Getting to Know: Cynthia!

June 4, 2013

This week we are getting to know Cynthia, one of the certified veterinary technicians (CVTs) at Grand Avenue Veterinary Center. Cynthia has been with Grand Avenue Veterinary Center since 2004. In her own words:

What made you decide to become a veterinary technician?

I couldn’t stay away from animals, even as a kid.  Working with animals was never not an option.

Where did you go to school and what year did you graduate?

I went to school at Globe College and graduated twice – in 2001 as a veterinary assistant, then again in 2003 as a veterinary technician.

Tell us about your history with Grand Avenue Veterinary Center.

I was hired at GAVC after graduating from Globe. This is my first job as a veterinary technician, and  9 years later GAVC is like my second family. 

Do you have an area of special interest in veterinary medicine?

I love the parasites! Companion animal behavior is a close second.

Tell us about your pets.

Really?!? All of them?!? Really!?!  Allright…here goes:

Ellie (aka Elliephant LaFuzzybutt, Elliebutt LaFuzzyphant, Quadra-baby) is my Newfie girl. Chris (another CVT at Grand Avenue Veterinary Center) introduced us through Second Chance Animal Rescue and the rest is history…love at first sight, shedding fur, more love, drool, more shed fur, more drool, and of course, more love!

Monster is my 100+ pound Heinz 57 boy.  Named appropriately as he is an eternally puppy-like, troubleseeking, mischeif making, counter-surfing, talking/shrieking/making-ears-ring mutt who loves cookies and knows how to sleep in the oddest and most contorted positions I’ve ever seen in a dog his size!  Affectionately called the “Siberweiler Dobershegal”  for all his many charachteristics and endearing qualities, like thinking butt scratches are the best thing in the world, (well maybe cookies are better)!

Kitty time: Emmett, Jasper, and Kassia are senior aged siblings that were live-trapped in the parking lot of a White Castle as kittens.  What a strange (and lucky) turn of events when i thought i was just hitting the drive thru for a shake!

Steel, Bogart, Smokey and Spaz are the other senior cats I adore daily. Steel was abandoned at another vet clinic, where his aggressive nature had him close to euthanasia. Silly me, I brought him home! Over a decade (…and many scars on the ankles!) later, he has resolved to be a purry lapcat! Bogart was a clinic cat at GAVC many moons ago, but his senior days are spent in the middle of the bed, just cat napping the afternoons away.  Smokey refuses to grow up and still thinks pouncing at nothing is great fun, and even better to chase that nothing when fresh catmint is around!  Spaz lives up to his name, and he is glutten for chin scratches. 

Tigger is my very special, “special needs” kitty. With physical limitations similar to our clinic cat Chou Chou, his life is a little miracle every day.

JuneBug is the youngest at about 6 years old, having been brought up a “farm girl” though I don’t know her exact age. Prego with kittens when I took her in, she shined as a mother (nursing kittens on a bed is probably a bit easier than in a barn)!

Then there is the iguana, Jade. The cornsnake, Amber. The Kenyan sand boa, Cheetah.

What is one of your favorite quotes?

From the movie Better Off Dead, “Two dollars!!! I want my two dollars!!!”

What sound do you love?

The purring of cats,. A close second, thunder-storms with heavy rain fall

What was the first thing you bought with your own money?

My first tax return went to purchase a Pioneer sound system, it had a six CD changer and Dolby surround sound (the newest and coolest features at the time!).  Blew the back speakers within a month (my fault, but I could blame Jane’s Addiction!), but the rest of the unit still works and sounds great today! Not a bad investment at 15!

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

Psychokinesis/telekinesis- (Level 5 mutant!)