Caring for the animals we love
You never know who or what is going to walk, crawl or slither through the doors of a veterinary hospital.
Clumsy Luna the greyhound and her fragile front legs, a tortoise in need of a prosthetic leg, Jock the Saint Bernard and his problematic eyelashes, Edward the Burmese cat and his extravagant diet, a burly farmer and the world’s tiniest Chihuahua, Lulu-bell… there is never a dull day in the life of a vet nurse.
That’s one of the reasons why local vet nurse Jade Pengelly (pictured), has written Tales of a Vet Nurse. Most people know what the role of a veterinarian is, but few understand what a veterinary nurse does, and what their role is. As the people who care for them around the clock, vet nurses are uniquely placed to speak for their patients and help owners understand what their pets are going through.
From emergency shifts at a posh London practice to a busy country hospital treating all manner
of wildlife – snakes, foxes, hedgehogs – to working with equine-surgeons and teaching the art of care to new generations of vet nurses in New Zealand, Tales of a Vet Nurse is about a life devoted to saving our beloved and unconditional friends.
Along the way, Jade Pengelly enlightens readers about the forbidden feasts of labradors, the dangers of X-raying prize-winning showjumpers, and the most common pets she sees as clinic inpatients.
Jade is a vet nurse from Christchurch, who has worked in five practices between the United Kingdom and New Zealand. She was also teacher of veterinary nursing at Wintec, Waikato, for two years.
Jade has a Bachelor of Science majoring in animal sciences, as well as a diploma of veterinary nursing. She has two horses, and shares five dogs with her husband.
