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January 2016 Moms
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Working with animals, does anyone have concerns or plan to continue their work until delivery?

SamAdams2006SamAdams2006 member
in January 2016 Moms
I was wondering if there are any other women on here who work with animals? My job is very physical, I work with rescue dogs in a shelter environment. I'm constantly running around with the dogs exercising them and conducting behavior tests. Since the dogs I work with are animals that people no longer want, most of the time that means they have little to no training. I love my job and the dogs that I work with, it's not their fault that they had irresponsible owners who didn't socialize them properly. I do however get a little nervous when some of the large dogs jump on me these days. Does anyone else on here work with animals?? If so when do you plan on working until? I want to stay as active and involved with the dogs for as long as possible but at the same time make sure that this is in no way going to hurt my baby.
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Re: Working with animals, does anyone have concerns or plan to continue their work until delivery?

  • JMCananJMCanan member
    Sorry I'm no help, but I just want to thank you for what you're doing for those dogs. I love visiting animal rescues where I live. :)
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  • shinyspadeshinyspade member
    I'm a student veterinary nurse. So I have a placement in a vets 3 days a week and then work at a cinema 2 days. I plan on going until the end of December when my placement block ends. I probably don't have to be as physical as you, there is a lot of standing and lifting and holding and bending involved but I have done a risk assessment and am happy that if there was something I wasn't comfortable doing everyone would be ok with me saying no. Dogs do jump up at me but it doesn't worry me, I do feat getting kicked in the stomach while holding a dog but again if I wasn't comfortable with a bigger more boisterous dog, it would be ok for me to say no.
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  • Leah6120Leah6120 member
    My best friend is a vet tech and she stopped working around the 8 month mark because she was simply too uncomfortable and she couldn't lift big dogs, didn't want to risk exposures, and couldn't do xrays. So it just made sense for her. Just do whatever you are comfortable with in the realm of what is safe and practical.
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  • Cailin+Deas+RuaCailin+Deas+Rua member
    I worked in a shelter when I was pregnant for ds1. I had to move to a more desk-type job around 8 months because my belly was in the way and I couldn't stand long enough. I continued doing the vet tech duties and evals (meet your match). I took precautions but since the MyM evals were two person evals, I was able to pass the more difficult animals to my partner.

    I also always wore gloves while vaccinating or medicating the animals, avoided the cleaning chemicals and wore a mask if anyone was using them near me (shelter requirement at my shelter), and didn't touch litter boxes or other soiled items. I continued to work with the feral cats because I was the only one qualified- but we didn't ever physically handle them unless they were sedated and that was only for their trap/neuter/return.
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  • mg137mg137 member
    No advice but thank you for helping the dogs!!
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  • jencook25jencook25 member
    Do whatever you feel comfortable with. Everyone is different, and will know what is 'right' for them. Between my work as a farm consultant (lots of visiting/hand on farm work), living on a farm myself, and my own pets, I would personally be happy handling larger dogs for a while yet, so long as they showed no aggression. Being bowled over by a dog i would have thought is more dangerous than coping a paw to the tummy (think of pregnant mums with toddlers!). I would suggest transitioning to smaller/quieter dogs as you feel appropriate, and beware of anything health wise you might pick up!
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  • mrhargrmrhargr member
    Hi there! I am a small animal veterinarian and I plan on working until I go into labor or my doctor says stop. I have had some rowdier excited patients jump up on me but haven't been worried about them hurting the baby or anything. My main issue lately is my lower back/sciatic nerve pain. My tech and assistant are awesome about lifting for me, etc. be careful and do what you are comfortable with. If there is a way to make it work, maybe have someone else handle the big dogs? In a shelter environment I would be more concerned with contracting a zoonotic disease than a dog jumping on me but I totally understand your concern.
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  • GAgirlinSDakotaGAgirlinSDakota member
    Not exactly the same, but I help work cattle (DH family's ranch) a few times a week.  I help herd them through the chute, vaccinate, helped hold down calves for branding, and I plan to continue until sometime after Thanksgiving.  I wouldn't worry too much about dogs jumping on you.  Baby is very well protected inside you, and its a lot harder to cause damage than people think.  Just be careful and listen to your body.

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  • duck_duck_gooseduck_duck_goose member
    I'm a tech and I was moved to full time reception until after I come back from maternity leave around week 19. Although, they saw me as a liability, considering I got cryptosporidium and bit by a cat within the first 3 months of pregnancy and then hit in the stomach so hard it took my breath away week 18. I think if my next pregnancy is a little smoother I will stay in the back until I physically can't anymore.
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  • scornwell717scornwell717 member
    I used to work at a shelter and was always concerned about the big excited dogs jumping too. You just always have to assume they're going to jump and have your knee ready to go up to block them. I worked in surgery when I was there so I was also concerned about being exposed to anesthesia gas and other chemicals. Another worry I had was walking through the noisy kennels...I was afraid it would make my baby deaf!! But that one is just me being paranoid :) thankfully I left that place, they treated me like dirt so I had a good reason!
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  • kaos16kaos16 member
    I would also encourage you to run your concerns by your doctor on your next visit.  It seems like your level of activity might be akin to the "continue working out as you did before you got pregnant" theory and could be good for you.  If there are specific concerns, like lifting or being kicked or bit, your doctor might be able to give you good advice about what to stop, or how to modify your behaviors at work.  Good luck!
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  • mrhargrmrhargr member
    taylor&sanders said:

    I'm a tech and I was moved to full time reception until after I come back from maternity leave around week 19. Although, they saw me as a liability, considering I got cryptosporidium and bit by a cat within the first 3 months of pregnancy and then hit in the stomach so hard it took my breath away week 18. I think if my next pregnancy is a little smoother I will stay in the back until I physically can't anymore.

    Oh man crypto sucks. I can't imagine having that while pregnant.
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