Just ask the customer whose dog needed an injection and was looking for some sound professional advice: as long as what she’s doing is within state guidelines, Jan Gorham can wield a needle as professionally as any veterinarian. A registered California veterinary technician for the last 30 years, Gorham has picked up countless tricks of the trade from her schooling at Mesa College and from her bosses at several area animal hospitals. She’s also been a groomer and has a network of friends among pet sitters and dog walkers, whose jobs she calls “very important to the animal’s health.”
And now that she’s hung her shingle under the name Tech Pet Care, the Ocean Beach resident wants neighbors to know that there’s a difference between the roles of a sitter or a groomer and that of a caretaker. It’s one thing to provide kennel and companionship and transport services for dogs and cats, she said (see techpetcare.com or call (619) 807-5376 for the particulars and prices) — but Gorham’s technical expertise, which ranges from emergency hospital care to obedience training, raises the level of that care, perhaps revealing a medical issue that a veterinarian wouldn’t otherwise see.
“There are a lot of people who still leave their animals with the vet when they go on vacation when they could leave them with me,” said Gorham, herself a dog owner. “And if the animals stay at my house, I can wash them and clean their teeth, but I’m also more than just a pet-sitter. I can give sort of a cursory exam. I bring a stethoscope with me when I go to the owners’ homes just so I can give them an idea of how the animal is doing. I can take a weight, inspect their mouths, their glands and I can encourage the owner. If they brush their animal’s teeth, if they comb their hair, if they keep the fleas away, they’re going to have a healthier animal” — and thus give the pet the best line of defense prior to an exam.
California’s registered veterinary technicians are required to complete a two-year associate’s degree program at a college accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association or have accumulated 4,416 hours of practice in 24 months under a veterinarian’s supervision. They must also pass a state-administered examination and submit to a criminal background check, at which time they’re issued a license to practice, renewable every two years. Locally, Chula Vista’s Pima Medical Institute offers the study program.
Las normas de la Junta Médica Veterinaria de California establecen que los técnicos registrados no pueden diagnosticar, pronosticar, realizar cirugías, prescribir medicamentos o dispensar aparatos. Bajo supervisión indirecta, pueden tratar quemaduras, aplicar torniquetes, reanimar animales, realizar análisis de sangre y administrar sustancias controladas; bajo una supervisión más cercana, pueden inducir anestesia, insertar catéteres, aplicar yesos y férulas y realizar extracciones dentales.
Y como expertos en animales, pueden dar consejos prácticos que pueden escapar a la comunidad de cuidadores de mascotas. Los llamados deportes extremos para animales son un “no-no” explícito a menos que el animal esté acostumbrado o que el humano traiga un cochecito. Cada vez que un animal se muerde a sí mismo, puede estar introduciendo bacterias que causan enfermedades. “Me pregunto”, dijo Gorham, “cuánto de eso saben los cuidadores de mascotas”.
Mientras tanto, Gorham se contenta con dirigir una operación de una sola persona como "un cuidador de mascotas glorificado", sintiendo la necesidad de servicios médicos auxiliares en lo que ella llama una excelente comunidad local de dueños de mascotas. San Diego cuenta con muchos recursos de cuidado aclamados, desde gigantes corporativos como PETCO hasta destacados especialistas en comportamiento de mascotas, la Sociedad Protectora de Animales de San Diego y el Centro de Animales Helen Woodward. El exceso provoca la nota de preocupación de Gorham sobre la saturación del mercado.
"Nunca sabes realmente", dijo sobre su empresa, "cuántas personas están haciendo lo que estás haciendo hasta que comienzas a hacerlo". Pero en medio de la escasez crónica de veterinarios, es lógico que los técnicos también escaseen, y eso hace que Tech Pet Care sea un activo comunitario potencialmente más valioso.