Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Dog days of Vet Tech

Photos and story by James Hill

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The way first-year Veterinary Technology student Rebecca Pierce sees it, they’re all in it together.

“The animals are going through the program just like we are,” Pierce said. “You really develop a comradeship with your peers and the animals in the program.”

Pierce is a typical student in the program. The Alaska native heard about the program and wants to gain the expertise needed to help establish an accredited Vet Tech program in her home state. Eventually, she wants to go into treating exotic animals like parrots and also specialize in bone repair on animals – a growing field, she said.

Every year, students like Pierce graduate from the program. And every year, dogs and cats do too, in an adoption sort of way.

At the start of the school year, the program goes out to local shelters and rescues dogs and cats to assist students in their learning. Dolores Galindo, certified veterinary technician and longtime instructional support for Vet Tech, said that the students are involved in selecting eight to 10 canines and that many more cats.

To make sure they are getting dogs that will be safe for students to work with and will thrive in the environment offered to them by the program, the students will put them through a battery of commands and watch how they interact with each other and with people. The dogs are assessed for whether or not they can be safely handled by students. The goal is to rescue average dogs – not too big, not too small – who possess few behavioral issues so that students can safely work with them.

“We look for adoptability,” Galindo said. “We make sure they are not aggressive and not obviously sick. We’ll see how the dogs receive us and if they are bearing their teeth we probably won’t take them. We want the ones that are saying ‘Pick me! Pick me!’ We choose which dog is best for the students and can handle the situation. No fear biters or ones that have territorial issues.”

As for the cats, Galindo said that the students don’t have to go through the lengthy process with them that they must with the dogs because, “the cats don’t have all of those same issues. The issues with them are more communal.”

The entire program is registered and monitored through the USDA division of Animal Welfare to ensure the dogs and cats have a clean environment, good food and care. Also, everything done during the students’ lab work is documented. In labs, students learn to draw blood from the animals, how to sedate them, to listen for heart beats and how to brush tarter off the animals’ teeth, to name a few. They also utilize blood and urine samples for learning how to run laboratory samples, while at the same time, checking the animals’ major body functions.

Without PCC, these students wouldn’t be able to develop skills nor would the animals have a chance to get a better home. Located at the Rock Creek Campus, PCC’s Veterinary Technology program is the only one of its kind in the state of Oregon, and only one of four in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1993, graduates have exceeded the national average on the national exam with a pass rate of 98.8 percent, which compares to a national average of 84.7 percent.

And thanks to PCC’s Cooperative Education Program, students are matched with veterinary clinics, hospitals, or other types of facilities such as research laboratories or shelters as sites for hands-on work experience.

“This experience is critical for developing future certified veterinary technician’s confidence and competence in their technical skills,” Galindo said.

The dogs and cats are part of the program’s animal wellness initiative, which has been in existence for about five years. It helps staff and students focus on mental health and obedience issues by having students work on their behavior, typically going home with them on the weekends. It’s a way to help transition the animals to a home environment.

“We attempt to make life better for the animals,” Galindo said.

Proof of this better life is in the new kennels near the entrance of the farm, which replace the older outdoor ones. But it’s the time of year where it is time for the animals to transition out of the kennels and into a loving home.

“A lot of the students will adopt them, some are left over from the previous year, but all of the animals get a home eventually,” Galindo said. “It’s all under the supervision of the staff. They establish a bond with the animals and get invested in where the animals go at the end of the year. We teach responsibility of pet ownership so they can teach other people. This helps ensure there’s a less of a chance the animals will end up back in a pound.

“During their nine months at PCC, the animals give back to students by allowing them to practice their skills, and students and the program give back by providing a quality life and a bright future,” she added.