This story is based on an interview with Ron Titterington, 59, a relief veterinarian from Eugene, Oregon . It has been edited for length and clarity.

I decided to become a veterinarian after a seminal moment in fourth grade.

It was midnight, and a stranger’s dog was hit by a car outside our house. I sat in the backseat, comforting it while my dad drove to the emergency clinic.

Sadly, the dog didn’t make it. However, the incident sowed seeds in my mind that I wanted to work with animals.

I worked part-time from 8th grade

I started in part-time jobs at kennels and veterinary practices in eighth grade and earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and…