Working with animals

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One common trait I have noticed in us Aspies is that we enjoy being around animals. Or, at least some of us do.

I have a friend with Asperger's as well, and she is a veterinarian. I sometimes think that I should have taken that path (I studied Environmental Studies for my Master's), and I really enjoyed volunteering at animal shelters in the past. I enjoy being around animals, holding them, and many times, the animals seem to be able to pick up on that. They can sense that I am an animal person. I was also a tour guide at a nature preserve once, and loved being around the animals. Not the people, so much.

Does anyone else have the same feelings/experiences? There are days in which it is much easier to work with animals than with people.

That sounds like me. I love, love, love animals, and when I was growing up, I always wanted to be a veterinarian. I ended up studying history and politics instead and now I work in a library. Books are my other special interest, but unfortunatly, most of my day is spent doing work which doesn't directly involve books, so I often still wish I worked with animals (maybe with library cats?). I think that I would find dealing with pet owners difficult, especially if the owners didn't love their pets as much as I love mine.

I adore animals. I wanted to become a veterinarian, and I worked at a few vet clinics. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. I loved the patients, but the people were very difficult, both the people I worked with and the clients. My favorite part was helping prepare and monitor for surgery. I couldn't do that, though, because one of the vets I worked with was afraid of me because I have epilepsy.

I am fortunate to live in an area where there is a lot of wildlife (Southwestern Oregon), and I love encountering it. When I can pet sit, I do. I had two cats, and they both lived out their natural lifespans.

I'm more of a cat person than a dog person, although my most recent pet-sitting gig involved a very energetic dog, and he was a lot of fun to be around!

I wanted to be a veterinarian, but didn't have the grades to get admitted to vet school. Worked for 10 years in vet clinics, first as an assistant, then as a state licensed technician. Realized that I had made the right decision for the time...a lot of what the vet does is business management, which I have no interest in. But after 10 years I got tired of cleaning cages, the medical aspect was no longer interesting or challenging...& the fantasies people generate about their animals was driving me up a flippin' wall.

I also worked as an assistant horse trainer, groom, stable hand. Eventually got tired of the low pay. But loved the horses.

Tried taking a dog Search & Rescue; she flunked out, I got cross-wise of the team leader, but I learned a lot about more formal dog training. Now I am learning even more about dog training, helping out my local animal rescue group, teaching people how to train their foster dogs to make them more adoptable.

I enjoy dogs, I don't see them as furry people tho'; that's what drove me nuts about the run-of-the-mill pet owner. Dogs are dogs, they're fabulous as dogs, I love how they are different from us & still we hang out together; even tho' we are different species, we can share so much.

If you want a good dog read, one that doesn't project human experience all over them but tries to see them for themselves, I heartily recommend Patricia McConnell's book For the Love of a Dog.

I'm starting a Biology degree in the summer. Everyone tells me I should focus on microbiology or molecular biology (particularly gene technology), but really I want to convert to Ecology And Conservation and work in a nature reserve or something. There's potentially a field trip to Borneo if I convert...

Animal lover. Currently training dogs, hope to become a vet.

I'd love to have a job working with animals. :O)