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The median annual earnings of veterinarians in 2008 were $79,050. Veterinarians who practice in East or West Coast cities or who specialize in a particular field will probably earn the most, but they are also more likely to have higher overhead costs and higher living expenses. Becoming a veterinarian also requires an investment of time and education. Veterinarians must complete four years of college plus several more years of veterinary school.

If you are not sure that you are cut out to be a veterinarian, but you are still interested in the field of pet health, you may want to train as a veterinary technician or a veterinary technologist. Employment in this field is expected to grow by 36 percent—that is a much faster rate than average for all occupations—through the year 2018. Specializing in advanced veterinary services, such as dental care and surgery, can create additional opportunities.

Besides working in a veterinary practice, veterinary technicians and technologists can seek jobs at biomedical facilities, diagnostic laboratories, wildlife facilities, humane societies, animal-control facilities, boarding kennels, drug- or food-manufacturing companies, and food-safety inspection facilities.

Charles Cruft: The P.T. Barnum of Dog Shows

A young Charles Cruft began his association with canines as an employee of Spratt’s dog food company. It was as a Spratt’s representative that Cruft visited Paris to assist with a dog show at the World Exhibition in 1879. From this experience, Cruft decided to start his own dog shows in London and soon became the Barnum of the European dog-show world. Naming the show after himself, the publicity-hungry entrepreneur hailed Cruft’s Dog Show “the greatest show on earth” and attracted thousands of entries, including the Collies and Pomeranians of the reigning monarch Queen Victoria. Crufts quickly became the most prestigious show in the United Kingdom—and perhaps the world. After Cruft’s death in 1938, the show was sold to the English Kennel Club, which continues to produce the show each winter, still attracting thousands of purebred dogs from around the world.