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I am in college and hopefully on my way to veterinary school someday. I wish to begin working at an animal hospital to begin rudimentary training by shadowing a veterinarian. There is a superb animal hospital in my town, whose owner has been Veterinarian of the Year several times; I really want to work there as opposed to anywhere else, especially seeing as I have known the veterinarians my entire life. I called them about a month ago, and left my number and the fact that I was calling to inquire about employment/volunteer work. They never called me back! Should I look for work at another hospital, or should I be persistent with this one? If you suggest the latter, should I keep calling until someone calls me back, or should I physically go down there? Thank you so much for your time!

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $10

I would suggest you ask for a time you could speak to the vet to explain what you are looking for. Barring that I'd start with a letter to the vet vs going down in person. Certainly asking if there is a good time to speak to the vet in charge about your wish to learn from them would be another possibility.
If they don't have space for you in their office then I'd suggest going to other nearby vets. Work experience helps a lot when it comes to vet school and getting good relationships with vets for potential summer jobs is a good idea too.
Phone calls are nice but an in person visit might be difficult without an appointment so a letter to the vet stating your interests and goals followed by a phone call to make an appointment to see the vet (you could offer to buy lunch!) might work.
Hope this helps you!

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Reply to Nancy Holmes's Post: Thank you, I appreciate your answer. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to accept/etc; my grandfather passed away and so I have not been able to be on the computer much, as I'm sure you can imagine.

With regard to my question, however, won't it look strange if I have called him a month ago and now I'm writing him a letter? I don't want to seem pushy or annoying!

Thank you very much for your help -

I don't think so as he may never have gotten your message. If you only spoke to staff they may have garbled it on the way to him.
A letter is more formal and more likely to be seen.
If you work up a good letter keep a copy so you can use it with another vet as a template.
Be sure in your letter to include your phone number so he could contact you directly by phone to say yes or no.
You can also call the clinic and see if you can set up an appointment to meet him to talk about your vet school plans. He might be willing to do that as many vets will help students along.

Please press Accept if you find my answer helpful. Want more info? Just reply on your question!
Bonuses for good work are always appreciated!
Thanks for the opportunity to help you!

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