This is another entry in the Vet tech journals, but it's more of a
vent.

I have this co-worker Mike.  He's been in the field for 15 yrs and has
been with this clinic for 3 years.  He is funny at times but he is the
BIGGEST SCHMUCK I have ever seen.  He's one of those guys that makes
you wonder how on earth has he kept himself from getting fired.  The
only things that I can tell that keeps him employed is the fact that
he does knows his stuff, but also because he's close friend with the
supervisor.

First off, he's 38, lives with his 15 year old son, and also has a 12
year old son from another woman.  He's loud, arrogant, obnoxious,
belches and snorts a lot, and loves to attract attention by cracking
bad jokes.  The jokes are slightly funny the first few times, but
after the 30th time you just want to smack him.

He's overweight and has a problem keeping up his scrub pants.  It's
really a horrifying sight to walk into the treatment room and see him
kneeling down and you an see the crack of his a.s.  Ewwwww!!!   He
cuts corners on the job, and unless he's under the eye of a doctor or
the supervisor, does a half a.s job at mostly everything.

There's also this 17 year old girl who started at the clinic a week
before I do. She's got Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(which at time can
be really annoying) and at times a huge attitude problem.  From what I
can tell, they spend a LOT of time together.  Most of time I see them
giggling together.  Tosha even will come on her days off to bring Mike
some food (because Mike's such a loser he doesn't pack his own lunch
nor can afford to go out); or she'll show up to spend time with him
during his lunch hour.

Once a few of us went out to dinner to celebrate another co-worker's
birthday.  Mike and Tosha were holding hands and every now and then he
would rub her back affectionately or she would caress his cheek.  When
they kissed I almost threw up.   What kind of loser who is 38 thinks
that the only female companionship he can have is with a 17 year old?
How low can you stoop?  Sheesh!!!   And since she's the product of a
teenage pregnancy, it seems obvious her parents either don't know or
care.    I know that if they aren't sleeping with each other yet, they
definitely will when Tosha turns 18.  It's quite sickening.

It's taken a lot of self-control, but I've managed to keep my mouth
shut and my opinions to myself.  I am just waiting for the day that
this guy gets his comeuppance.  I'm waiting for the day where Tosha's
snippy attitude gets her in trouble.  I totally know that the doctors
see everything, so I'm sure they have noticed this.  We could do
without Tosha, but unfortunately since Mike does happen to know a lot,
I know he's going to stay.

ARRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm hoping that I can learn enough so
that I'll be even better than both of them so if they leave, the
clinic won't suffer.

Anyways, enough venting........

I set a record today for washing a dog.  A yellow lab wasn't supposed
to picked up until 2:30, but the owner called at 1:30 saying he was on
his way from the aiport in his LIMO.  He said to throw the dog in the
tub and he would be okay taking home a wet dog.

A wet dog in a limo?  Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.......
Apparently the guy owns a limo company.....

I combined both the shampoo and the cream rinse together and rushed
this dog through this bath.  Then I grab BOTH dryers and use it on the
dog at full blast.  The poor dog was getting blasted by air from two
directions.  :0)  When the owner arrived, I had managed to get the
whole dog dry with the exception of the paws and tail.  Whew!!!

I got a call from reception saying there was a cat in Room 3 to come
back for boarding.  My supervisor Jen and I went to Room 3.  I heard
the owner say that the cat was really tempermental.  So I left for Jen
to take care of it.  A moment later Jen returned.............with an 8
week old kitten.

Awwwwww, a blue point, 8 wk old kitten.  Surely this couldn't be the
same cat.  That was until they tried to get blood from it, THEN it
proved to be a bit of a handful.  The kitten's name is Fat Louie, and
I'm familiar with the family.  This family also owns this big Shepard
Mix named Chester.  A huge dog and a tiny kitten.................that
must be fun to watch at times.

I also laughed when I walked in this morning and found we were
boarding a pair of Siamese cats, Jack and Smokey.  For a while I had
the tune "We are Sia-meese if you ple-ease.  We are Sia-meese if you
don't please" stuck in my head.  (If this causes the same tune to be
stuck in anyone else's head, I'm sorry.)

There was also a Siamese named Thai that had a dental today.  Dr. Z
asked me at the end of the day to take Thai up to the owner.  Now Thai
has very LONG canine teeth.  It looks like she could pass for a kitty
vampire.  I opened up the cage and I hadn't even reached for her when
she let out a loud hiss and bared her fangs.  "Errrr.." said Dr. Z.
"Maybe I better take her up."  Hey who am I to disagree with the
doctor?

I also got a chance to draw blood for the very first time.  It was
this mini schnauzer, and Dr. S. said I could try it.  I managed to hit
the jugular on the first try, which is NOT EASY TO DO.  I needed 3
cc's and I managed to pull 2 cc's when I lost the vein and couldn't
find it again.  Hey, that's not bad for a first try.  And I took it as
a very good sign. I have only been at this clinic for four months now,
and I've been on probation which is normal for all new hires.  I just
got told today from Jen that I had been doing really really well and
they weren't going to do any monthly reviews.  Which in so many words
means that I'm now a permanent employee.  As a permanent employee I
now can learn to draw blood, perform more X-rays and even do dentals.
 YAAAAAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Now I can go to bed happy, without worrying if I still have a job
later this week.

Cheers,

Kristi