After years as a mortgage recruiter, Paola Velasquez, ABCVA, decided that the down turned economy was an excellent time to pursue her lifelong dream of working in a vet clinic.
Since she had no experience in the veterinary field, Paola knew that she would need to gain some knowledge before trying to get a job as a Veterinary Assistant. “With the bad economy, the job market is competitive,” Paola said, “I wanted to have a foundation and some actual experience before I tried to find work.”
It was the hands-on portion that led Paola to enroll in Animal Behavior College ’s (ABC) Certified Veterinary Assistant Program. “The externship was awesome,” Paola said, “I was being taught something different everyday and it really got my foot in the door of the industry.” Although she loved her externship, Paola found ABC’s textbooks to be an abundant source of knowledge. “The detail in the books and CD’s ABC gave me were great, I use things I learned all the time at work,” Paola said.
Paola also believes that ABC’s Program Managers are yet another source that sets the program apart from the competition. “Ashlie, my Program Manager, was amazing! Other schools just hand you a book to read on your own,” Paola explains, “However, the Program Managers are professionals who were there to answer all my questions and explain in detail when I did not understand a concept.”
After graduation from Animal Behavior College ’s Certified Veterinary Assistant Program, Paola did not have to wait long to find her dream job. The emergency vet clinic where she did her externship, hired her on the spot. “The doctor told me that one of the main reasons he hired me was because of my work during the externship,” Paola explains, “I treated it like a real job and worked hard. It paid off. In addition, because of my experience and certification, there was less I needed to learn, making his job easier.”
Paola has moved quickly up the ranks at her vet hospital where she is now, just a few months later, one of the lead veterinarian technicians. She plans on continuing her education to become a Registered Veterinarian Technician and is thankful she took that first step and enrolled at ABC.
Lea Carabello, ABCVA, was working as a county crime scene investigator but had always dreamed of having a career where she could help animals instead. With help from ABC’s Certified Veterinary Assistant program, she was able to make the transition to becoming her county’s Animal Health Investigator. “At the interview, I was told that I was the only person they were interviewing and the only one they wanted because I had a certificate, proving that I had the knowledge and experience necessary to do the job,” said Lea.
While still working as a crime scene investigator, Lea knew it was time to pursue a career with animals and began searching for a college that would fit her needs. Since she needed to keep working while training for her new career, Lea searched for a veterinary assistant program that would fit around her schedule. “I am one of those people that learn better at my own pace, so I wanted an online program,” said Lea.
Animal Behavior College’s (ABC) Certified Veterinary Assistant Program was the perfect fit for Lea’s educational goals. ABC’s online course allowed her to continue working while she trained for her new career at her own pace, in the comfort of her home. ABC’s hands-on training component ensured that Lea was able to practically apply all she had learned at home in a real veterinary environment.
Lea’s favorite part of the ABC program was by far her externship, which she completed at Adobe Veterinary Clinic. “I loved the hands-on part of my program,” Lea said, “I also loved that I got to pick the vet. I spoke to several and picked the one I was most comfortable with.”
The hands-on portion is what makes ABC’s program stand-out from the competition, according to Lea. “It really gave me a taste of what it is like to work for a veterinarian and because of the knowledge I already had, the vet let me do work that was normally reserved for vet techs, not vet assistants,” she said.
Lea was also pleased with the program’s value and the way she was treated. “It wasn’t unbelievable expensive, but you were provided with everything, even the scrubs!” she said, “In addition, I was never confused with where I was supposed to be or how to do something online. Everyone I talked to always answered my questions; I never got ‘I don’t know’ from anyone. They were professional and nice.”
Upon graduation, Lea learned of an internal job opening for the county as the Animal Health Investigator. ABC’s Certified Veterinary Assistant Program gave Lea the boost she needed when it came to finding what she considers to be her dream job – helping animals whom, without her would not have a voice, get justice.
Paul Schmid decided it was “now or never” for him to pursue a career that involved his true love of working with pets. So at age 51, Paul decided to leave the electrometrical industry, where he was working, to follow finally follow his dream of working with animals.
Paul felt burned out at his current job and wanted an occupation where he could put his compassion to good use by helping pets and their parents. He decided on a career as a Veterinary Assistant, where he knew his people skills would come in handy when pet owners were faced with hard decisions.
However, Paul knew it was important to obtain a certification before jumping into the veterinary industry. “It behooves you to get experience before you try to get a job in any field.” Paul said “Veterinarians really like it when you have already been exposed to the job duties because then they know for sure you will love your work.”
Paul chose Animal Behavior College’s (ABC) Certified Veterinary Assistant program because of the school’s curriculum. “I really liked the 11-stage format and how much time you had to complete each part,” said Paul. Since he was still working as a Project Manager, the flexibility of the online course allowed him to finish the program according to his schedule. He also found his ABC Program Manager, Penny Derbyshire-Baldyga, to be extremely helpful in answering any questions he had throughout his veterinary assistant training.
Since Paul knew that Veterinarians are looking for experience when hiring, he found ABC’s externship course at an emergency vet center to be a priceless opportunity. “I got to do all kinds of stuff, including injections, filling prescriptions, and talking with the pet owners,” said Paul. Each ABC Veterinary Assistant student participates in a hands-on training externship at a local veterinary hospital/clinic where they can put their theoretical knowledge to use in a working environment; learning one-on-one from veterinary staff. For Paul, this proved to be a vital part of his education.
It was so rewarding, in fact, that Paul still volunteers at the hospital where he did his externship. “They are going to hire me as soon as they can afford it,” Paul explains. “Right now, I like volunteering because it keeps my skills up.”
Paul believes that his ABC Certification is one of the main reasons he is given more responsibilities than his colleagues. “I get to do a lot of things the other Vet Assistants do not, including x-rays, because of my prior experience.” Paul said. “I recommend Animal Behavior College’s program to all the receptionists at the hospital who are thinking about becoming Veterinary Assistants.”
With his Animal Behavior College Veterinary Assistant Certification (ABCVA), Paul now has a career where he can look forward to going to work everyday; something that he believes is the secret to happiness.
After being a stay-at-home mom who worked for The Pampered Chef for 10 years, Judy Menetre knew she needed a new career that would not only make her happy, but support her financially. Lucky, one of Judy’s friends knew she was looking to go back to school and suggested Animal Behavior College’s Certified Vet Assistant program. Judy instantly knew that it would be the perfect career for her, since her first love had always been animals. She also knew that Animal Behavior College’s (ABC) in-home study program with hands-on training would be an ideal fit for a stay-at-home mom. The program allowed her to study at her own convenience and the local externship made it easy for her to get the hands-on training needed to work in the veterinary field.
Judy recalls that the support she received from her ABC Program Manager, Ashlie Herring, RVT, was one of the best things about the course. “Ashlie was great about answering my questions in a timely manner,” Judy said. “She even helped me with my resume after I had already graduated. She didn’t have to, but she did.” In fact, this additional help resulted in Judy finding a job almost immediately after graduating!
Although Judy did not have any veterinary experience prior to enrolling at ABC, she found that her certification really gave her a leg up on the competition when looking for a job. “I took my resume and went in-person to the vet offices in my area,” said Judy. “I got a job offer on the second day! I was amazed, and really happy.”
“The knowledge and verbiage I learned during the Veterinary Assistant program at ABC has allowed me, a complete novice in the industry, to be able to understand what the doctor is talking about, which has really impressed the staff,” Judy said. Not only did her ABC certification help Judy get a new job, but the experience she gained has helped her enormously at work and will continue to do so as she advances in the veterinary industry.
Lesley Wilson, ABCVT, enrolled at Animal Behavior College (ABC) in March of 2008 to become a Certified Veterinary Assistant. Just a year and a half later, she is now working as a Surgery Technician Assistant at a veterinary hospital in Santa Cruz, CA where she currently lives.
Lesley had a variety of different jobs throughout her life. After taking some time off work, she decided it was time to go back with a purpose, “I took the ABC Vet Assistant course so that I could return to the working world doing something I loved,” she said.
Lesley had moved to Santa Cruz with her husband who was pursuing his career working for the University of California Santa Cruz. The ABC program is designed to be flexible and convenient so it allowed Lesley to learn from anywhere in the United States which made continuing her education easy, even while she was moving.
After Lesley completed the extensive in-home study portion of the ABC program, she was paired up with a local veterinary hospital where she would perform her hands-on training externship.
“I was lucky enough to be taken on at the Felton Veterinary Hospital for my externship. It is a smaller practice in my home town of Felton (just 10 minutes from Santa Cruz).“Lucky for me, the three doctors and the team of nurses were very supportive, extremely helpful, patient and excellent teachers. I wouldn’t be where I was today without them. The externship was my favorite bit of the course,” said Lesley.
After completing her 80 hours of hands-on training at the veterinary hospital, Lesley successfully passed her final exam. She graduated from ABC with honors, meaning she scored over 90% on all of her exams and externship.
Today Lesley has a career doing what she loves, caring for animals. She says, “I was hired on a part-time basis at the hospital where I did my externship as an Veterinary Assistant. I later took a second part-time job as a Radiation Assistant in a much larger hospital, Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital (SCVH). Two weeks ago, I accepted a new position at SCVH as a surgery technician assistant. This is particularly exciting because the surgery days at Felton where always my favorite…now every day is a surgery day!”
Lesley says the most rewarding part of her job is being able to comfort the animals that are in pain or are just plain nervous. She believes that a good Veterinary Assistant must be “A good communicator, provider of good customer service, posses the ability to spontaneously adjust work flow, have a strong stomach and of course, have a compassion for animals.”
Lesley’s empathy for animals along with her education from Animal Behavior College has helped her thrive as a Certified Veterinary Assistant. She is grateful for her certification because she knows it has given her an advantage over others who are not certified. “A lot of assistants seem to work up from a kennel type background. I was lucky to skip that whole step and walked into being a nurse with all kinds of knowledge and skills that the kennel workers take months or even years to gain,” she says.
Having formerly worked in apartment management for 10 years, Teresa Cabrera, ABCVA, became ready for a career change and wanted her new job to allow her to be surrounded by furry friends. “I have always wanted to work with animals since they are my passion,” she says. “I came to a point in my life where I was able to make a career change and knew it was the right time.”
Teresa located Animal Behavior College (ABC) and enrolled in March of 2008 to put her career change on the fast track. The ABC program consists of an in-home study portion coupled with invaluable hands-on training available to students nationwide. The ease of the study materials along with guidance from her Program Manager, Penny, helped Teresa to excel during the in-home study portion of the program and prepare for her externship.
Once Teresa had completed her book work and passed all of her exams, it came time for her hands-on externship in which she volunteered 80 hours at a veterinary clinic in her area to practice what she had learned in a real-life veterinary setting. She was set up with the Vet Clinic of Palm Harbor, Florida where she was able to gain added guidance and assistance in mastering the tasks of a veterinary assistant. “The experience was awesome and the staff is very friendly,” she says. Actually, Teresa continues to volunteer with the Vet Clinic of Palm Harbor to this day as extra preparation for her career in veterinary assisting. With each passing day, she becomes more and more aware of the various aspects of the job. “My most rewarding moments have been when I have been able to perform tasks on my own after completing my externship,” she says.
Teresa sincerely recognizes the importance of the role of the veterinary assistant in an animal hospital and in today’s society. “Veterinary assistants are important because there aren’t enough people in the world that truly care about animals and have the desire to help educate the world about the needs of animals,” she says. As an ardent animal lover who admits that “animals are my true love, and they bring me happiness,” she has a bright future ahead of her working as a compassionate, well-educated veterinary assistant since graduating from the ABC Veterinary Assistant training program in October of 2008.
Teresa does not plan on halting her education here; she hopes to continue on to become a Certified Veterinary Technician. She explains that her ABC education laid a strong foundation for her future veterinary endeavors. “The curriculum covers everything you will be doing, not only as a veterinary assistant but as a veterinary technician.” To others wishing to work in the veterinary field, she describes the crucial characteristics of a person who works with animals – “Compassion, professionalism, dependability, empathy, understanding, and a desire to continue learning and growing in the industry,” she says.
As a confident ABC graduate and Certified Veterinary Assistant, Teresa knows that her ABC education has given her an advantage over other people wishing to become veterinary assistants. “I have an official certificate and the hands-on experience to back me up,” she explains. With her new ABC certification, she is now searching for a job as a veterinary assistant with confidence and pride. She knows that this career will help her to help animals, and that to her is a dream fulfilled. “It has already opened my eyes to different types of illnesses and needs that animals have that I never knew possible,” she says. “It has shown me that animals are not that different from humans in terms of what they need for healthcare.”
Teresa currently lives and works in Palm Harbor, Florida with her four cats, rabbit, and three fish.
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STATE LICENSURE and APPROVAL Animal Behavior College is a private vocational school approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education under the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 and Title 5. California Code of Regulations Division 7.5. Private Postsecondary Education. The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education approval means that this institution and its operation comply with the standards established under the law for occupational instruction by private postsecondary educational institutions. Institutional approval is subject to continual review and the institution must reapply for approval every three years.
