Pampered Dog Blog

The English word ‘Vet‘ is a short-hand version of ‘veterinary’ and refers to an animal healthcare professional. The word comes from the Latin word veterinae which means animals that work. Vets look after the health of all sorts of animals and have to go through many years of training before they qualify to practice veterinary medicine. The usual route into the vets professional is through a veterinary medicine batchelors degree such as a BVSc. Commonly overlooked, nurses who work in veterinary clinics also require animal healthcare training too.

It isn’t unknown for many vets to go down the specialisation route, opting for such fields as reptiles or exotic pets. As their careers develop, many vets decide to want to continue their academic research by teaming up with drug developers, to help identify and develop solutions for certain illnesses. They may also practice equine medicine and help keep race or show horses healthy.

As well as developing specific specialities with particular types of animals, some vets might decide to focus on particular treatment pathways like surgical medicine or parasite research. Others prefer to carry on in an academic field and research and advance the field of veterinary science.

Not all of the work a practicing vet does is to treat sick animals. A lot of a vet’s time can be spent on prevention, rather than treatment. It isn’t untypical for pet owners to go to the vets for their own peace of mind though, rather than their animal’s. One example of this is where a cat needs its sharp claws removing. Most cats probably wouldn’t request for their claws to be removed voluntarily, but to the own it might represent a real challenge, with all the constant damage to house and contents.

Vets and Vet Clinics give a lot to the town or city in which they are located – indeed since a dog is often cited as man’s best friend, having a good vet on standby is a must.