The Value of Veterinary Technicians: Spotlight on Our Superstars

In honor of National Veterinary Technician Week—which should be every week, in our opinion—we’re shining the spotlight on some of our superstars. Help us celebrate our licensed (LVTs) and certified (CVTs) veterinary technicians from October 15 to 21 this year by learning what makes our team so special.

In our two Urgent Pet Care hospitals in Omaha and Papillion, Nebraska, our team includes 25 veterinary technicians. While some of our shy vet techs chose not to share, a few team members love talking about their profession, including why they enjoy emergency veterinary medicine, the pets who share their lives, and what they hope to accomplish in the future. Read on for a personal glimpse into the hearts and minds of some of our veterinary technicians.

Meet our veterinary technicians

To get to know our vet techs, we first asked about their roots to see how far they traveled to end up in Nebraska—most stayed close to home. Meet:

• Carrie Burg, LVT, from Nebraska
• Jeff Primo, LVT, from Illinois
• Emma Faulkner, LVT, from Nebraska
• Angi LVT, CVT, from Iowa
• Katie Dailey, LVT, from Illinois
• Rachel Balkovec, LVT, from Nebraska
• Jessica Kuhstoss, LVT, from Nebraska
• Riley Ruckman, LVT, from Iowa
• Savannah Hughes, LVT, from Nebraska, but raised in Iowa
• Retha Reagan, LVT, from Nebraska

Q: What’s your favorite part about working at Urgent Pet Care?

While each veterinary technician has a slightly different reason for choosing emergency veterinary medicine, the general consensus is the same—our team loves working at Urgent Pet Care because they see a large variety of cases each day. And, if they do see more than one feline urethral obstruction or pet struck by a vehicle, each patient and their problem is different. Never knowing who is going to walk—or be carried—through the door makes each day exciting, and the work never becomes boring.

Veterinary technicians operate as the veterinarian’s right hand and wear many different hats during the day, every day. They can run lab work, draw blood samples, take X-rays, prep patients for surgery, monitor anesthesia, nurse an ill patient back to health, and so much more. One of the most rewarding parts of the job is returning a sick or injured patient home to their family healthy and happy.

Our veterinary technicians’ pets

Our veterinary technicians—no surprise—are all animal lovers who share their homes with a wide array of pets. From the furry to the feathery, our team’s menageries include:

• Beagles
• Border collies
• Boston terriers
• Boxers
• Chihuahuas
• Corgis
• German shorthair pointers
• St. Bernards
• Cats of all coat lengths and colors
• Russian tortoises
• Bearded dragons
• Birds

Many pets our team has adopted come from a multitude of rescue situations and organizations, because we tend to acquire animals who require special care and attention. After all, no one can better care for special needs pets than our highly skilled team.

Discover our veterinary technicians’ favorite animals

While our veterinary technicians love most animals—except snakes and bugs—they each have a favorite. Look at our list of some of our vet techs and the unusual creatures they favor:

• Jeff loves wolves
• Carrie loves a Blue Eyed Lucy (a type of snake)
• Retha loves manatees
• Gabrielle loves cats
• Emma loves wolves
• Katie loves bats and cats
• Rachel loves all foxes
• Jessica loves penguins
• Riley loves owls and bats
• Savannah loves sea turtles

Our veterinary technicians’ hobbies

Our veterinary technicians not only work as animal-saving superheroes but also fill their free time—which often is not much—with fun, interesting hobbies:

• Carrie: “I love doing almost anything outdoors and learning new crafts. I also enjoy planning my next tattoos.”
• Emma: “I love quilting, and have been sewing quilts since second grade.”
• Jeff: “Frisbee golf is one of my favorite hobbies”
• Katie: “I spend my free time gardening with native wildflowers, cooking, walking the dogs, and hiking.”
• Rachel: “You can find me fishing, shopping, or gambling.”
• Jessica: “Bowling is one of my favorite pastimes.”
• Riley: “Outside work, I spend my time reading, crocheting, or working on puzzles.”
• Savannah: “My favorite hobby is fishing, and I am currently learning how to fly fish.”
• Retha: “In my free time, I enjoy reading and working on craft projects”.

Our veterinary technicians’ dreams

While some of our veterinary technicians’ hopes and dreams revolve around animals, they know they have an entire world of interesting places to see and activities to try. Here is what they want to check off their bucket lists:

• Swimming with manatees
• Traveling to Alaska
• Backpacking across Europe
• Visiting Greece
• Learning metal vocals
• Attending a large continuing education (CE) event
• Seeing Ireland
• Fishing in Canada
• Skydiving
• Finishing a full sleeve of arm tattoos
• Owning a farm
• Dog sledding in Alaska

Here at Urgent Pet Care Omaha, we believe our entire team should be celebrated every day for their incredibly difficult work. If your four-legged friend falls ill or becomes injured and your primary care veterinarian can’t see them, give our team a call, and see our veterinary technicians in action up close and personal.