A Day In The Life: emergency vet Sara Jackson
Sara Jackson keeps a cool head in an emergency and helps make sick pets well again.
IWAS born knowing I wanted to be a vet. Growing up in the countryside in Northumberland, I developed my enthusiasm for pets at a young age, as my father worked as a dog trainer and we lived and breathed dogs as a family.
It was this relationship with animals that led me to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.
My biggest influence was my father; he’s a retired police officer, but originally wanted to be a vet.
He supported me the whole way and I would never have been a vet without him.
As I’m an out-of-hours emergency vet, I mainly work night shifts.
It’s important to me to get as much fresh air as possible – going for a walk with my dogs, running and generally enjoying as much daylight as I can.
I commute 50 minutes into our clinic in Gateshead, where I normally start work around six p.m. I love working nights and in emergency medicine.
We don’t know what’s coming through the door and there’s no fixed routine.
During a shift, I’ll commonly perform complex surgery for injured pets, or administer medicine or general care for pets who have ingested something poisonous, have heart conditions, are dehydrated or have breathing issues.
Being around animals is the greatest gift. But when they’re really sick or injured you do everything in your power to get them better.
It does take an emotional toll when we lose animals. We have something called compassion fatigue and it doesn’t get any easier with time.
But the best feeling in the world is being able to make someone’s pet well enough for them to go home again.
Thankfully, that’s usually the case. I know how much my dogs mean to me, so I love being able to deliver good news to pet owners.
As part of the 15-hour shift, my colleagues and I usually stop for dinner around three a.m., and we’ll chat about our cases.
It’s surprising how many bizarre objects pets can ingest. I’ve had to perform surgery on a dog who had eaten a whole corn on the cob and a cat who had eaten fairy lights.
Once I’ve completed my shift, I get back home around 10 a.m. I’ll have a light breakfast, walk my dogs and try to sleep for six hours or so before my next shift starts.
My other interest in the vet community outside of my usual job is supporting people in the profession with their mental health.
I’m so lucky with my current employer – Vets Now – who are incredibly supportive, with staff wellbeing a main priority.
Being a vet requires a huge amount of hard work and empathy, but I’m so glad I achieved this.
Having initially failed to get into vet school, I refused to be deterred and now have a PhD to my name, as well as a degree in zoology, a degree in veterinary medicine, and an advanced practitioner certificate.
I now deal with more complex and critical cases.
As for relaxing after a hard shift, I cuddle my dogs. I have three Sussex spaniels called Viking, Sulla and Quinn, and Labradors named Remus and Woody.
I’m a country girl, so I also like going for walks, enjoy embroidery and spending time over good food with my husband, parents or friends.
I’m so lucky to have found a career that I love.