Tails from a Vet Tech

On this week's episode, Tabitha talks to “The Trap King”, Sterling Davis, about, how randomly volunteering at a shelter to kill some time while he was on tour resulted into him leaving his rap career to follow his new passion of TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and cats. We talk about what led him to starting his own non-profit, Trapking Humane Cat Solutions, some of the challenges he has faced including the lack of diversity in animal welfare, and how he uses his entertainment background to spread the word of TNR.

Sterling "TrapKing" Davis is a well-traveled, ex-military, music, and cat enthusiast who has always loved entertaining and interacting with people. Since childhood, he was also the only guy in his neighborhood that loved cats. One day, while taking a break from the rap group he was performing with, Sterling saw a posting for a job cleaning litter boxes at his local shelter. He needed something to do to pass the time so he applied for the job.

He started cleaning litter boxes and loved working with cats so much, he was promoted to an outreach position where he could focus on trap-neuter-return (TNR), the only way to humanely control cat overpopulation. It was at that point he decided to give up his successful music career and focus on his passion for cats.

In 2017, he started his own nonprofite, Trapking Humane Cat Solutions, where he focuses on educating, assisting, and doing TNR and community cat management. Davis' mission is to change the stereotypes of not only men in cat rescue, but also bridge the gap in communication between black communities and predominantly white animal welfare orginizations. He lives and breathes his motto, "You don't lose cool points for compassion"

Today Davis is a sought-after speaker all over the world, speaking at events like Cat Con, Cat Camp, Meow DC, and fundraising events for small rescues and shelters across the United States. Sterling hopes to one day travel the country in a recreational vehicle, teaching animal advocates in communities of all sizes how to care for their community cats.

Support Sterling:

• https://trapkinghumane.org
• Instagram: @the_original_trapking
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trapkinghumane

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• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
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Humane Education is a field of study and teaching approach that connects human rights, animal protection, and environmental sustainability with the goal of preparing people to be compassionate, dedicated solutionaries, able to identify unjust, inhumane, and unsustainable systems and create solutions that enable people, animals, and nature to thrive.

This week, Tabitha talks to passionate advocate for positive animal welfare, Emily Tronetti, about the importance of humane education and why it is relevant to all animal professionals. She shares how you can integrate humane education into your work and strategies for inspiring compassionate action.

Emily Tronetti (MS, CTC, CPDT-KA, UW-AAB)
Emily has a Master of Science in anthrozoology and a Certificate in Applied Animal Behavior. She's a certified Fear Free Animal Trainer and a member of Fear Free’s Speakers Bureau. As a passionate advocate for positive animal welfare, Emily co-founded the Humane Alliance of Rescue Trainers, a nonprofit that matches shelter and rescue organizations with behavior support at no cost. She also offers consulting and education through her business, Coexistence Consulting. Currently, Emily is pursuing her Doctor of Education in Educational & Professional Practice through Antioch University. Her research is centered on adult humane education and animal agency in sanctuary settings.

Episode resources:

• Institute for Humane Education - https://humaneeducation.org/
• Open Sanctuary Project (if they're a sanctuary, also helpful for shelters and rescues) - https://www.opensanctuary.org 
• Coexistence Consulting - https://www.coexistence.consulting
• Humane Alliance of Rescue Trainersh - https://www.rescuetrainers.org

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• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
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This week, Tabitha is joined by the Behavior and Training Manager at Friends For Life Animal Shelter, Melissa Taylor. 

Melissa and I discuss the division between animal care and medical staff often seen in shelters, the importance of volunteers and community, and how our past experiences have helped us grow. She shares her wisdom of how her shelter has built relationships with the community, the benefits of volunteers, volunteer retention, and success stories of volunteer-based programs in her shelter.

Melissa Taylor (CBCC-KA, CSB-C) is the Behavior and Training Manager at Friends For Life Animal Shelter, a progressive animal welfare organization in Houston, Texas. At FFL, Melissa heads a comprehensive, animal-centered behavior program which includes in-house animal care, community outreach, and inter-shelter consultation. Melissa has logged more than twenty years in shelter animal behavior, starting with an internship at the ASPCA’s Animal Behavior Center in New York City. She developed a lasting love for cooperative care from training livestock and wildlife as the coordinator of the Behavior and Training Department at the Houston SPCA, and applies the same principles to the dogs, cats, exotics, and humans she works with now at Friends For Life.

Over the course of her career, Melissa has focused on the development of shelter programs related to animal behavior. She has partnered with other shelters locally and around the world to start behavior volunteer, fearful cat socialization, enrichment, and animal-centered staff training initiatives.

Melissa was awarded the 2022 Member of the Year Award by the Association For Professional Dog Trainers due to her work on the APDT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee examining the experiences of BIPOC members of the professional dog training community. She is passionate about the role that social justice issues play in the advancement of animal welfare.

Support Melissa:
https://friends4life.org/
https://friends4life.org/gethelp/

Resources mentioned on the episode:
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships (Nonviolent Communication Guides) by Marshall B. Rosenberg PhD

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
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**Trigger warning**: This episode may contain subject matter that some listeners might find distrurbing. There is brief discussion of suicide and spousal abuse. Listener disgression is advised. https://988lifeline.org/

This week, Mikkel Becker joins Tabitha. She begins by sharing one of the most interesting stories I have heard of what led her to leave her initial career and begin to work with animals. We get real and share experiences of how we can sometimes not advocate for ourselves like the animals we work with and what has helped us along the way. She also shares her advice on getting comfortable in front of the camera, dealing with criticism, and how to be authentic on video.

Mikkel Becker CBCC-KA, CDBC, KPA CTP, CPDT-KA
Certified trainer and behavior consultant, Mikkel Becker is the lead trainer for Fear Free Pets and Fear Free Happy Homes as well as the host of the Happy Paws podcast. Mikkel lives with Indiana Bones and Otis, pug mixes, and horse, Chili, who help her champion reward based training. She is also the co-author of From Fearful to Fear Free.

Support Mikkel 

Listen to Happy Paws podcast https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/podcast/

Fearfreepets.com

Fearfreehappyhomes.com



Anyone could be struggling with suicide. Find more specific resources here:
https://988lifeline.org/

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
• Facebook and Instagram

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• X: https://twitter.com/TailsFromRVT
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This week, Tabitha is joined by RVT, practice manager, and business leader, Theresa Cooper-Roberts. Theresa shares how she found and followed her passion for education and practice management. She shares her wisdom from years of working as a Surgical Training Center Manager at a respected school of veterinary medicine including how you can support and motivate your veterinary team and how to introduce new services into your practice.

Theresa Cosper-Roberts
Theresa Cosper-Roberts is a veterinary practice manager and an award-winning educator. A Registered Veterinary Technician in the state of Louisiana, she worked as an instructor of veterinary technology for several programs. She is a senior consultant for National Veterinary Solutions, an organization providing consultations and training services tailored to veterinary technicians, students, assistants, and practice managers. Theresa is also the Surgical Training Center Manager at a renowned school of veterinary medicine, where she has twice been appointed to the dean’s merit honor roll as an instructor, the only technician to ever obtain that distinction/honor.

Support Theresa Cosper-Roberts
https://www.nationalveterinarysolutions.com/

Don't forget to register for Calm, Confident, & In Control: Training for Cooperative Veterinary Visit (Virtual Event)
https://www.chirrupsandchatter.com/online-events

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
• Facebook and Instagram

Support the podcast via social media:

• X: https://twitter.com/TailsFromRVT
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Behavior Nerds Unite! If you are interested in learning more about behavior and/or upping your behavior game, this is an episode you can’t miss! This week we welcome VTS’s in behavior Jessica Benoit and Kristen Klebba to discuss bringing behavior services into your vet practice. 
 
 We discuss benefits and examples of behavior services while sharing experiences starting and implementing them to general practice. All 3 of us share tips we've learned along the way while chatting about individual paths to our VTS's in behavior.

Kristen Klebba RVT, VTS (behavior), KPA-CTP

Kristen graduated from Macomb Community College with an associate’s degree in veterinary technology in 2006. After graduation while working at a small animal practice she adopted a Jack Russell Terrier named Daphne who suffered from anxiety, sparking her passion for behavioral medicine. Kristen completed the Karen Pryor Academy Professional Dog Training program in April 2015 and joined the behavior team at Oakland Veterinary Referral Services in November 2015 where she furthered her knowledge of animal behavior and achieved her Veterinary Technician Specialty in Behavior in 2020.

Kristen recently made the switch back to general practice where she is looking forward to spreading more behavior knowledge by educating pet parents on proper puppy/kitten socialization and development, improving low stress handling techniques for veterinary staff and teaching cooperative care techniques for veterinary procedures. 

Jessica Benoit RVT, VTS (behavior), KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA

Jessica graduated from the NAIT Animal Health Technology program in 2010. She is a Registered Veterinary Technologist and the co-owner of Companion Veterinary Clinic, a Fear Free Certified Practice in Alberta, Canada. She is a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behaviour, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner. Jessica is also a Fear Free Certified veterinary professional, trainer, and speaker. 

Jessica enjoys educating and sharing her knowledge through speaking engagements which include Doggone Safe presentations for children, guest lecturing for post-secondary institutions, providing client education seminars as well as continuing education events for veterinary professionals. In addition, she provides mentorship for veterinary technologists and trainers interested in animal behavior.

Calm, Confident, & In Control: Training for Cooperative Veterinary Visit (Virtual Event) - Register now! 

In Episode Resource List:

• Fear Free Pets
•  Behavior Vets NYC
• Karen Pryor Academy

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
• Facebook and Instagram

Support the podcast via social media:

• X: https://twitter.com/TailsFromRVT
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 Content Warning: This episode does include a discussion of mental illness, depression, and suicide.

Disclaimer: Discussions about mental health are personal and unique. In this podcast, Meghan is not acting as a therapist or providing therapy in any capacity. This podcast covers broad discussions of topics related to mental health and is not intended to serve as therapy or a replacement for therapy. Views and experiences expressed by Meghan are her own and do not represent the field of counseling.

This week we welcome back Dr. Meghan Breedlove to discuss seeking out a therapy experience that fits YOU.

Not only do we talk about what to look for in the process of finding a therapist but also what to look for once you've started having visits with your mental health professional.

Spoiler: It's okay to re-evaluate after a few sessions to be sure you and your therapist or counselour are a good fit for each other.

Meghan Breedlove Bio:
Meghan Breedlove is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Ohio. She graduated with her Masters in Human Development and Family Science with a specialization in Sexuality Studies from The Ohio State University. She also graduated from Arizona State University with a Masters in Clinical Counseling and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Counselor Education and Supervision program at The Ohio State University. Her dissertation is focused on using restorative justice practices to repair harm and resolve conflicts among individuals in school settings. 

Meghan has worked with couples, adults, teenagers, and families in various settings. She has experience empowering clients to resolve relationship issues and family conflicts, navigate major life transitions, explore values and career interests, build communication skills, and cope with anxiety and depression. She believes in the importance of creating, communicating, and maintaining healthy boundaries in all aspects in life and seeks to support clients in this process. 

Meghan uses a range of interventions in therapy and is flexible in her approach depending on the needs of the client. She uses a Client-Centered approach and draws on techniques from Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, Reality Therapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy in her work with clients.

Show resources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
• Facebook and Instagram

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• X: https://twitter.com/TailsFromRVT
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A comprehensive behavior program, along with quality animal care standards, can increase adoptions and profoundly impact the well-being of the animals at your shelter and the humans caring for them. 

This week we welcome Amanda Kowalski, the vice president of behavior programs for the San Diego Humane Society, to discuss addressing the mental health needs of animals in our care. We discuss the importance of these programs, tips to get started, challenges she has encountered, and more! 

Amanda is San Diego Humane Society’s first vice president of Behavior Programs, leading our impact as a regional and national behavior and training resource. Amanda and her Behavior & Training team are entrusted with changing the lives of thousands of animals who need behavior intervention in order to become adoptable — or to stay with the families who love them.

Amanda is dedicated to the animals and has a passion for research, education and collaboration. She is known for loving “crazy ideas” as she encourages her team to innovate, be creative and think big. She is a huge source of support (and baked goods!) and always brings her best to the table, especially when her team needs her most. Amanda specialized in behavioral care in shelters for more than 13 years before taking on this role, including five years leading our Behavior Center, which has helped more than 4,000 shelter animals — who otherwise would have been out of options — since its beginning in 2013. She also played a crucial role in designing the new state-of-the-art Behavior Center facility, which opened in 2019 as the first of its kind in California.

Amanda is overseeing the expansion of our resources to treat more shelter animals, help other shelters and rescue organizations, expand our community training services, conduct applied behavior research, and develop and launch a Behavior Center Academy to train shelter behavior professionals both locally and nationally.

Amanda holds a master’s of science in animals and public policy from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. She is a certified animal welfare administrator (CAWA) through the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, a Fear Free-Certified Professional Trainer, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and the vice president of the board of directors for the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.

Resources mentioned in this weeks episode:

• Fear Free Shelters https://www.Fearfreeshelters.com
• Fear Free Happy Homes https://www.Fearfreehappyhomes.com
• Shelter Playgroup Alliance https://www.shelterdogplay.org/
• San Diego Humane Society behavior resources https://www.sdhumane.org/behavior-and-training/resources/
• Center for Shelter Dogs https://centerforshelterdogs.tufts.edu/
• Mental health and well-being in animals by Franklin McMillan 

Support Amanda's work with the San Diego Human Society:
https://www.sdhumane.org/

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
• Facebook and Instagram

Support the podcast via social media:

• X: https://twitter.com/TailsFromRVT
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/TailsFromAVetTechPodcast
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/tailsfromavettech

This week we talk with Crystal Vaquera about her career with the Viticus Group who offer some really wonderful Veterniary Symposiums.

In addition we spend some time discussing her work with the newly non-profit Veterinary Giving Tree.

Tune in to hear all about the work they do and how you can get involved in a charity that is near and dear to Tails from a Vet Tech.

Crystal Vaquera currently paves the way for licensed veterinary technicians by developing cutting edge courses for continuing education at the Viticus Group. As the Program Director, Veterinary Initiatives  she developed over 350 courses and for the last 10 years she has overseen the hands on veterinary labs for the Western Veterinary Conference, the second largest conference of its kind attended by 14000 veterinary professionals and veterinary technicians from all of the world. Crystal is the cofounder of The Veterinary Giving Tree, a non-profit established to assist veterinary professionals who have given of themselves tirelessly to the health and welfare of animals yet have fallen on hard times. 

When she is not at home spending time with her husband and three sons, Crystal volunteers as a big sister with the community youth and assist with spays and neuters at the Tails of Nye County nonprofit in Pahrump, Nevada. 

Support and donate to the veterinary industry giving tree- https://www.veterinarygivingtree.com/

Viticus Group- https://www.viticusgroup.org/splash

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
• Facebook and Instagram

Support the podcast via social media:

• X: https://twitter.com/TailsFromRVT
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/TailsFromAVetTechPodcast
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Join us as we celebrate Vet Tech Week with two of our favorites, Liz Hughston and Tasha McNerney!

Liz Hughston, MEd., RVT, CVT, LVT, LVMT, VTS (SAIM)(ECC)
Liz practices as a relief veterinary technician, trainer, and consultant in the San
Francisco Bay Area. Since her graduation from Foothill College’s Veterinary
Technology program in 2006, Liz went on to become certified as a VTS in both
Small Animal Internal Medicine and Emergency and Critical Care in 2012. She
has authored articles and textbook chapters and is a co-editor of Cannabis
Therapy in Veterinary Medicine (Springer Nature) and the upcoming 2nd edition
of the Small Animal Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses
textbook (Wiley).

Liz is President of the National Veterinary Professionals Union,
Co-Founder of the Veterinary Cannabinoid Academy, an Administrator of the Not One More Vet Support Staff group, Credentialing Committee Chair of the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of dvm360.

Liz is an advocates’ advocate, dedicated to advancing veterinary technology,
technicians, and assistants through training, mentorship, and support.

Tasha McNerney (BS, CVT, VTS)
Tasha is a Certified Veterinary Technician form Glenside, PA. She is also a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner and works closely with the IVAPM to educate the public about animal pain awareness. Tasha became a veterinary technician specialist in anesthesia in 2015. Tasha loves to lecture on various anesthesia and pain management topics around the globe and was recently named the VMX 2020 speaker of the Year for veterinary technicians. Tasha has authored numerous articles on anesthesia and analgesia topics for veterinary professionals and pet parents. In her spare time Tasha enjoys reading, spending time with her husband and son, and recording the Veterinary Anesthesia Nerds Podcast. 

Support Liz:

• National Veterinary Professionals Union: www.natvpu.org
• Veterinary Cannabinoid Academy: www.vetcannacademy.com 
• Not One More Vet Support Staff group: www.facebook.com/groups/nomvsupportstaff 
• Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians: www.aimvt.com

Support Tasha:

• Veterinary Anesthesia Nerds Podcast: http://www.veterinaryanesthesianerds.com

Have a question or topic? Someone you'd like to see on the show?
Send us an email: [email protected]

Support Tabitha's work via social media:

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
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