed by the public (couldn't advertise them during mandatory holds) but it was before S/N. but get a great beagle or goofy loving lab in or playful corgi, and we can't get any help from the local groups. if they would pull the slightly less adoptable, but amazing dogs I would be fine with it (and if they would return S/N proof with out making us pester them. the breed specific rescues are better (most of the time.)

As for the low-cost spay/neuter, I can see why it can be frustrating for a private practice when clients come in and call the vets greedy... but what's the alternative to that?

at least where i worked, it seemed like the loooong wait list for low cost s/n (you'd have to make appointments 3-4 months in advance at least because the schedule fills up so fast) was a good enough deterrent for anyone who could actually afford to s/n their pets at a private practice to go elsewhere.

I fully admit, I don’t have all the answers. Income limits? Where my husband lives, I dealt routinely with people who were earning 6 figures using the S/N program (6mo wait list) and giving vets massive amounts of grief for their over priced (still under $100) procedures…. And slamming them at every turn, including media reports of how vets were ‘killing pets’ rather than helping them (but lets not mention that the help had to be free.)

Every area is different. Will say that for certain; I found it far easier to work with rescues in the north and Midwest than in the south, particularly the deep south. Then again, until I moved south, I didn’t realize how normal multi-animal gas chamber use is.

 

[sumstorm]

And, in fact, I do know a vet that is preparing to go on an extended vacation with her husband. (I don't even see how this has become important to this thread. Apparently I'm the only person who doesn't know vets that are living in cardboard boxes and eating ramen noodles).

Sorry to have annoyed some of you--but at the same time, unless you are worried that you will have to help me pay back my student loans (or pay my mortgage), I think you shouldn't worry about what I decide to do after vet school. I'm not the OP looking for advice.

it was the comment that I routinely hear from clients 'you horrible greedy vets want all our money for your next ritzy vacation/child’s trust fund/future mansion'. it seemed like you implied that a private practice vet differs from a shelter vet in whether or not they are willing to sacrifice a cruise to Hawaii vacation each year, and that vets who do private practice are money oriented. The reality is that a lot of vets contribute significant funds to taking care of disadvantaged client’s pets, assisting rescue organizations in diagnostics and treatments, and they do it often despite not making enough for the luxury vacation or even the indulgent luxury of owning a cell phone or having internet service. It bothers me when vets perpetuate such stereotypes with comments like that, particularly if you are able to go into shelter medicine and your costs to clients will be subsidized by donations that may come from the same clients who call vets thieves.

Maybe it is very different where you are at. As I said, I know one vet who could afford that…he is also 60 now, and never had a family or a home. I know some vets who are doing great, right out of vet school; they also don’t pay over $1k in student debt each month. But again, my gripe is that type of flippant comment paints vets running clinics in a negative way that isn’t necessary and often isn’t true.

of course, just my opinion, worth the $0.00 paid for it 🙂

 

[GSDgirl]

it was the comment that I routinely hear from clients 'you horrible greedy vets want all our money for your next ritzy vacation/child’s trust fund/future mansion'. it seemed like you implied that a private practice vet differs from a shelter vet in whether or not they are willing to sacrifice a cruise to Hawaii vacation each year, and that vets who do private practice are money oriented. The reality is that a lot of vets contribute significant funds to taking care of disadvantaged client’s pets, assisting rescue organizations in diagnostics and treatments, and they do it often despite not making enough for the luxury vacation or even the indulgent luxury of owning a cell phone or having internet service. It bothers me when vets perpetuate such stereotypes with comments like that, particularly if you are able to go into shelter medicine and your costs to clients will be subsidized by donations that may come from the same clients who call vets thieves.

But again, my gripe is that type of flippant comment paints vets running clinics in a negative way that isn’t necessary and often isn’t true.

Trust me, I was not trying to paint a negative picture of vets in private practice... the WHOLE thing started because I made (apparently a silly comment) about my interview experience at WSU. I don't think vets in private practice are greedy (since when is being paid for your service, greedy? especially when you paid over $100,000 for your education?)

I was simply pointing out that the "norm" for shelter vet compensation is probably lower than that of private practioners. (This isn't always the case... above link is proof.)

Then I made another (apprently silly) comment about how, personally, I'm ok with making less, since shelter med is what I want to pursue. What I was trying to get across is that I'm sure the salaries are enough to support a comfortable life (roof, wheels, food), but that the sacrifices I might be making are in "luxuries." Period. Didn't mean to step on toes. And surely didn't mean to slander other areas of vet med. We definitely need those general practioners!

 

[GSDgirl]

Ok, I hope I don't regret posting this one...

One of the shelters I worked at was a small, private shelter ("no kill," meaning we didn't euthanize for space--but we never needed to, because we never maxed out the facility by carefully controlling intake--one luxury of private shelters).

Most of the animals up for adoption were owner-surrenders without a bite history. (Also had strays deemed adoptable). We did, however, transfer dogs in from another facility. [Hang on a second! Hear me out!]

The facility that we went to was open-admission, but extended FAR beyond their limits. They had a population of ~1,300 animals and only 100 staff members. Dogs were in cat cages, crates lining hallways, and stacked in offices. This shelter had (probably too many) county-contracts, and the first time I visited, almost 10 coyotes in their kennels from a seizure. And an artic fox. (Seriously, where do people get those? And why?) Anyways, most of the dogs never got to leave their kennels (beyond moving for cleaning) and many had clearly mentally deteriorated, probably to point of needing rescue or (unfortunately) euthanasia. [Again, this all happened because the shelter was over-extended! Its not as though the employees there didn't want to take excellent care of the dogs, they just didn't have the time or resources.]

Our operations manager would hand-pick dogs that passed a quick temp test in and around their kennel. While we did take labs and young dogs, we also took a good number of "charity" cases (old dogs, blind dogs, dogs needing tumors removed, etc. who probably didn't have a snow-balls chance in hell at getting adopted there). Incidentally, this shelter did not heartworm test their dogs, so we ended up with a LOT of heartworm dogs too. Once we transferred them to our shelter, we took care of vaccinating them, evaluating them, and covering the cost of their medical care, with the exception of spay/neuter. (Adopters pay a nominal fee for spay/neuter, and animals go for surgery after adoption but before going home).

I'm sure this is very different from your experiences with "cherry-picking" and transferring dogs, but I can tell you that the facility we went to was grateful for the help.

 

[168135]

I know a woman who runs her own rescue and getting money is a constant stress. Fundraiser after fundraiser and when she gets an animal in requiring surgery or is sick, she's still desperate for money. One of her cats ended up with a $700 vet bill and she only managed to raise $141 towards it. There has also been times where she had to pick and choose what came in because she doesn't have the room or money for everything.

When I was in HS, when I volunteered at a shelter, it was something I would have loved to spend the rest of my life doing! I talked to people at a couple of shelters about their jobs, and they are usually underpaid and burned out. The SPCA in our capital has a staff change overhaul every three months or so because of the poor pay. The SPCA that I'm at now, most of the employees have been there for a few years because of the slightly better pay.

I do want to do shelter medicine when I become a vet and hopefully be able to donate some time and resources making visits, doing spay/neuter, ect.

 

[crittergal]

Wow. If the OP wasn't already hesitant or questioning their purpose/direction in life, I think this thread has helped scare them off for good!

 

[rawrcakes]

I am a junior, so i still have a year before i have to really decide. All the non-government run shelters near me are run by a non-profit. The organizations only do(most of the time) the shelter. So thats what i meant by own. 🙂 Lately I have been changing exactly what i wanted to do a lot. So i wanted to know for sure or at least most likely before this summer. So if i would do vetmed, i can save up so finances are not such a big deal, while i am in school. I might do business, but i might not. My dog(and this thread, haha) really pays a huge part. She doesn't really eat when someone isn't home, so that means i would have to maybe bring her to the doggie daycare places, and not have a job. If i do business, then i could just stay and live at my parents all four year, and vetmed only the first 2 pre-vet years. I know for sure if i do decide vetmed, finals week my doggie will have to stay at my parents house. I do know i am most likely volunteering at shelters this summer.
thanks for all the replies though 🙂

 

[sunshinevet]

I am a junior, so i still have a year before i have to really decide. [

No, really, you have many, many years left to decide. This isnt going to happen overnight, and it sounds like you need some serious experience before you even look sideways at making a decision.

All the non-government run shelters near me are run by a non-profit. The organizations only do(most of the time) the shelter. So thats what i meant by own. 🙂 Lately I have been changing exactly what i wanted to do a lot. So i wanted to know for sure or at least most likely before this summer. So if i would do vetmed, i can save up so finances are not such a big deal, while i am in school. I might do business, but i might not. My dog(and this thread, haha) really pays a huge part. She doesn't really eat when someone isn't home, so that means i would have to maybe bring her to the doggie daycare places, and not have a job. If i do business, then i could just stay and live at my parents all four year, and vetmed only the first 2 pre-vet years. I know for sure if i do decide vetmed, finals week my doggie will have to stay at my parents house. I do know i am most likely volunteering at shelters this summer.
thanks for all the replies though 🙂

Its my understanding of the US system that saving up by living with mummy and daddy for a few years isnt going to cover the cost of vet school, and most people do a full 4 year degree before going to vet school? The path isnt as quick as you seem to think it is, and certainly not as easy - you need stellar grades, great shadowing experience, and a really good, driving reason to do it to convince the adcoms to let you in.

To me, it sounds like your dog deperately needs to see a veterinary behaviourist. its just not healthy for a dog to be that needy, and i think he would be much happier once he got some help.