WHEN IT COMES TO ANIMALS, SIZE DOESN’T MATTER Meet Vet Tech Assistant Victoria Eckiss! The Best Companion
several cats, livestock, and two horses. Between the animals, her four kids —Duke (6), Colt (4), and Monte and Zeb (2) — and her husband of eight years, Uhlan, she manages to stay pretty busy. The family of six enjoys spending their time mostly outdoors, camping, fishing on the mesa, and riding their horses. “My kids have been riding with us since they were babies, and as soon as they could hold on by themselves, they’d go for little walks,” Victoria says. “This is the first year Duke and Colt had horses they could ride on their own.” When asked what she likes best about her job at Surface Creek, Victoria notes the fast-paced environment, saying, “There’s always something new coming in.” Aside from the animals and the work, she also loves the people. “Surface Creek is a really good group to work with. Everyone is really nice, and it’s definitely a family atmosphere.”
When veterinary tech assistant Victoria Eckiss joined Surface Creek Vet a fewmonths ago, she was fresh off a long stint as a stay-at-home mom. She had the opportunity to go back to work, and Victoria is now happy to be part of the team. As a tech assistant, Victoria primarily works with Dr. Susie to prepare animals for surgery and ensure their lab work is in order. This is her first job in a veterinary office, but that doesn’t mean she’s not experienced with animals. When she lived in California, she worked at a quarter horse racehorse farm. She now primarily works with dogs and cats, but the kind of care and compassion needed is similar. “I’ve always loved animals and been interested in the veterinary field,” Victoria says. “Working here, you get to experience all the different breeds and sizes of dogs — but you don’t have to worry about taking them home at the end of the day!” Victoria already has plenty of animals of her own to look after. After hours, she’s a rancher with two dogs — a Bluetick Coonhound and a Catahoula Leopard Dog — plus
SELF-HELP BOOKS CAN’T DO IT ALL How Reading Fiction Can Benefit You Many CEOs and other successful individuals continually espouse the benefits of regular reading. Many times, leaders read self-help books to improve their leadership skills and become more successful. This is all well and good, but even the most successful people in the world could be missing out on the unique benefits that come specifically from reading fiction. But what are those benefits exactly? Greater Empathy When a psychologist analyzed 86 functioning MRI (fMRI) studies, he found that the same parts of the brain that fire up when reading fictional stories also fire up when we’re seeking to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. That’s because when the characters in the book we’re reading are thinking or feeling a certain way, we tend to think or feel that way with them. Less Stress and Better Sleep When we read fiction specifically, we tend to disengage from the world — and that’s a good thing! Our brains can’t always be functioning at their peak capacity. We need breaks, or else we’ll stress ourselves out and negatively affect other areas of our lives. Stress tends to keep us from sound sleep, but reading fiction before bed engages the imagination, taking us away from the stresses of everyday life before we drift off. More Comfort With Uncertainty Even though many stories (particularly those portrayed in popular movies) have nice happy endings, most people would agree that life sometimes leaves things a little more open-ended. While this fact might stress out some people, researchers have discovered that fiction readers don’t need “cognitive closure” as much as nonfiction readers. Greater Happiness Even if none of the benefits of fiction interest you, everyone wants to find ways to make themselves happy — and for many, that is reading fiction. According to one survey, 76% of participants said that reading makes them feel good and improves their lives. So, what are you waiting for? Dust off that novel you’ve been meaning to read and crack it open!
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