For someone who gets a bit squeamish about blood from herself or other humans, it may seem counterintuitive that Dr. Grace VanHoy became a board-certified internist in large animal medicine with surgical expertise. (If you’ve ever witnessed a bovine c-section, you know it’s not for the faint of heart.)

There aren’t many veterinary medicine professionals who see the usual companion animals—dogs, cats, and horses—and also get the chance to work with exotic species like tigers, chimpanzees and alligators.

But when you’ve spent more than 30 years as a specialized technician in veterinary imaging, like Jason Peters, RVT, RLAT, it’s just another week on the job.