Turning a Love of Pets into a Career as a Veterinarian Technician
Fantasia Carroll loves her job as a licensed veterinary technician at Banfield in Vancouver, WA. So much, in fact, that she told us “I really can’t picture myself in any other field.” Hey, when you know, you know! It was great to talk with Fantasia about her love for pets, petcare, and the great outdoors. Enjoy!
I've always been drawn to animals, starting out with 4H and FFA and selling livestock and poultry and things like that when I was younger. I kind of wanted to be a veterinarian, but as I grew up and was going through school, I decided that I wanted to take the veterinary technician route so I could really be hands on with the pets, as much as possible. I’m with animals every day, at work and at home – I have cats, dogs, chickens, ducks… you name it, I’ve probably had it!
Why is preventive care a good idea for pets?
It goes back to the old adage of ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure… It can be easier and less expensive to treat preventively, doing our vaccines, doing our de-wormers, making sure they don't have any intestinal parasites… rather than, you know, finding out that a pet has heartworms and having to spend lots of money trying to check their blood and put them on medicine that'll kill the heartworm, things like that. So it can be financially better for our clients when we're more able to catch health issues early.
What are your favorite things about veterinarian technician appointments at Banfield?
I’ve really fallen in love with them, personally. I feel like we are able to provide a little bit of extra time with pet owners and pets, especially puppies and kittens. They come in for their initial exam with the doctor, and then sometimes vet techs may do the follow-up care. We're seeing them three, four weeks later for their next set of booster vaccines, answering any questions the client might have, reiterating the risks of different diseases that are common or can occur in puppies and kittens. I've been blessed to be able to see and care for so many pets.
After one appointment recently, the client asked for my card – she said “You've done such a great job. Thank you for explaining this. Thank you for taking all the time with this.” And, you know, it was really awesome for her to take my card because I felt special, that I was able to provide her with those answers and to know that she was feeling confident in her pet's wellness and the care that she got here.
What do you like to do when you’re off from work?
I enjoy being outside, going for walks, taking the pup out. I also have chickens and ducks, and I enjoy spending time outside with them. And I like to read, too. If I weren’t a vet tech, I could see myself being a park ranger. I like being in the woods, I like the wilderness. So I think that might be a good fit.