Five dogs and five cats were up for adoption last Sunday at the Veterinary Technician hosted pet adoption day. Vet techs were also at the event to help with the adoptions and to answer questions.

Head vet tech Professor Buch said that the event was “The culmination of a year of work for the students. Over the nine months, as part of the class activities they got spayed or neutered, they were vaccinated, they were microchipped and they had their blood tested for heartworm disease.”

Buch adopts the dogs and cats at the beginning of the year from different shelters. The animals must be in good health and able to be around other dogs and cats to be in the program.

The CRC Veterinary Technician program is really rigorous, according to Buch.

“We’re training registered nurses for animals and a lot of people don’t think it’s going to be really difficult, but it’s a very rigorous program,” said Buch. “We were the first program in California back in the 70s. We’re the oldest program and I think we’re the best program. We’re a really strong program and part of what makes our program strong is the animals because of the fact that the students can practice their skills.”

Veterinary technology major Lamarr Nelson said it’s a learning experience working with the animals. “You have to learn and keep trying and practicing but at the same time these are live beings, it’s not like practicing on your car,” said Nelson. “It’s really important that we take it to heart and actually pay attention when the teachers are teaching us different procedures and how to do things correctly because we’re going to need these skills not only with our animals here, but with other people’s animals.”

The Vet Tech program is a two year program offered at CRC. “It’s not just animal handling, playing with animals; it’s when you first go into your veterinarian clinic, it’s the people you first meet, it’s the people who ask how your animal’s doing, if you notice ‘my dog’s coughing, my cat is sneezing, what do i do?’” said Nelson. “We’re the first people you talk to; we’re animal nurses.”

Buch said that the pet adoption at the end of the year is a way of giving back to the dogs and cats because of what they’ve given the vet tech trainees all year. She said finding them homes is a way they try to get right with the pets.

Although 10 pets were up for adoption, not all of them found homes.

“We do our best. We have until the 12th to find them homes, ”said Buch. After that date, Buch said the program has an agreement with the shelters where they got the animals from and that some shelters take them back while others direct them to do other things with them. However, she added that with the help of the students pitching all their contacts and getting the word out “It’s rare that we have to send one back, but it’s always a possibility.”