Donny Astor, VMD, DACVS (Small Animal), (left), head of surgery at Philadelphia Animal Specialty & Emergency (PASE), and veterinary surgery assistant Ann Thelusma monitor the arthroscope while performing a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery. Photo by PASE Marketing.

Robin Lazaro, RVT, VTS (Emergency and Critical Care), veterinary technician supervisor, intensive care unit (ICU), provides care to a patient in the ICU at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Lazaro has served as ICU technician supervisor for more than 30 years. Photo by NCSU.

Cover photo: Alicia Carr, CVT, VTS (Emergency and Critical Care) at Hickory Veterinary and Specialty Hospital in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Photo by Jackie Pursell.

Meredith McGann, RVT, draws blood from a chicken patient with the help of Timothy Ireland, VMD, at Newtown Veterinary Hospital in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Photo by Kara Kirschner.

Tia Ely, RVT, (left) cleans a feline patient’s ears, with the assistance of Lilly, a student at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, at Cleveland Road Animal Hospital. Photo by Brandi Bauer.

Ethan Franks, LVT, head technician, cares for a duck at Montgomery Veterinary Hospital in Montgomery, New York. Photo courtesy of Montgomery Veterinary Hospital.

Pine Creek Animal Hospital head veterinary technician Jessie Rayburn, CVT, works to calm a cat down in the cat ward. “The cat came in critically ill, was placed on an IV and got very agitated by the IV and the cage,” recalled Pine Creek head CSR Lois Lantz. “Jessie noted the cat’s distress and did what she does best. The cat instantly calmed down (as you can tell by the look on its face).” Photo by Lois Lantz.

Kimberly Vargas, CVT, snuggles a kitten at Philadelphia Animal Specialty & Emergency. Photo by PASE Marketing.

Tabatha Rowe, LVMT, comforts Buffy on her last day at Emory Animal Hospital in Powell, Tennessee. Buffy was a long-time patient (14 years), whose owners lovingly chose euthanasia after she started having uncontrolled seizures. Photo courtesy of Emory Animal Hospital.

Adina Thompson, LVT, performs a femoral sciatic nerve block prepping for knee surgery at Sirius Veterinary Orthopedic Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo courtesy of Kristi McGrath/Adina Thompson.

Surgery team members Justina Bailey (right) and Myra Cruz-Spraw prep a patient for surgery at PASE in Philadelphia. Photo by PASE Marketing.

Jorge Stafford, LVT, contemplates taking a bite out of this adorable “Purr-ito” at Oneonta Veterinary Hospital in New York. Photo by Danielle Schafer.

Ayanna McCain, CVT, (left) and Tiffany Kay, DVM, work with a patient at Hickory Veterinary and Specialty Hospital in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Photo by Jackie Pursell.

Ophthalmology clinical manager Steph Siver, LVT, helps check the retina of a service dog at Philadelphia Animal Specialty & Emergency. Photo by PASE Marketing.

Veterinary assistant Carlos Jimenez gets some help from Cheerio at Rancho Sequoia Veterinary Hospital in Simi Valley, California. Photo by Wendy Pierro.

(From left) Brenda Girard, LVT; Shivani Gupta, DVM; Susan Burcham, DVM; and Gina Jenio, LVT, treat a victim of a dog fight at Moore Veterinary Hospital in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. The dog was attacked by another large dog in the owner’s backyard, and it took the team several hours to sedate and treat all the wounds. Photo by Michael Turner.

Jodi Eisenberger, CVT, catches up on paperwork while monitoring a patient in recovery at Pine Creek Animal Hospital in Pennsylvania. “Jodi is always smiling, gives patients the highest level of care from the beginning of the visit until the end,” said head CSR Lois Lantz. Photo by Lois Lantz.

Brianna Troyer, RVT, monitors a patient under anesthesia at Cleveland Road Animal Hospital in Wooster, Ohio. Photo by Brandi Bauer.

Lisa Woods, LVT, checking a patient’s vitals postanesthesia at Seattle Veterinary Associates. Photo by Kelly Semple.

Amanda Gerard, LVT, performing an abdominocentesis to learn skills for her veterinary technician specialty, at Veterinary Emergency Group—Upper East Side in New York City. Photo by Hira Basit, DVM.