Hannah Johnson

In May, I started a new job at Pawsafe Animal Rescue as the kennel manager. Very quickly, it became a dream come true. I got to spend my days with puppies, and I got to help them find their forever home. It was such a fulfilling feeling, and it honestly helped shape my life and help narrow down the path I want to take for the rest of my life.

Currently, I work as a full time veterinary surgical technician. I'm not licensed, I didn't go to a special school or go through a special program. I didn't even have a lot of experience or training in the field when I was hired. I was trained solely at the clinic I work at. I have put in a lot of hours, including unpaid hours at home, learning skills to make me a good technician, and let me tell you, I am a DAMN good veterinary technician.

Last night was the first night in months that I slept through the night; but I would have given anything to hear that shrill little bark at 3 AM. Last night was the first night in months that I didn’t have to re-puppyproof my room before bed. But I would have gladly spent those extra 10 minutes to make sure you had everything you needed for the night.

I just started a new job as the kennel manager for an animal rescue group called Pawsafe. From the moment I met my boss and heard her talk about this rescue, I knew it was the right fit for me. I could hear the passion in her voice, and it sounded like what I at least think I sound like when I talk about helping animals. By the end of the interview, not only was I offered the job, but I also accepted it and immediately started brainstorming ideas for the kennel. However, as much as I love my job, and no matter how excited I am to be doing it, there are some hardships that come with working in animal rescue.

If you're anything like me, you had your whole life planned out as soon as you could talk. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I've had my life planned out from a very early age. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I had a plan for how I was going to get there. I did whatever I needed to do to keep the end goal in sight, and when things didn't go as planned, I definitely got myself very worked up about it. However, as I got older, I started to realize that life doesn't have a plan. Things happen, plans change, and that's okay. As long as you still have your end goal, it doesn't matter how you get there. And sometimes the journey to your goal is more exciting when it's not what you had planned out.

It's after 1 AM on a Thursday night (I guess it's technically Friday now), and I'm still awake. No, I'm not drunk or doing work. I'm actually procrastinating all of my work if I'm being honest. No, right now I'm just sad. I couldn't tell you why, but I am. Not the scary or crazy kind of sad, just a little bit sad. And you now what? That's okay.