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Posted by on Aug 9, 2018 in TellMeWhy |

Who Is a Veterinarian and What Does He Do?

Who Is a Veterinarian and What Does He Do?

Who Is a Veterinarian and What Does He Do? A veterinary physician, usually called a vet, which is shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon, is a professional who practices veterinary medicine by treating diseases, disorders, and injuries in animals. Becoming a veterinarian isn’t easy, though. It takes a lot of advanced schooling, similar to becoming a human doctor. And why shouldn’t it?

Think about it. A human doctor just has to treat human beings, but a veterinarian might have to treat a dog, a cat, a pig, a chicken, and a lizard all on the same day!

Seriously, though, veterinarians must possess a tremendous amount of knowledge and skill to treat a variety of animals successfully. They must also do something that not many human doctors do these days: make house calls.

Veterinarians that treat large animals, such as horses or cows, usually don’t do so in an office setting. Can you imagine a farmer putting a leash on a cow and bringing it into the waiting room at the veterinarian’s office?

pet owners

Large animals aren’t the only animals that might get house calls, though. Many veterinarians have set up mobile clinics to cater to a variety of customers. For example, some pet owners are disabled and can’t easily manage to pack up their pets to get them to an office.

Certain pets might also not do well in an office setting. Pets with mobility issues or behavioral problems with other animals can also benefit from a house call, especially if the veterinarian needs to see the animal in its home setting for observation.

wildlife veterinarian

House calls aren’t always the solution, though. Mobile clinics generally offer less thorough examinations and fewer diagnostic and treatment options. That’s just the way it is, since veterinarians can’t pack their entire office into a van. House calls also tend to be more expensive.

If you want to be a veterinarian but don’t want to work in an office, there’s another option for you: you can become a wildlife veterinarian. Wildlife veterinarians tend to work with a wide variety of wild animals, including mammals, birds, and reptiles, in their natural environment.

Some wildlife veterinarians find jobs in zoos, while others might work for organizations that coordinate with conservation groups around the world. How cool would it be to work with groups striving to save an endangered species?

Content for this question contributed by Ada Abram, resident of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, USA