How to adjust
TW!!!!! (Neglect)
I am a newly out of school vet tech, I am on my last week of extenship at an ER. I have so far had a great time and done well separating work and life. Even the super hard cases aren’t too emotionally draining. Until today. A one year old Australian shepherd came in weighing 11 pounds with a BCS of 1. I am unsure of the exact reason his owner brought him in as I was helping to stabilize. Once he was relatively stable the vet started talking to the owners who had had him his whole life. They said they knew he was skinny but weren’t sure why. I was doing okay until then but something in me hit a wall and I looked down at this dog who was stained with urine, had sores, incredibly long nails, and was skin and bones and it hit me like a freight train. This was the first case I’ve seen of an animal being neglected like this. I had to excuse myself because I was getting nauseous and about to start crying. I’ve seen very sad cases but this one hit me and I don’t know why. Does anyone have any advise on handling situations like this? I fear I won’t be able to get these types of cases out of my mind and I worry I won’t be able to work with things like that. I don’t know if it comes with time but right now I’m still very upset. Any advise is appreciated.