Destiny Daley, a second-year IAA student studying sustainable agriculture, interned at Towson Veterinary Hospital in Towson Maryland. With so many places closed down during the pandemic, Daley said finding an internship that was difficult, but Dr. John Fioramonti and Dr. Ron Sands at the Towson vet hospital gave Daley a good work experience.
She cleaned animal cages and outside runs, rotated the animals in and out of their cages, played with them, fed them in the morning and afternoon, and assisted the doctors with animal appointments. She was interested to learn that spays and neuters are usually a short surgery process. Daley stated, “Neuters are very short as they can just pull out the testes, and stitch the dog back up and be done.”
One day, a 30-pound cat that was almost as wide and as long as the exam room table, came in to the hospital. Daly said she was surprised to learn that the cat’s face had a facial structure and features that most resembled big cats (jaguar, leopard, panther, etc.) She hoped to gain more knowledge about what it is that a veterinary does on a daily basis and to see how that compares to a vet technician. Meredith Epstein, Miss Daley advisor, said “I was very impressed, though not at all surprised, to see that Destiny had established great rapport with the doctor and staff. She was highly regarded in the office, and I bet they will be asking her to come back next summer.”
Miss Daley states “Getting this internship has been one of the best things to happen to me this summer." Even though this was not her first choice Miss Daley said she was interested in this career because ever since she was young, she has enjoyed working with and caring for animals. She wants to continue caring for and helping pets as she gets older. She has gained a lot of experience that she wouldn’t have received elsewhere. She says this internship made her more attentive and aware of her general surroundings as she was able to answer a good number of questions by the information that was posted around the building or briefly mentioned by the employees. Her favorite part about the internship was holding two baby kittens as the doctor went to get the materials needed to vaccinate them. Her plans now are to look into vet technician programs at different colleges, to continue working at the place she volunteered at so she can gain more hands-on experience, and to see if there are any other opportunities to practice vet tech activities outside of school.
