Veterinary Assistant Student of the Month: Brittney Coyle

Student of the Month

Veterinary Assistant Brittney Coyle

Brittney Coyle lives in Newmarket, a town just north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She resides in a one-bedroom apartment with her dog Molly, a 5-year-old French Bulldog/Pug mix; a cat named Charlie, a 4-year-old obese tuxedo cat; and a boarder dog named Bosco, a 5-year-old Boston Terrier/Bulldog mix. Brittney works at Pet Chateau, which offers doggie daycare, kenneling and grooming in Richmond Hill, and also at Weldrick Animal Hospital as a veterinary assistant and kennel worker. She also runs her own shelter and rescue for dogs out of her home.

Brittney was living in Toronto when she started reflecting on the choices she had made. At the end of high school, she picked a career that seemed to make the most sense and ran with it. She became a social worker. After six years, she was sitting at home surrounded by her foster dogs and wondered, “What am I doing?”

She then started looking for dog-based jobs. “[Dogs] never make me upset, and I love being surrounded [by them],” says Brittney. “I realized it would be easier to find jobs with some schooling so I needed to find something that would help me, but accommodate my full-time workweek. That’s when I found ABC online and I knew that the Vet Assistant Program was exactly what I needed.”

The hospital she worked in during the program was a brand new site, which made it difficult for her. While she was applying everything she learned from her veterinary assistant courses, she was also helping a new hospital open. She completed a range of tasks, including working on computer systems and doing laundry. “This made the clinical aspect a bit harder to get my hands on because there were that many clients. However, when things came together, it was amazing when we were all there and in surgery or running labs,” says Brittney.

During her externship, she came across many dogs that were either abandoned or rescued. She brought them home and started Molly’s House: Shelter, Respite, Boarding. In the last three months, she has met and rehomed 17 amazing dogs, puppies and cats. “I loved them all, and I get updates from the families who adopted them,” says Brittney.
”They had such an impact on me. It was so amazing to be able to be a part of giving them a new, loving home.”

Her best memory during the hands-on portion of the Veterinary Assistant Program was the day the doctor introduced her to two boarder dogs at the hospital. She was told those dogs were evil and to keep her distance. Of course she was terrified. However, when she walked around the corner, she almost died laughing. The two evil dogs were Maltese/Poodle dogs. “They were nuts, don’t get me wrong, but tiny,” says Brittney. “I opened the cage and they barked and carried on. It only took two minutes for them to decide I was safe. From then on, I was referred to as lady Cesar.”