I brought bagels.

Today I was told by a tech that I was a "volunteer who actually did work" as opposed to other volunteers who only worked in the treatment room (the coveted spot) and didn't do "float" (lots of cleaning.) I try to do a mix: cleaning up shit in the morning, watching entire surgeries a little later. Treatment room is cool too, but I am really addicted to surgeries. Treatment room is a lot of nail clipping and and giving shots and drawing blood. I haven't drawn blood yet, but I really want to try it.

In "ISO" (Isolation Room) there was a fuzzy black puppy who got spayed. She was whining and barking and howling and screaming, because she was lonely. I went in and held her for a little while and she fell asleep. I tried to sneak out but she woke up a few minutes later and was at it again.

We vaccinated the vet's dogs today, really big dogs. One of them REALLY didn't want to be on the table. He kind of scared me, so I was happy to turn his leash over to someone else who gets paid to risk their face.

Speaking of risking my face, I had to get a dog out of the back and bring him up for the rescue people to pick him up. He was a jerk, and to prove it, he lifted his leg in the treatment room as I was trying to walk him. You could tell he had some problems.

I talk about the jerk dogs, but there are a great many sweetie pies as well. There were two for the rescue leagues that I got to bring up. One was a shepherd mix, and the other was a little dog. They had both been momma dogs.

I was talking with a tech about the satisfaction of being a "nurse-type" figure around animals vs. being a doctor. It is very nice to be a helping, warm, comforting figure to the animals. For instance, today I "rocked" a kitty cat while Doc was finishing up the charts before the kitty went back to see his owners. He didn't like being on the table, so I picked him up like I would my own kitty-cat, and rocked back and forth on my feet. It calmed him down a great deal, and he didn't jump at all the noises anymore. At the same time though, I want to do surgery, and most of all I want to KNOW what is going on with the animals. I want to understand the parasites, and the tumors, and the blood flow, and most especially the heart and kidneys. I also loved the bone surgery. I love being a kind figure, but I want to DO more.