My Animal Reference Lab Experience

At the Animal Reference Lab, I was a specimen processor (or as they called it Sample Management Tech). Each night curriers would come with hundreds of samples from local veterinarians, animal hospitals, and even zoos. From blood - urine - feces - really any body fluid imaginable - to swabs from wounds - and even organ parts in formalin. It was my job to log the specimens into the computer and label them so each department of the lab was able to run their tests. New to the field and very interested in what the techs were doing, when I had free time or if it was a slow night I would sit with the tech and learn what they did with the samples. Since these were not human samples there are fewer restrictions on who can test them - you don’t even need a certification and an associate's/bachelor's is only preferred. A lot of the techs were vet techs working to get into vet school. 

I really loved working there and after becoming a MLS I realized how much it helped me prepare for the program. From learning the test names to knowing what type of tube certain blood goes in for each department, to the basic understanding of different computer systems used to process samples. Most of the testing for animals was the same for humans. Not to mention sitting with the techs, I learned so much and would recommend the experience to anyone interested.

Fun Facts About Animal Blood:

Camels

All of camel’s RBCs are oval shaped (ovalocytes). The shape allow the RBCs to orientate themselves with the flow of the blood through even the smallest blood vessels. So even while dehydrated and the blood thickens they can still flow freely.

Reptiles and Birds

Through evolution, reptiles and birds have kept all their RBC’s nucleated except for Salamanders.

Dog Vs. Cat

If you want to see images of cat vs dog blood cells check out: https://www.idexx.com/files/blood-cell-guide.pdf