“I’ve been an animal person from Day One,” Beth Clute says. “I grew up outside the city and dogs were my friends. I’m horribly allergic to cats, doesn’t matter.”
Today, Beth is a Licensed Veterinary Technician at the Clarke-Everett Dog and Cat Hospital. “My job is my calling,” she says. A Vet Tech can do everything except diagnosis, surgery and prescriptions, she explains.
“This morning I leaf-blowed the driveway,” she laughs. “I also do anesthesia, diagnostic tests, blood draws, shots, meds, and nursing care.” She loves the animals, of course, and has been surprised to find she also loves the people. “I’m a shy person except at work.”
It’s not all wagging tails and purring kittens, however. “Compassionate fatigue is a problem in our field,” Beth says. “Some days you euthanize everybody.” The decision to end a pet’s life is difficult, she acknowledges, but adds, “It’s the one selfish thing they ask of us. If an owner can’t be there in the final moments, I can be there.”
“It helps to remember the sweet things I get to do, like visiting the disabled veteran with a service dog,” she says. “I have a sign on my wall: Love is a four-legged word.”