#3 Monkeys, Cows, Rabies & a Very Long Plastic Sleeve

Episode 3 of Dad and the Vet Tech starts as a reminder at dinner and somehow ends with monkeys, rabies and fainting which pretty much sums up how these conversations usually go. A casual conversation with the Vet Tech's Mom brings back the memory of when Xena lost all her toenails, leading to a discussion about autoimmune disease, our German Shepherds Czar and Xena, and the vet visit that turned into an impromptu staff training session.

From there, the Dad gets a front-row seat to vet tech school realities, including pre-exposure rabies vaccines, why they’re required, what they cost, and if they go into the stomach. We also revisit one image every large-animal vet tech instantly recognizes.. a very long plastic sleeve and a bovine pregnancy check. Hands-on learning is not just a phrase here, it’s the entire experience.

The conversation moves into a semester spent working with rhesus macaques monkeys, covering daily care, enrichment, training, and the very human personalities of monkeys who watched TV, peeled oranges, and kept everyone on their toes. We wrap things up with our two-and-two segment, balancing feel-good rescues with tougher animal welfare stories, and end with a reminder that this work can be funny, heavy, and meaningful all at once.

If you’ve ever wondered what vet tech school is really like, or found yourself learning more than you expected as a parent, this episode is for you.

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