Emily

I solemnly swear I am up to no good. Unless I am with animals; then I am ALWAYS up to good. But seriously, caring for animals has always been a part of my identity. I grew up watching animal-related shows, collecting the animal info cards from National Geographic, and completely loving on the cats. When asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I always talked about helping animals and nature because “they can’t ask for help the way we can”.
I went to Eastern University in Pennsylvania and studied biology. It was there that I dove into my passion for nature: founding the environmental club on campus, partnering with Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, and studying Environmental Stewardship in New Zealand and Samoa for a semester. Even though my studies were geared towards environmental science, my love of animals never diminished and I had planned on going to graduate school for zoology, but family matters brought me back home to CT. After I graduated with a B.S. in Biology and moved home, I worked in the Children’s Museum’s after-hours program with the Girl and Boy Scouts. During that period, my main job was taking care of my sick grandmother. When she passed away, I continued towards my aspirations of working with animals; but it was in a different setting than I had originally planned.

I enrolled into the Veterinary Technician program at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted and quickly knew the vet clinic was where I was supposed to be. A lot of people would ask if I was going into vet school after I finished the program (and to be honest, it’s still a question I get A LOT), and I would have to explain that being a technician is where I want to be and that all great vets need great technicians. And I want to be a great technician. (If everyone went into vet school, who would assist the vets? Just saying.)

I started at Manchester Vet when I was almost done with Tech school and wanted to get a step up by getting a job in the field before I graduated. Thankfully, I was able to complete my externship at MVC that fall and train to be a surgery technician. I started off as a kennel nurse and now am the Lead Technician.

In my final year of tech school, I adopted a sick little kitten who remained with me throughout the beginning of my career. Owen had a plethora of health issues, including urethral issues, asthma, stomatitis, IBD, among others. He was my soul-kitty and my problem child. His 8 years enriched my life with learning and love, and I’ll never forget his frequent purr-nibbles with his remaining teeth, and his endless appetite for anything and everything (edible or not). Lymphoma claimed him too young, but I have found room in my heart for a new kitty. My husband and I adopted Fidget as a young adult cat to keep our other cat Rocco, company. When I am not playing with my cats, I can be found in the kitchen baking cookies and cakes (even though I don’t like to eat cake) or out on the trails running or hiking.