Meet Leah: A Small Town Girl, Living in a Vet Tech World
October 15, 2018
Leah is a veterinary technician at Nickel City Animal Hospital.
Growing up on a farm in the small town of Hastings in upstate New York, I always knew I wanted to devote my life to helping animals but didn’t have the resources available to best achieve that goal. My father and grandfather’s kind and compassionate treatment of all living creatures – even the ones most people don’t like, such as bugs – led me to develop a similar attitude toward animals.
As a child, I spent a lot of time with animals and developed a knack for caring for them at a very young age. My family had dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, and, at one point, a pig. My siblings and I also had birds, lizards, and a sugar glider named Perry.
In 2011, after spending a year in Utica, I packed up my life there and moved three hours away to Buffalo in order to attend Medaille Tech’s veterinary technician program. Despite my nerves, I dove headfirst into the program and quickly fell in love with the work.
I first got involved with Nickel City Animal Hospital (NCAH) when I interned there while pursuing my degree and, after my skills and dedication were recognized, I was invited to stay on as an assistant. I graduated from Medaille in 2015 with an associate’s degree in veterinary technology and a bachelor’s degree in biology. Upon becoming licensed, Nickel City hired me as a veterinary technician.
These days, I’m a jack of all trades. In addition to working as a vet tech, I act as Nickel City’s safety officer, intern supervisor, and one of two power of attorneys. I also teach first-year vet tech students at my alma mater how to give injections, draw blood, and safely restrain pets as well as educate them about rabbits and pocket pets, such as rats and mice. In fact, educating others is one of my favorite parts of the job. I emphasize the importance of client education and aim to educate every one of my clients about the best way to care for their pet once they leave the hospital.
For me, working with animals is a lot more than just a nine to five job. When the work day ends, I pet sit for others and use my certification in canine massage therapy to bring relief and relaxation to local dogs. I am now in the process of becoming Fear Free certified and, thanks to the help of Nickel City Animal Hospital, I’m pursuing a certification in canine rehabilitation too. I’ll take the exam next month - I’m more excited than nervous about it.
I love being a member of the VetCor family. Working for VetCor has allowed me to both expand my knowledge and better myself as a veterinary technician. I enjoy working as part of a team and I’m more than grateful for the opportunities I’ve been allowed to explore.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and pets as well as exercising and being outdoors. I’m also a mom to four dogs – Koda, Daisy, Wayne, and Ginger – and five cats, Stewart, Schmit, Kirk, Munch, and Zed – all of whom I love very much.
