In honor of National Pet Week, West End Animal Clinic presents “How to become a Vet” at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Radford Public Library (30 W Main St.).
Veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Freeman will present the talk.
“There are a lot of kids out there, most of them like animals, but don’t know what’s involved and they need reassurance. This talk is about what they can do to prepare themselves, what to study, all through school,” Freeman said.
Freeman, who’s been a vet for 24 years and with West End for 21, said she always wanted to be a vet.
“I just liked animals, and as a child, I wasn’t allowed to have dogs and cats, so I said ‘when I grow up, I’m going to be a vet’,” she said. “I like doing something different every day. Every day is a new challenge and you watch them grow up. I didn’t see myself working with people. It was animals.”
Becoming a vet is definitely a lot of work said Freeman, who was in school between 1990 and 1994.
“In the four years of vet school, you’re working so hard you don’t know what’s going on in the outside world. It’s all vet school,” she said.
The first whole week of May is National Pet Week and Freeman usually does a display at an elementary or middle school.
This year, the library invited her to do her talk for young people interested in becoming vets as well as giving pet-care guidance.
“Preventative measures are best. Make sure your pets have flea and tick control,” Freeman said. “It’s something easy to do for them, but diseases they can get are hard to treat later.”
All are welcome to attend.
