when did you know you wanted to be a vet?

[sunnex3]

so i've always wanted to hear how all of you got interested in vet med.

personally, i don't even remember when i started wanting to be a vet. apparently, according to my mom, when i was like 3 or 4 i would tell her i wanted to be a "animal doctor" when i was older and take care of them. and i haven't thought of anything else since.

but i know that some of you realized later in the game, and i want to hear some stories about how you realized your dreams

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[DocDVMD]

When I was young I loved animals and all my relatives told me I should become a vet, but I had my heart set on becoming a video game designer It wasn't until the end of middle school that I figured out that I would really love to go into vet med!

 

[Trilt]

I never wanted to be a vet. I spent my entire life completely undecided as to what I was going to do with myself. Come time for college applications, I still had no clue what I was doing, though I was gravitating toward some sort of medical field.

I actually filled out my first college application with med school as my final goal.

Then I managed to wander onto NC State's CVM web page. The first time I read through it, I dismissed the idea of veterinary school. Then I came back, and read it again. And again. Soon I was researching the time commitment, GPA requirements, salaries, typical week, different specialties... that's when I ended up here.

I haven't worked at a clinic yet, so who knows? My goal may completely change at any point. However, right now vet med is a wonderful goal to ensure I maintain the highest standards in school and work. I don't really know how to explain it, but the profession (or at least, the large amount I've learned about it) really clicks well with me. Sort of like solving a math problem and just knowing you managed to get the right answer.

</long ramble>

 

[chyactnate]

When I was young like 6 or 7. My mom is a racehorse trainer and she bought me one of the barbie horses, so instead of playing with it, I would bandage it. I made my own bandages and would tell my mom what was wrong with it at that point and time..Lol...I know I was a weird child. I would put poultices on it, have polo wraps, standing wraps, anything that had to do with legs, I guess that is how I became interested in doing sports medicine too. I still have that horse to this day and I am 23.

 

[aspiringDVM]

When I was young like 6 or 7. My mom is a racehorse trainer and she bought me one of the barbie horses, so instead of playing with it, I would bandage it. I made my own bandages and would tell my mom what was wrong with it at that point and time..Lol...I know I was a weird child. I would put poultices on it, have polo wraps, standing wraps, anything that had to do with legs, I guess that is how I became interested in doing sports medicine too. I still have that horse to this day and I am 23.

LOL, I think the only Barbie I ever owned was "pet doctor barbie." I was way more interested in the little dog and cat that came with her than the actual doll

 

[tpad40]

I would put poultices on it, have polo wraps, standing wraps, anything that had to do with legs, I guess that is how I became interested in doing sports medicine too.

Hehe...me too. All of my Breyer horses had some type of bandages on them and every notebook from school has horse legs drawn all over them (the only part of a horse I am good at drawing). We're a weird type here...

I have always been an animal nut since I was little. I used to ride my pony to school, smuggled my dog into every dorm room since high school (got busted a couple times...), and had many many odd pets despite my parents disapproval. But in school I was always a whiz at math/comp sci so I kind of explored that route for a while and then explored the pre-med route for a while. I still sometimes wonder if I could be making a nice fat salary working as an analyst somewhere...but I would be miserable.

I think the first summer working for a mid-size ambulatory equine clinic was when I really got focused. It was the feeling that there was nothing I'd rather be doing than being at work, even if it was rainy and 7:30pm and I was being head-butted by an obnoxious horse. I just truly loved my job and knew that it would be something I'd be really happy doing for the rest of my life. Especially for an equine vet, it is an entire lifestyle you are going into, not just a career.

I decided to take a year after college to strengthen my app and explore another side of equine medicine (working in a referral hospital as overnight technician) and also get some small animal experience. I have never worked so hard (or been so tired) but it has definitely confirmed to me that this is the right choice. Even on nights like tonight where we have a horse spontaneously refluxing foul foul smelling nastiness and the smell permanently stays with me (and I have a bad bad sense of smell, another reason why vet med is right for me).

</another long ramble/time killing>

 

[sunnex3]

aww i love hearing about how much we love all the disgusting parts of vet med

when i first started working at the practice that i work at now, we had a couple puppies that came in COVERED and i mean COVERED From head to toe in ticks...and me and a couple other techs/vets just stood there for 1-2 hours pulling off ticks with tweezers..now keep in mind i HATE HATE HATE creepy crawly things, and i just stood there, pulling off these live ticks...that's when i seriously confirmed to myself that i wanted to do vet med, haha. that was a defining moment (that i can remember at least)

 

[sumstorm]

My mother has a photo of me as a young toddler handing off my baby bottle to a new born calf because I was sure it needed it more than I did (we bottle fed some calves each year.) Oddly enough, I couldn't stomach cow milk, so my bottle was full of goat milk. She has photos of me helping in the kennels at 7 and up, and of a poster I did at 9 on emergency care for dogs. I actually fought my way away from vet med for a long time...the education wouldn't fit into my life, and I never wanted to be a tech for the rest of my life. However, I worked in jobs that required working with vets, particularly in zoos and research, and that was always my favorite part.... figuring out what was wrong, speaking with the 'experts' in a given species, figuring out how to treat and prevent in the future. However, when I was about on the edge of applying, Rita set a tree through my house, so I moved for work in NJ (no vet school), life became busy and I was working out to sea, which makes apps pretty impossible...then a 1 year stint in NY. Then hubby asked me to move to the carolinas for his career. I said I would, but only if I could take the time off to go to vet school. About a year and a half later now, and I have applied and am accepted. When I look back over my career, it seems obvious that everything in it was funneling me to vet med.

 

[1Vista1Grey]

and every notebook from school has horse legs drawn all over them (the only part of a horse I am good at drawing). >

Me too!!! From the top of the cannon bone through the toe... thats all I would draw, over and over..


My first word was "dig dog" after my Golden Digger. I remember everyday the three of us would walk my sister to school and I would pitch a fit if we didnt stop to see the appaloosa that lived next to the cemetary on our way back. Growing up my mother could never keep tabs on me so either Digger or later our border collie mix Holly would be my babysitter as I went running through the 40 acres of conservation land behind my house. There we would collect frogs, salamanders (before they were endangered), newts, snakes.... you name it.. (I was also making teepees and campfires.. Oh if my mother only knew)

I dont really remember when I decided on veterinarian, but when I got to highschool I developed an attitude and figured vet school was too much work, "F-that, Ill be a horse trainer".. So I coasted through high school, doing more riding than homework and applied to Universities with Equine programs. BUT, during my senior year I took AP Biology (for fun) and aced it. I loved it... thats when I figured out that I didnt just love animals, I loved science, and I didnt want to be a farmer for the rest of my life. So luckily, one of the schools I got into ended up having a Pre-Vet program to whip me into shape. It took a while to get rid of my attitude, but I graduated on time with a double major in Wildlife Management and Pre-vet with a minor in CHemistry.. so much for that equine studies major..

 

[aretoo]

haha, funny story. So I don't remember 'when' I wanted to be a vet either, I just have, for as long as I can remember. Anyway, I was going through my old schoolwork last night, and I found a thing I wrote in maybe grade 7 saying that I've wanted to be a vet ever since my favourite pony colicked and needed surgery. I honestly didn't remember that, lol!! But I would have been 8 or 9 when that happened, I think.

 

[cozycleo]

I came in later in the game. My lifelong dream hasn't always been to be a vet, but I did always want to do something animal related. When I was a kid I was always crazy about fields like marine biology (when I was living in South Dakota of course), animal training, things like that. I probably would have stayed on that track if I hadn't spent my teenage years wrapped up in boys, booze and having fun. I still got damn good grades in high school, but my motivation changed and I just did what I had to in order to get an office job. 8 years later I was unhappy and lacked passion for anything I was doing. Now I never want to be chained to a desk again for 8 hours a day.

I didn't entertain the vet med idea again until I got so depressed at work and my husband brought it up. I started looking into it. I admit I didn't know that much about the industry. I knew it wasn't all puppies and kittens, but I had no idea just how broad the field truly is. When I found out I could get involved in things like zoonotic diseases, surgery, food animal health, research, etc. I got more and more interested. I have no desire to run my own practice, but I know that I want to do something worthwhile and help people. This is the one area where I can help people and animals at the same time. I love it!

Now that chem is starting to make sense again, and I'm finding random ways to gain experience, I'm finally feeling like I'm on a good path. It just feels more right than law ever did.

 

[guppy73]

LOL, I think the only Barbie I ever owned was "pet doctor barbie." I was way more interested in the little dog and cat that came with her than the actual doll

I liked Strawberry Shortcake dolls for the same reason--and they smelled really nice.

Other than that, I really didn't have many dolls; I had stuffed animals instead. (Drove my Mom nuts, because I was the only daughter.) My brother used to literally beat the stuffing out of his, so I'd steal them, fix them up, and let them "recover" in the medical ward I'd set up in my bedroom.

And when I'd play house with my friends, I never wanted to be the Mommy or the baby--I wanted to be the family sheepdog.

 

[sunnex3]

oh my gosh i had SO many stuffed animals - i still do!
when i was in middle school, me and my sister would play with the Beanie Baby animals that were really big at the time -- we would make the animals talk and have families...we had so much fun!

good times!

 

[clairbear]

I've wanted to be a vet since I was six when we took our puppy to the vet. The puppy peed on the vet's coat, but I decided that I wanted to help the animals. I was one of those weird kids that after school would either hurry outside to pet the animals or I would watch Animal Planet (e-vets or some dog show). Since then, I have somewhat considered other things like being a zoo keeper or a human doctor, but a couple months ago I realized I would be dissapointed if I didn't become a vet more so than anything else. I also have volunteered at a vets for about a year and a half and I know I would miss it. Since I'm only graduating high school this year, I hope I can keep focus on that throughout college.

 

[GellaBella]

I'm kind of a late-comer to the veterinary profession.

My family has always had animals - potbellied pigs, pygmy goats, ducks, chickens, etc. But I never really considered vet med as an option.

When I was in college, I started off majoring in foreign languages, but after seeing some friends with their bio books open in front of them, I decided to take som bio/chem courses. I became interested in veterinary medicine briefly but then, a not phenomenal GPA made me think it was impossible, that coupled with an interest in research led me to do a PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Then my fiance got me a rabbit for valentines day the first year we were dating. This was the sweetest, most lovable, most loving rabbit in the world. Also the sickest rabbit in the world. Malocclusions, facial abcesses..my poor baby girl. She tolerated the shots and nebulizing and everything else we put her through and died following a terrible episode of GI stasis.

I remember my fiance and I were in the exam room, speaking with the doctor and we both just looked at each other and it just clicked in our heads. We left the room and my fiance was like "I think you should be a veterinarian" which is exactly what I was thinking.

I'll be applying this fall for the first time.

 

[DVMorBust]

Veterinary Medicine is something I always came back to, but I definitely strayed from a straight path on numerous occasions.

When I was really young, I wanted to be a vet because I loved animals. Then I learned how to ride, and I was going to be a professional rider, no ifs, ands, or buts. During high school, I spent every free minute at the barn, neglecting schoolwork, and thus came away with the idea that science was too hard (which it wasn't, I just hadn't actually...you know...studied at all).

Went to college, totally unfocused. I studied film. Then I took a pre-req. Then I studied English. Then I took a pre-req. Then I settled into a Linguistics degree. I just kept wimping out - even though the science courses I did take I got good grades in, I couldn't get it through my head that I was actually smart enough to go to vet school.

Then I knew I had to give it a shot, otherwise I'd always have that regret. So I went back to do the prereqs, and discovered that I actually LOVE science. I just needed to immerse myself in it completely to convince myself I could do it.

 

[Thunderbunny]

Ever since I was a kid, I didn't want to be anything BUT a vet. All of my books were about animals, and it seemed like every couple of months I got a new pet. It always happened the same way, I would research the animal I wanted, make a little poster about it, and do a presentation for my mother, including reasons why she should let me get the animal, lol.

I went through a phase in late high school where I didn't want to be a vet anymore, and had some other ideas:

CIA agent
Rockette
computer/network technician
sniper (waaaaay to many video games/movies)
professional bellydancer
Disney Princess actress at Disney World

Now I realize that what my 8-year old self wanted to be, is also what my 22 year old self wants to be. I don't really see myself as a sniper anyway

 

[canis13]

i had no idea that i wanted to be a vet when i was little - i think i actually wanted to be a doctor for a while, or at least that was my answer to people's question of "what do you want to be when you grow up?" as i really had no idea.
i got a job the summer before i started college as a kennel tech, and continued working in the kennel over winter break, and the next summer. at the end of my 2nd summer, i started to entertain the notion of being a vet. i spent my sophomore year briefly thinking about it, but not really pursuing it (which lead me into declaring myself a psych major and not a bio major, because i was scared of all the hard science courses). then i decided i didn't have a better idea of what i wanted to do with my life, and that vet med had been the best idea so far.

i figure that if a job scooping poop can get me interested in a career...then it must really be a career that i will enjoy. the more involved i get in shadowing and reading books about veterinarians (unfortunately haven't been able to land a vet asst/vet tech position, but i'm still trying), the more i like it.

 

[Skillet9886]

I have NO idea. I never even really thought about when/why I decided I wanted to be a vet until I had to sit down to write my personal statement! I actually called my mom and asked if there was any story or anything. You know, there are always those stories about people whose puppies were about to die, and the vet saved him and was so inspirational and and and. I had gerbils and parakeets when I was little, so I don't think I ever even saw a vet until I got my cat in first grade, and by that time I had definitely decided. Anyway, she said that when I was about 3, I asked who takes care of animals, and she said a veterinarian, and I said "Well then that's what I'm going to be." I used to joke with people that I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian before I could pronounce it.

I think I've just always been more tuned in to animals than anything else. I was in Universal Studios this past weekend with my mom, and we went to see some animal show that they have, and as soon as we walked onto the set, I recounted pretty much everything that they did in the show, having seen it once when I was 14. It used to be sponsored by Animal Planet, and I can remember being so excited to go see the Animal Planet show at Universal. While we were waiting for the show to start, we were talking about my strange ability to remember animals (applies to cases at work now, too). I can't remember any of my neighbors from the house we lived in when I was little, but I remember all of their pets. Even family friends who I haven't seen since I was three, I can clearly remember their pets and all of their names. I also recalled this weekend that I would watch "Wild On Discovery" every night after dinner, since it aired from 8-9. No one else in my family was interested, so I would have to watch it on the TV in my room. And I have a very vivid memory of when I found out we'd be getting Animal Planet. I was practically counting down the days. Sorry....longer and more random than I intended.

Anyone else have crazy animal-centric memories? I feel like it's just how my brain is wired...

 

[feadog]

My story is pretty uneventful! Vet medicine seemed like a career that fit my interests well, so I started volunteering at a shelter in high school. After a year, I was moved from adoptions to the medical center and I haven't looked back.

I may have known much earlier, though. When I was 2-3 and watching Mister Rogers', I used to worry about his fish if he didn't feed them on a particular episode! That was always the part of the show I paid most attention to

 

[LadyHitokiri]

Very young...I wanted to be a mail carrier when I was 5 or something (who wouldn't? ) then at age 6 I knew I wanted to be a vet or an author, and I've still had an interest in writing which is something I can do on the side (write vet-related articles, vet med books, etc.). But anyway, there wasn't any dramatic event that caused me to want to be a veterinarian. I just always had compassion for animals, and that was the first thing I learned about. Of course, later on I learned that it involved science and people-skills and all that jazz, which only made me fall in love with the profession even more. I still made sure it was the career for me, by attending a pre-vet camp in high school where I went around shadowing a zoo vet, large animal vet, small animal vet, and wildlife vet, and by attending vet med lectures at the local humane society. Of course, I got more experience later on, but that's sorta how I started out. ^__^

 

[swinks]

I've wanted to go into veterinary medicine for as long as I can remember...since I was a kid.

I grew up on a dairy farm, so was always around hundreds of animals.

Since the first time I stuck my hand inside a cow, its pretty much been in there on at least a regular basis ever since.

I will be happy as a pig in **** with an occupation that allows me to live the rest of my adult years with my hand stuck inside some kind of large mammal. That would make me very happy.

 

[Daniiela]

I honestly can't even remember and like some my parents were the ones with a better answer to this apparently since I wanted to be a vet since I was able to talk and comprehend television. And since then I've always known this is what I wanted but when I got my first job at an animal clinic as an uncertified vet tech. it confirmed my ambitions and now I’m working my butt off to accomplish what I believe I was put on this earth to do.

 

[TSUJC]

I think it is something that I have always known.

When I was about 5 years old I saw a homeless women with a dog and a cat (in a carrier) pushing a shopping cart down the street. I really liked that she got to keep her animals with her all day so I asked my mom who that lady was...mom responded by telling me that was a "bag lady". So for the next few years I told everyone I wanted to be a bag lady when I grew up! In reality I wanted to work with animals but was a little confused!

 

[BR549]

I don't remember not wanting to be a vet. For me, it just seemed right. I always had a natural affinity for animals and I guess I became aware of this when Bumpy, a foster doe, got really sick. My mom and I (about 5ish) did all we could do for her. She pulled through. I just remember a since of satisfaction and accomplishment (not that I had done much, I just made sure she had clean water and feed everyday). My mom said she never had to teach me how to hold a baby chick without squishing it or anything like manner. It was just natural. I love people, but I'm happiest when I am surrounded by animals.

Also, I never played with GI Joes or any traditional boy-toys. I had farm animals. My friend and I would set-up farms, sale cows (auction), build barns, and trade. We would rearrange furniture into shoots and pretend we were cows going through an auction. We would even get down on all fours in the pastures with the cows and pretend we were cows, licking on the salt blocks the cows had already enjoyed! Those were the days!

 

[scb44f]

I'm always interested in how people got to where they are today, so sorry for bringing an old thread back to life!

When I was about 3 or 4, I told my mom I was going to be a "bug vet". She told me, "No one's going to want you to fix their broken bugs."

The vet school idea was in my head all through high school, but when I applied to college, I thought I might like the pharmaceutical side of things so I went for chemical engineering. A year after starting my degree, I jumped to human medicine, and finally I realized I belonged right where I thought I did when I was a kid.

 

[lalzi22]

4th grade. Our teachers asked us what we wanted to be, and this is pretty much all I could think about. A couple moments solidified it for me- when my dog was run over and died, when we found out another dog of mine had seizures and when I went to a summer program at Tufts. All of it made me want to be a vet, but I've always felt that this is where my heart is.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Since I was a little kid. I was always jealous of my friends who were allowed to have pets. My parents did not get me a cat until I was 12 years old and I had been begging forever.

I went through different phases as I grew up though. Changed my mind from small animal to wild life to research to public/corporate and lab animal. Interesting journey.

I wish I had more LA experience, it is so hard to get unless you know you want to go to LA right away to get experience early or you grew up on a farm. I do love working with LA but i haven't had enough time with them to consider going in that direction. I also feel like I will always be behind someone who grew up with large animals.

 

[HopefulAg]

I suppose that'd be when I was 8 or so and learned that there even WERE veterinarians (though I couldn't pronounce, much less spell, the word at the time). Up til then I just assumed that human doctors took care of animals as well. Parents took me in to get Sheeba examined and I saw all the cool stuff the vets got to 'play' with (I was ridiculously impressed by the centrifuge) and decided "I'm gonna be a vet".

Just so happens that my little 8-year-old mind knew what it was talking about. And the centrifuge is still my favorite lab equipment. *whiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr(d)*

 

[Whyevernot55]

Actually, I didn't really know until my senior year of college (whoops, English degree).
Apparently everyone who knew me was sure that was what I was meant to do all along, but I didn't have a clue. I mean sure, I grew up with pets, started riding horses when I was 8, and loved animals all my life. But it wasn't until I was riding with my equine vet that I realized how much I loved it. Actually, the day it started to occur to me was when we did a necropsy on a Belgian mare after she died of Rumacin poisoning in a field behind an Amish farm. Strange, huh?

 

[SocialStigma]

I was 8. Was outside playing in the summer when I found a yellow butterfly on the windowsill, it wouldn't fly away. I figured it's wings were "broken" and decided to "heal" it haha.

I looked up on the internet what to feed butterflies and all that, used doll bowls to feed it sugar water and let it fly around my bedroom. When I went to school for the day, I would close my bedroom door and let it roam/fly around freely. After 2 weeks, I decided that it was "healed" and said a teary goodbye because I decided that it must miss it's family.

Sugar was my first "pet" and since then I've wanted to help animals.

 

[causticus]

Thanks for bringing this thread back to life - I love these stories!

Mine is kind of a mish-mash of a lot of other people's stories. I knew I wanted to work with animals when I was very very young. My dad was a high school Biology teacher, who was always bringing various animals into the house. Mostly not-very-girly things like snakes and mantises and mice...which could explain why I turned into such a tomboy. I never had Barbies - but I had a ridiculous amount of Pound Puppies (anyone remember those??) that I would dress up and play with. Also a big fan of the "Littlest Pet Shop" toys back when they were still cool - I remember making an animal hospital for them out of cardboard, complete with a CAT scan (I was about 8 years old and thought this was terribly clever) from a toilet paper tube. My earliest "vet revelation" that I remember was when my budgie, Steve came down with some respiratory funk, and I took him to the only vet in town who would see avians. He held the tiny bird up to his ear to listen to his lungs, and while watching him it just dawned on me, like, "Oh my god this is an actual career?? I must do this!"

When I got a little older (high school to early college) and started to realize how much it took to be a vet other than just loving animals, I started to doubt myself. The time, committment and intelligence necessary...I didn't think I had it in me, so I looked at things like graphic arts, marketing, forensic sciences, etc. I never really experienced a passion for these things - I just thought of them as things I "could" do to make a living.

I came back to vet med by degrees. In my senior year of high school, I took A&P at the local college, and absolutely fell in love with science on a deep level. I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I knew it had to be science/medicine related.

I transferred to A&M halfway through my undergraduate career...this was the first place I had been anywhere near a vet school, and it just kind of hit me like a brick that this was what I wanted/needed to do with my life. Honestly, when I think back, it's the only thing I have ever been able to really picture myself doing.

I hope this thread stays "revived" for awhile - I love reading these. It's amazing how many similarities there are!

 

[DVMDream]

I was about 6 when I first decided I wanted to be a vet....I think it had something to do with me watching 101 Dalmatians repeatedly . I further realized I wanted to be a vet after a saved a baby bird from drowning in our pool, and after I did a summer camp at the humane society that was geared towards kids who wanted to be a vet. So being a vet has been my life-long dream.

 

[sirbuckie]

Hmm.. I was 22 (last year) and interning at a hospital to become a nurse. I was feeding breakfast to a patient who kept falling asleep and I was bored out of my mind. I suddenly had a random thought about being outdoors and feeding animals instead. When I got home, I researched the veterinarian occupation and found out you don't have to work with just SA. Now I know I want to be a wildlife vet and it's such a relief to know what I am truely passionate about!

 

[Coquette22]

I'm a late comer. I went through all of high school determined to go into writing. Did a year of a BArts at university, realized I was never getting a job with it, and dropped it. I had spent a ton of time at my riding stables, and knew I wanted to do something with animals. Applied to (and got rejected from) Equine Science at Olds College in Alberta. Saw an ad for a Vet Assistant program at a local career college and did that. Loved being in the hospital, loved the medical aspect of it. When I was talking to my vet to see if I could do my work placement with her, she flat out asked me why I wanted to be an assistant and why I didn't just decided to be a vet. Finished the year at the college, and knew by the end of it that cleaning kennels and instruments for barely minimum wage wasn't how I wanted to spend my life. So, made the decision to go for my DVM! I finally feel like this is where I should be in life.

 

[katryn]

I'm in the "always wanted to" crowd. Started saying I wanted to be a vet when I was four, and got all the way through high school without really considering anything else. I went through a brief period where I considered other things like veterinary social work, forensics, or public health. Then came to the conclusion that social work would lack the medicine aspects, and the other two I would still want to do the vet concentration of....which would require me to go to vet school anyway.

 

[Wolphcats]

I had two turns at wanting to be a vet. I wanted to be a vet since I was 8. Nothing particularly stood out that made me want to be a vet. In high school I decided I wanted to be a field marine biologist. A tragic accident happened to me, and I could no longer scuba dive without causing an air embolism... making the thought of being a field marine biologist very grim. In my freshman year of college, a friend of mine got into volunteering at a whale hospital. Watching the vet work restored my goals of being a vet.

 

[HandD42]

I don't have a single great moment although when I was young I would play endless variations of 'pet store' where I would set out all my stuffed animals in the basement (in pleasing arrangements) and beg anyone willing to come shop in my 'pet store' and pick out a pet.

I always knew I wanted to go into science but wavered between environmental science, pre-med, pre-vet etc. It wasn't until I sat in my college physiology course that I knew animal biology/medicine was for me. I was so blown away by how complex and interrelated the systems of body were that I knew I wanted to be involved in the study of medicine in some way.

Of course it would take me an additional 8 years (give or take) and for horses to come into my life to finally put it all together. I finally figured out that the only thing I am passionate about enough to go back to school after all this time is veterinary medicine. Of course if you ask family, friends or co-workers they would have all said I would end up a vet (god willing of course) but I wanted to be 100% sure before applying.

 

[Myotis]

Well, it started more with a love for animals. My parents took me to the zoo when I was six days old, and they think I imprinted on the animals or something lol, because animals were ALWAYS on my mind. I started horseback riding when I was little, fell in love with that, and wanted to be a farmer (this was when I was about 6). Then, I saw the show E-vets on animal planet, and I decided that I wanted to be a vet. But then I saw the crocodile hunter for the first time and I decided I wanted to be a wildlife biologist. Deep down, I always wanted to be a vet I think, but I was interested in just about any career that would allow me to work with animals. In high school I gave up on being a vet because I didn't think I was smart enough, so I decided I wanted to be a marine biologist, then a horse trainer, then a parasitologist (I know, I'm weird), then, out of the clear blue, I wanted to be a criminal psychologist specializing in serial killers....

Anyhow, when I was a junior in high school I started working as a kennel assistant at a vet hospital and I LOVED it! I loved being in the hospital, I didn't care is I was scraping nasty poo, blood, and vomit off of the walls, I loved it. I still didn't think I was smart enough to be a vet, but I loved it. So, when it came time for me to apply for college, I applied to two schools (thinking back on it, I wish I applied to more, but it's too late now) for wildlife biology. I ended up going to my in state school because it was cheaper and has a stellar wildlife program. After my first semester and getting a B- in a chem class, I thought I really wasn't smart enough for vet school. Then I took biology, and loved it, and did really well, and I realized that it was just chemistry that I couldn't wrap my head around. So I once again entertained the idea of vet school. Two more science classes later (zoology and botany) and I decided that I could do it, so I started completing pre-reqs and that's where I'm at now. I think deep down I always knew I wanted to be a vet, I just didn't believe in myself.

 

[KPJoos]

I grew up with many different pets and have always been thankful that my parents allowed me those experiences. I have loved animals since I was very young and after discovering that the job of veterinarian existed I always told everyone that was what I was going to do as an adult. I had Pound Puppies and Kitties and any other animal toy I could find, and came home to play outside with my brother and catch anything I could locate in the water or on land &#8211; turtles, frogs, etc. while growing up on our "tree farm" &#8211; 100+ acres enrolled in a conservation program including a 7 acre lake behind our house and a stream that flows through the woods. Don't worry &#8211; I would always let anything I caught go after observing whatever it was for a few days &#8211; at first I would cry my eyes out when my Dad would make me let the animal go, but I came to understand that the animal would be happiest in its natural home and eventually let them go without being told. J

Whenever one of our outdoor cats would bring back a wild baby rabbit I would always do my best to "fix" him or her, but often he/she would die and we would have a little bunny funeral. I always felt that vet med was right for me, but as a senior in high school I was told that if I didn't go to my in-state school for undergrad, I would never get into vet med. I visited the school and didn't feel comfortable, and fell in love with a different school that we visited on the way home that same day. I was told every myth on the planet; I was even told that if I got straight A's and lots of experience I still may not get into vet school. I was terrified that I would end up with a degree that I couldn't use, so I decided on a different path. I have always loved science and math &#8211; my two favorite subjects since grade school, so I decided to become a high school science teacher.

I have always had this desire to become a vet, and knew after working as a teacher for two years (I heard the first year would be the worst, so I gave it another year and still felt the same) that teaching wasn't for me &#8211; it isn't the students but just the job in general. I love working with people, but I also desired to work in science &#8211; using lab techniques and answering science problems on an advanced level. I decided to go to school to get my MS degree in Biology and eventually work in research (obtaining my MS while continuing to teach &#8211; summers off allowed me more time for research), but during a long battle with a pet with cancer I discovered what I've always really known &#8211; vet med is the one career that offers everything I want. I absolutely loved the medicine and the science involved in the field, and I remember my veterinarian saying to me one day "you should be a vet," - after feeling the same way and wanting it for so long, I decided to really look into the profession (I wish I had done so sooner, but "better late than never!"). I met with the assistant dean and admissions counselors at my in-state school and have been on the path ever since. I had a few courses to take and needed to gain experience, but I have enjoyed all of those experiences and always look forward to the next one. I finally feel that I am working toward what I was truly meant to do! J

 

[that70sfan11]

It definitely started as a love for nature and animals when I was a kid. I was always in the backyard looking for new pets. And even though I wanted to be a vet, for some reason, I was determined not to be one. The reason (it's really stupid haha) because I had another friend who wanted to be a vet, and I wanted my own passion.

So I would dilly dally between various fields.... ship captain (yes I know), meteorologist (I'm from Oklahoma and I love severe weather) etc. and although I always loved animals and science I just wanted to be different!

Finally in college I decided to take myself seriously and majored in zoology and eventually shadowed a vet my junior year. best decision of my life.

 

[Magical Realist]

I knew I wanted to be "an animal doctor" by the time I was 6 years old. I also wanted to be an artist and write books, and my favorite subjects as a kid were art and science (especially anything involving animals or insects).

But by my freshman year in high school, I had serious problems with math--I just didn't get it, even with extra help and tutoring. I also had attention problems, and trouble with keeping things organized, which didn't help. It was also a turbulent time for my family, and I was going through that godawful teenage hormonal surge. So between falling behind in math (and deciding I was just no good at it) and being so emotionally cranked up all the time, I decided I wasn't smart or tough enough to be a vet. I did get plenty of encouragement to be an artist, however, so that's what I did.

I'm 42, and have never stopped wishing I could be a vet. In my 30s, I earned a BA in history and anthropology, and got accepted to grad school for history--only to decide I didn't want to be an academic. And while I'm more than good enough as an artist to make a living at it, I really don't want to, because painting for money sucks all the fun out of it.

Since last April, I've been caring for a chronically ill cat. One of his new nicknames is Mr. Murphy, because anything that can go wrong with a cat seems to go wrong with him; he has a laundry list of ailments, including stage 4 CRF and IBS. When he was first dx'ed with CRF, I had no idea if I could handle managing his illness or not. Ten months later, not only is he doing extremely well, but I feel perfectly confident that I can handle anything else that comes up.

Recently, a couple of the techs at my vet's joked that I should just give up and join their ranks, as I've already learned so much from nursing this one poor guy--and I seriously considered it. I looked into the nearest tech program and thought, "I could definitely handle that!" But as I looked into being a tech, I realized that what I still really wanted to be, more than anything, was a vet.

In order to become a vet, however, I have to take all of the science prereqs, starting from the ground up. I'm deficient in everything--math, chem, and anything more than the most basic biology. I also have no veterinary or animal experience beyond caring for my own cats. The earliest I'll be able to matriculate is in 2012, and that's pushing it. But I'm determined to do it; unlike my 14-year-old self, I know I'm smart and tough enough to be a vet, and when I really want something I'm capable of moving heaven and earth to make it happen. I've done it before, and see no reason why I can't do it again.

And if it all really does turn out to be too much, and becoming a vet really is beyond my reach? Then I'll be able to go into the tech program and be perfectly happy with that. But I'm going for that DVM--having never stopped wanting it, I know I will regret it if I don't.

 

[twelvetigers]

I knew I wanted to be "an animal doctor" by the time I was 6 years old. I also wanted to be an artist and write books, and my favorite subjects as a kid were art and science (especially anything involving animals or insects).

But by my freshman year in high school, I had serious problems with math--I just didn't get it, even with extra help and tutoring. I also had attention problems, and trouble with keeping things organized, which didn't help. It was also a turbulent time for my family, and I was going through that godawful teenage hormonal surge. So between falling behind in math (and deciding I was just no good at it) and being so emotionally cranked up all the time, I decided I wasn't smart or tough enough to be a vet. I did get plenty of encouragement to be an artist, however, so that's what I did.

I'm 42, and have never stopped wishing I could be a vet. In my 30s, I earned a BA in history and anthropology, and got accepted to grad school for history--only to decide I didn't want to be an academic. And while I'm more than good enough as an artist to make a living at it, I really don't want to, because painting for money sucks all the fun out of it.

Since last April, I've been caring for a chronically ill cat. One of his new nicknames is Mr. Murphy, because anything that can go wrong with a cat seems to go wrong with him; he has a laundry list of ailments, including stage 4 CRF and IBS. When he was first dx'ed with CRF, I had no idea if I could handle managing his illness or not. Ten months later, not only is he doing extremely well, but I feel perfectly confident that I can handle anything else that comes up.

Recently, a couple of the techs at my vet's joked that I should just give up and join their ranks, as I've already learned so much from nursing this one poor guy--and I seriously considered it. I looked into the nearest tech program and thought, "I could definitely handle that!" But as I looked into being a tech, I realized that what I still really wanted to be, more than anything, was a vet.

In order to become a vet, however, I have to take all of the science prereqs, starting from the ground up. I'm deficient in everything--math, chem, and anything more than the most basic biology. I also have no veterinary or animal experience beyond caring for my own cats. The earliest I'll be able to matriculate is in 2012, and that's pushing it. But I'm determined to do it; unlike my 14-year-old self, I know I'm smart and tough enough to be a vet, and when I really want something I'm capable of moving heaven and earth to make it happen. I've done it before, and see no reason why I can't do it again.

And if it all really does turn out to be too much, and becoming a vet really is beyond my reach? Then I'll be able to go into the tech program and be perfectly happy with that. But I'm going for that DVM--having never stopped wanting it, I know I will regret it if I don't.

Good luck!

 

[galen13]

As a kid I always wanted to be a vet because I loved animals and both my parents were in the medical field so I wanted to combine them both.

For a while I wavered a bit but then in my Junior year of highschool I made the commitment to move in with my dad in Florida (from NY) so that I could go to UF and get bright futures... so I would have a little money left to apply and pay for some of vet school.

So I cemented wanting to be a vet in my Junior year of highschool, but I have wanted to be one for a long time!

 

[cowgirla]

Well, when I was eight, I wanted to be a jockey and win the kentucky derby.

Other than that, it's always been vet med. I started shadowing our family vet when I was 12, continued that all through high school (except for the year when I busted my leg), worked my way through college as a vet tech, and here I am now. I've thought many times how much easier it would be to just be a writer or a teacher or something, but it's just not as much fun as "playing with puppies and kitties all day."
Because, ya know, that's what my parents think I do all day. I was going to major in equine science until they told me they wouldn't pay for my college then, so I settled for just plain old animal science and took all the equine classes under that major

 

[rileyroo]

Well, when I was eight, I wanted to be a jockey and win the kentucky derby.

omg me too!! then i grew...tall. but my mom still let me hold onto that dream for quite some time.

now i want to work with horses and jockeys.

 

[Whyevernot55]

Well, when I was eight, I wanted to be a jockey and win the kentucky derby.

Didn't we all? I am 5'7" and definitely not a size 2, so that dream died fast.

 

[twelvetigers]

Dreams with body size limitations are lame. All the poor short boys that wanted to play basketball...

 

[flyhi]

Lol....jockey wanna be here too.

Always wanted to be a vet for as long as i can remember. Tons of stuffed animals and My Little Ponies! Always had a dog and/or cat to take care of from a very young age. Also 'hunted' for snakes and kept some in my room....ewwwww. Grew up riding/competing horses and always thought i'd be an equine vet, but i am keeping my options wide open for now.

 

[Bearby]

I feel like one of the few people who didn't grow up with animals. My dad wouldn't let us have any furry pets. We had a goldfish that lived for 13 years. I didn't get my first "real" pet until I was 17. Both of my grandmothers had pets, one had cats, the other had dogs but they lived 1200 miles away so I rarely had a chance to interact with them. My best friends didn't have any pets. The animals I dealt with when I was young were my mom's long-time friend's dogs (Rascal and Monkeygrass) and the dogs that lived down the street. I remember loving the time I spent with the animals and enjoyed watching the cows that lived down the street but I was never the "bandage stuffed animals" kind of kid. I was far too busy playing sports. I talked about being a vet pretty consistantly until my sophomore year of high school when I thought I might like to be an orthodontist. Then I realized, I couldn't handle nasty teeth because I like nice teeth way too much, so back to vet med I went. Since then, I've stayed pretty focused except when I would make a not to fantastic grade in a chemistry class and thought that I should have been an English major. Anyway, that's me in a nutshell