So, You Want to Work with Animals?: Discover Fantastic Ways to Work with Animals, from Veterinary Science to Aquatic Biology (Be What You Want) - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

J. M. Bedell spent her childhood daydreaming in hayfields, talking to cows, and finding her heroes between the pages of books. She is a full-time writer of historical fiction and nonfiction for children. She received her MFA in creative writing from Hamline University in Minnesota. She lives with her husband and two Siberian huskies in Portland, Oregon. Visit her at JMBedell.com.

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So, You Want to Work with Animals?

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Choosing a Career Working with Animals

Congratulations on picking up a book about working with animals. Animals are a huge part of every person’s life. From the foods we eat to the clothes we wear, from the simple joy of owning a pet to the complexity of fighting on the battlefield, animals are our companions, coworkers, assistants, and fellow travelers on this planet we all call home.

Why did you pick up this book, open it, and start reading? If your answer is, “Because I love animals,” awesome! That’s step one. But almost everyone loves animals, and those who don’t love them probably really like them but don’t want to take on the responsibility of owning or caring for them.

You LOVE animals. Great start. But . . . are you obsessed? Are you captivated by every dog or cat you see? Intrigued by herds of cows or horses? Fascinated by fish or whales? Does seeing an animal in need stir you to action? Do you get goosebumps just thinking about ways to protect animals in the wild? Does finding a cure for animal diseases drive you to take harder and harder science classes? Does the idea of extinction make your heart sink to your knees?



If you can answer YES! to any of those questions, or you feel that you are heading in the direction of a yes answer, then pursuing a career working with animals may be right for you.

World Leaders Have Pets Too

Barack Obama, former president of the United States, adopted a Portuguese water dog named Bo. A few years later, while still in the White House, he and his family adopted another dog named Sunny.

Bhumibol Adulyadej, former king of Thailand, had a dog named Thong Daeng, meaning “Copper,” that was rescued from the streets of Bangkok. During the king’s reign, he encouraged his people to adopt street dogs.

Theresa May, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, has a cat named Larry. Larry holds the official title of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. When a prime minister leaves office, he or she also leaves the house at 10 Downing Street in London. The cat, however, stays.

Elizabeth II, the queen of England, loves Welsh Corgis and has owned over thirty of them during her reign.

Akihito, emperor of Japan, has a goby fish. He is an ichthyologist and has published dozens of peer-reviewed papers on fish biology. In 2006, fellow researcher Doug Hoese from Australia named his newly discovered fish Akihito in honor of his friend.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has a black Labrador named Koni. The dog was a gift from the General of the Russian Army.

SPOTLIGHT

Claude Bourgelat (1712–1779), Founder of the World’s First Veterinary Schools

Claude Bourgelat was born on March 12, 1712, in Lyon, France, during the reign of Louis XIV. His father was a nobleman, and as his son, Bourgelat received an excellent education and was expected to pursue a career in law. After some time as a lawyer, he lost his focus and turned his attention to horses. Before long Bourgelat was considered the best in the nation at training and riding them. He was named the grand equerry of France and became director of the Lyon Academy of Horsemanship when he was only twenty-eight years old. The Lyon Academy was a school where young men studied horseback riding, music, math, manners, and swordsmanship.

Bourgelat soon realized that his knowledge of horse anatomy and health issues was sorely lacking, so he set out to learn as much as he could from two Lyon surgeons. Ten years later, in 1750, his book, Élémens d’hippiatrique ou nouveaux principes sur la connoissance et sur la médecine des chevaux (Elements of the Principles of Veterinary Art, or, New Knowledge about Medicine and Horses), was published.



The book detailed all his research into horses—research based on his own observations and experiments. The book earned him a place in the Academy of Sciences, a society that was leading the way in scientific study in Europe. In the preface, Bourgelat wrote, “Those who intend to [acquire skills in veterinary art] will not be able to acquire a sufficient degree of education . . . [since] we do not have schools for teaching.”1 It was clear that the idea of starting a veterinary school was already on his mind.

Over the next decade, it became clear to Bourgelat that educated veterinarians were needed. Thousands of cattle in herds across the country were being destroyed by a disease known as the cattle plague. It was also a time when the health of the nation’s horses was critical to maintaining a powerful army and the nation’s security. He convinced the government of King Louis XV that the nation needed a school of veterinary medicine, and he received the money to start one.

In 1761, the world’s first veterinary college, the Royal Veterinary School of Lyon, was established. By the end of 1762, the first thirty-eight veterinary students were enrolled and beginning their studies. In 1765, Bourgelat founded the Alfort Veterinary School outside of Paris. Both colleges accepted students from throughout Europe. After graduation, those students returned to their home countries, spreading an understanding of how to use the scientific method (experience, observation, reasoning, analysis, and deduction) to study and treat diseases in animals.

As a veterinary surgeon, Bourgelat was one of the first scientists to acknowledge that the scientific study of animal biology and pathology could lead to a better understanding of human biology and pathology. This revolutionary thought is considered the point when modern medicine was born. Bourgelat is also credited with being the creator of the modern veterinary profession. He died in Paris on January 3, 1779. He was sixty-six years old.

Five Traits You Need to Work with Animals

Attentiveness

Animals can’t talk. That may seem like an obvious statement, but it’s important for you to understand. They don’t know what you are saying to them unless you teach them. By learning to pay close attention, you will notice when an animal is happy, scared, or feeling stressed and likely to lash out. Careful attention to each animal’s unique behaviors is critical to knowing how it will react in a given situation. Being attentive also helps you learn to speak cat, dog, or even dolphin, and to be in tune with what they are trying to communicate to you.

Courage

Working with animals can be very dangerous. When caring for lions in the wild, elephants in captivity, or cows on a farm, you must remember that they bite, butt, kick, and scratch. It’s up to you to be prepared for any event and face their actions with calm, controlled courage. It also takes courage to euthanize an animal. Whether it’s a wild animal threatening people, a sick animal in a zoo, or a wounded cat in a pet clinic, you will make life-and-death decisions many times during your career. That takes courage too.

Empathy

It’s hard for an animal to understand what a human is trying to do for it. Getting a shot hurts. Having your nails clipped is scary. Being captured and put in a...