Pre-Vet Without a Pet

[akina]

I'm a pre-vet student at the University of Texas and it's not the best school to be a pre-vet with no experience with animals. (I would transfer to A&M but I'm 2 years away from graduating with 2 degrees unless I study abroad). I don't have a pet because I'm not allowed to have one and I'm away from home so I can't take care of one. I started volunteering at the local shelter in Austin, but I didn't learn much because all I'm allowed to do is to socialize with dogs and cats.

Yesterday I started shadowing a veterinarian for the summer and I get to see stuff I've never seen before, but I still feel less confident about getting into a vet school. Are there people who never had a pet and got accepted to vet school and became a veterinarian?

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[chordy4]

you definitely DO NOT need to have had a pet at some point in your life to get admitted into vet school. you DO, however, need to have obtained diverse experiences with animals, both in the veterinary and non-veterinary fields.

volunteering at a shelter is great even if it is not giving you actual veterinary experience..it will count as animal experience when you apply to vet schools, and also shows your commitment/involvement as it is a non-paid position.
that's great that you started shadowing a vet!!! keep doing that, and try to get some more diversity with your experience, ie. large animal, lab animal, exotics etc.
also, getting some laboratory experience is something schools look favorably at as well...not necessarily relating to animals either.

it sounds like you are well on your way to getting yourself some good experiences that will help you get admitted in the future, just keep it up
(and keep your grades up as well!)

 

[jkq202]

.

 

[Angie09]

It seems like VMCAS actually doesn't even count having a pet as animal experience -- rather, they care about animal experience you have outside your home (with the exception of special cases where people raised service dogs or things like that). I've had pets most of my life, and nowhere in my application did that come up, and it was never asked about or mentioned in any of my interviews.

 

[168135]

I never had a pet until five years ago. I can understand why you are worried. All of the people that I know who want to be vets have grown up with all kinds of animals, work at a vet clinic, did 4-H, ect. I'm trying my hardest not to let it get me down. It has been very frusterating for me to find someone who will let me shadow. The clinic that I used to volunteer at turned me down because they are "overwhelmed with students", even though I need the experience way more than they do. Hopefully I can play that up a little on my application when it comes time for me to apply, because right now between my work and my parents work, I can only get out to the shelter once a week to walk the dogs. My situation is so bad that I have to apply for an internship in the states in order to get my large animal hours in, but hey, if that what it takes...

 

[ckgilabert]

i have a bunch of friends that are pre-vet that do not have pets. They make it up by volunteering at the humane society, vet clinics, and we have farms on campus so they do a lot of activities there. And 2 of my friends joined me with this chicken research that a professor started.

good luck!!! and dont stress about not having a pet... and a good thing about you not having pets is that you'll have more time to study.

 

[ccrose3]

I'm in Austin as well, and previously volunteered for the shelter also, and my advice would be to maybe look into some non-profits to volunteer for (that's what I did, and one of them turned into my current PT paying job). There are plenty of them in Austin, and they usually require very little of a time commitment on your part. You'll also get a lot more veterinary-supervised experience. They do have a feral cat clinic at AHS also, if you have the time to devote to that.

I didn't have a pet until a few years after I moved out. There are other people I know that are vet techs and/or vet students that don't. Like them, I felt like it wasn't fair to an animal for me to have one if I couldn't make the time and monetary commitment. Therefore, a lot of times I think it's a person's love for animals and selflessness that causes them to not have a pet until they're ready.

I wouldn't worry about it. Just concentrate on your experience and go from there.

 

[akina]

Thanks for the advice.
Do you know any good non-profit places where I can volunteer and get "veterinary-supervised"?

 

[akina]

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[akina]

RE:
"aww don't worry about not having a pet! I've had them before, but I haven't had one in a while and I miss having them to come home to! I want to go into equine medicine, but I've never had horses and didn't grow up around them. Last summer I was helping an equine vet and I asked her if she thought I needed to have grown up around horses to understand them well and know their behavior and be a good equine vet. She told me she didn't grow up around them either, never had any of her own, but just really liked them. So no worries there! Just keep trying to get experience with any types of animals at all, as much as you can. But more importantly I think, focus on getting really good grades, because you won't be able to go back to undergrad and change them, whereas you can always work on getting more experience!"

That's true...I guess that's why people kept telling me to keep my grades up.
Thanks! I feel better about my situation.

 

[ccrose3]

Thanks for the advice.
Do you know any good non-profit places where I can volunteer and get "veterinary-supervised"?

Yes the AHS feral cat program is considered veterinary supervised, as is any vet tech position at Emancipet. Wildlife rescue always needs help, and if you get in to the recovery area that fits as well. There's always also shadowing a vet, or trying to get in as a kennel tech or vet tech asst, which can fall under that category at least some of the time, and probably turn into more opportunities. I chose the non-profits because I believe so much in what they do. I didn't have any expectation of getting paid, and would still be there if I wasn't, but it's a nice perk, especially on a student budget! Non-profit is not for everyone, but if you can stick it out it's very rewarding as well as a terrific learning experience - not just medically, but in many other aspects as well.

Hope that helps! Feel free to ask me any other questions. Sorry if I take a little time to respond, I've just been a bit busy these days.

 

[ccrose3]

I'm a pre-vet student at the University of Texas and it's not the best school to be a pre-vet with no experience with animals. (I would transfer to A&M but I'm 2 years away from graduating with 2 degrees unless I study abroad). I don't have a pet because I'm not allowed to have one and I'm away from home so I can't take care of one. I started volunteering at the local shelter in Austin, but I didn't learn much because all I'm allowed to do is to socialize with dogs and cats.

Yesterday I started shadowing a veterinarian for the summer and I get to see stuff I've never seen before, but I still feel less confident about getting into a vet school. Are there people who never had a pet and got accepted to vet school and became a veterinarian?

Oops, I forgot you already mentioned you shadowed. Also, have you looked into UT's pre-vet club? Another vet student sent me the link; I'll see if I can find it for you if you're not already familiar. I wasn't allowed to participate in it when taking classes at UT b/c I wasn't technically a full-fledged UT student - I was taking evening classes through University Extension (even though I pay the same tuition, follow the same curriculum in less time, am taught by the same instructors, get UT credit, etc. ... but whatever.)

 

[akina]

Oops, I forgot you already mentioned you shadowed. Also, have you looked into UT's pre-vet club? Another vet student sent me the link; I'll see if I can find it for you if you're not already familiar. I wasn't allowed to participate in it when taking classes at UT b/c I wasn't technically a full-fledged UT student - I was taking evening classes through University Extension (even though I pay the same tuition, follow the same curriculum in less time, am taught by the same instructors, get UT credit, etc. ... but whatever.)

Yeah, I'm in the pre-vet club but I don't go to much of their meetings due to conflicts with other meetings and classes.

Thanks for your help!

 

[thesonofdarwin]

It can be a good thing not having a pet while in undergrad. It can be tough, and it's always more expensive, to find a place that'll let you take your pet(s) with you. I accumulated 5 cats and a dog over the past 12 years volunteering and working at SPCA. It took me almost two months, a lot of negotiating, and references from my veterinarian to find a place that'd let me bring them. Since she's 13 and more a family dog, the dog will be staying at home since she is likely to pass away before I graduate and I want her to be happy and comfortable until then rather than in... Philly. But, if need be, she can move down with me in a heartbeat. Good luck finding a great apartment that'll let you do that (It's doable, obviously)

If you don't have one already I'd wait until after your settled at veterinary school! Shelter experience is good experience. You can learn a lot about behavior and a veterinarian's role in relation to local shelters.

 

[DVMorBust]

I think the main benefit of owning a pet as a pre-vet (or pre-pre-vet, or growing up) isn't necessarily dependent on having the pet - plain and simple, it puts you in more situations to branch out into animal-related fields. You get to know other pet owners, who may have connections to rescues or other organizations. You see your animal's vet all the time - which can lead to conversations that end up in shadowing experiences.

Fact of the matter is, there isn't any reason you CAN'T get the experience you would (daily care and maintenance notwithstanding - which most vet schools don't count for much anyways...) - it just makes it easier to break the ice.

You sound like you're doing fine without one, though, and pursuing a lot of those opportunities without that connection, so I wouldn't worry about whether owning a pet or not is a defining factor in and of itself.

 

[akina]

I think the main benefit of owning a pet as a pre-vet (or pre-pre-vet, or growing up) isn't necessarily dependent on having the pet - plain and simple, it puts you in more situations to branch out into animal-related fields. You get to know other pet owners, who may have connections to rescues or other organizations. You see your animal's vet all the time - which can lead to conversations that end up in shadowing experiences.

Fact of the matter is, there isn't any reason you CAN'T get the experience you would (daily care and maintenance notwithstanding - which most vet schools don't count for much anyways...) - it just makes it easier to break the ice.

You sound like you're doing fine without one, though, and pursuing a lot of those opportunities without that connection, so I wouldn't worry about whether owning a pet or not is a defining factor in and of itself.

Yes, I agree. It's hard to break the ice with the veterinarians and pet owners at the animal hospital. I've never owned a dog or cat, so I have no idea what breeds there are and their behaviorisms. And there are so many terms that I haven't even heard of like DHPP, hemangiosarcoma, etc. But I'm learning a lot from shadowing the veterinarians.