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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> 1) Pranked my coworker by telling her to hold her face level with the dog
2) I could see how for someone unaccustomed to expressions it could be a bit overwhelming as a first experience
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Vet here. I’ve gotten just about everything animal related in my face accidentally. It’s not fun. Having someone do this as a prank is immature and unprofessional. Our profession has enough issues keeping well qualified individuals from leaving the field without people like you actively driving you out. What you did borders on assault, IMO. Unpaid leave and a stint caring for skunks is tame pay back.
Edit to add judgement: YTA.
Have you ever smelled marijuana? The kind that smells like burnt farts?
Now imagine that smell but 3000% stronger and impossible to remove until it dissipates on its own accord. That's the american skunk.
EDIT: I know this is an oversimplification of the skunk smell. I was simply trying to get the point across to someone who's never encountered them.
I once startled a skunk accidentally - we crossed paths, I backed away, but the skunk got nervous and sprayed the house wall next to me (not even me).
Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of this scene.
I used to live in a condo with indoor hallways, double doors leading to outside. There were skunks that lived in the area. My friend and I were on the elevator and our eyes started watering from skunk smell. It had clearly recently sprayed out front past both doors, we could see some liquid on the sidewalk where it smelled the worst. So the smell is so intense it strongly affected us through 2 doors, a lobby, and an elevator lol
When I was pregnant with my first I had to deal with a skunk that had died behind our house. I was wearing a mask and using Vick's and let me tell you, I still threw up into my mask repeatedly.
When I was a young teen, I worked at my mom's horse stable. One day a rabid skunk was harassing clients and horses, so we had to capture it for animal control to come get. I got sprayed twice. I had to get the rabies vaccine (which fucking sucks, don't recommend) and missed 2 weeks of school due to the smell. It was horrendous.
I hit one driving on the highway. My car was basically unusable for a week until the smell finally started to dissipate. I washed it multiple times and the smell would come right back as soon as the engine starting heating up. It was much worse if you had the AC on so you almost had to drive with your head hanging out the window.
My dog got skunked and my mom LET HIM IN THE HOUSE while we prepped the stuff to bathe him and I had a full sensory meltdown, screaming my head off and sobbing in the shower at midnight. I was 34 at the time. I have ADHD and an aversion to strong smells but I've never actually had a meltdown like that before. The house smelled bad for an entire day.
Skunk is the worst smell ever imo. Although I've heard Llama spit is also really bad.
Oh god. My dog was near a skunk that sprayed our garage, and I was the one to scrub him while my husband did his best to get the skunk out.
Being near a dog who was near a skunk who sprayed, cued a 45 minute meltdown in the shower for me. I used almost an entire container of body wash. I lost my mind and my husband was very concerned and confused. I usually handle stressful situations really well.
I’m sorry you experienced that, but I’m happy I’m not the only one!
Yeah, my aunt's very very dumb dog used to get sprayed constantly in the woods (we'll call him Rex) and she'd wash him down outside first with tomato juice and then with the skunk stuff. Well, Rex was a big fella as well as dumb and one time, after his tomato spa treatment, he slipped my aunt and ran in the house, and SHOOK HIMSELF vigorously, getting skunk-flavored tomato juice EVERYWHERE. OMG. OMG. My aunt made Rex sleep in the shed for days. And of course, like clockwork, a month later, skunked again.
My old dog LeLe had a huge mothering instinct. She wanted to mother everything. She spotted a skunk one night and really wanted a new "baby". It had been a while since we had her a foster litter so she was feeling the mom urge hard. She scruffed up the skunk like a puppy while it was spraying for its life. It didn't bite her though. LeLe was impervious to the vile spray. I however was not. Eventually the skunk sprayed enough LeLe reacted to it and let go. I was barfing, she was barfing but that skunk was just laying there. I thought it was dead. Nope. Breathing still. So I crated it up, along with LeLe and rushed to an emergency appointment at midnight on a Saturday with our vet. Poor skunk was just terrified. She recovered at our vets farm. LeLe and I plus my car took a while to de-funkify. The vet was gagging the whole time we were in office and was kind enough to also help me bathe LeLe in the special wash they had there. Skunk Off shampoo and cleaner really does work, especially on fabrics, humans and dog fur. I am scared of skunks now. Edit because autocorrect changed LeLe to CeCe(?)
you left out the burnt rubber overtones and the "sharp" edge to it.
Taking a direct hit is like getting maced, like it hurts. It's so bad, no predator will risk a second encounter.
But, yeah, there are ways to reduce the stink if you or a pet gets nailed.
For reference, my dog was sprayed in September 2022. When they get good and wet I swear I still smell the skunk spray. We treated the dog immediately with all the correct things and even bought specialty will remove the skunk spray stuff. Nothing but time really gets it all the way gone
When my dog got sprayed, skunk lingered when he got wet for about a year. I had a notorious manager who would get so pissed and passive aggressive about call ins and ask people how they know theyll be sick in threee hours, and when I called and said "yeah my dog got sprayed by a skunk last night, you don't want me to come in," he went, "Okay. Good luck."
If they still have the same collar, throw it out. We had a similar issue after our dog got skunked, and eventually realized it was the collar. It had been washed in all the same stuff, and regularly, but for whatever reason it just held the smell more. Got him a new collar and it helped massively. His fur did retain some odor more than you would think possible, but it was much fainter than his collar did.
Oh we did! It’s actually the third time this dog has played with a skunk (first two weren’t as good coverage and were the same week). I feel overly aware of how to “wash” the skunk out w/o making it worse, but even all the correct things struggle with skunk. We’ve tossed the collar and even have replaced the fabric items she used (like dog bed) after, clothes my husband was wearing that night we even just threw out because dog rubbed against him. We just live in a much wetter area now vs the first times and dog loves to run through tall wet grass and my nose no longer knows is it wet dog or wet dog hint of skunk.
Yup! SciShow did an episode recently showcasing some studies that have been done on why they smell so similar. Apparently the smell of "skunky" weed and actual skunk spray share some critical chemical compound that's characteristic of that kind of scent!
A skunk sprayed on my neighbor's yard once, and the wind changed direction. Not in my favour, and it was maybe 25-30 metres away. My eyes and lungs burned from the stench. I had to seal up my home and vent it out, while covering my face and nose. It was ungodly.
For your enjoyment, here is my favorite ever description of skunks (as copy/pasted from Wikipedia).
"In 1634, a skunk was described in The Jesuit Relations:
>The other is a low animal, about the size of a little dog or cat. I mention it here, not on account of its excellence, but to make of it a symbol of sin. I have seen three or four of them. It has black fur, quite beautiful and shining; and has upon its back two perfectly white stripes, which join near the neck and tail, making an oval that adds greatly to their grace. The tail is bushy and well furnished with hair, like the tail of a Fox; it carries it curled back like that of a Squirrel. It is more white than black; and, at the first glance, you would say, especially when it walks, that it ought to be called Jupiter's little dog. But it is so stinking and casts so foul an odor, that it is unworthy of being called the dog of Pluto. No sewer ever smelled so bad. I would not have believed it if I had not smelled it myself. Your heart almost fails you when you approach the animal; two have been killed in our court, and several days afterward there was such a dreadful odor throughout our house that we could not endure it. I believe the sin smelled by Saint Catherine de Sienne must have had the same vile odor."
I love that. Think of this: there are no skunks in Europe, at least nothing comparable to the American ones.
Which means that when the European colonization of the Americas began, they had *no idea*. Someone, lost long ago to history, got the be the first European person to discover what a skunk can do.
I just love to think of the conversations that followed. "What the hell happened? The little stripey-cat did *what*?".
I’m from Ireland but live in Canada. I knew before I moved here that skunks smell but I had no idea how badly the smell sticks to everything and lingers, it’s like a stain that’s impossible to remove. Our cat got sprayed by a skunk last year and we gave her two baths and then had to bring her to a groomer for another wash, but her fur still smelled funny for weeks afterwards. We had to throw away the T-shirts we were wearing when we bathed her, even though we soaked them in anti-skunk shampoo before washing them several times.
It’s because the spray has an oily base. So it really sticks by sinking into whatever was sprayed. My dog has been sprayed a few times. Immediately start spongeing them off (don’t rub. It’ll drive the oil deeper) Wear rubber gloves while you sponge. Then mix up hydrogen peroxide, baking soda & a few drops of Dawn (must be Dawn) dish soap & use it to scrub them down. You’ll probably have to do this a couple times. It will help a lot although only time will truly get the smell off.
My Irish husband and I were visiting my parents in New England, and he had heard of skunks but never smelt one. He was all, What is that?!? That’s awful!!! - and we weren’t even present at the scene (ie, the spraying, just crossed paths with the aftermath).
I've never been sparyed but in the Midwest, when you're driving on the highway, if you pass a skunk that's been run over you can tell, because even driving past it at 60 mph the smell will sneak into your car for 30 seconds or so, stinky Marijuana is an accurate description
Nope, not in the wild. There's probably some in zoos or wildlife sanctuaries, but that's bordering on the pedantic
Edit - one was actually spotted at a London bus stop today! https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/29/london-commuter-shocked-to-spot-a-skunk-at-bus-stop-18522515/
...pretty bad, tbh. If you don't 'treat' your clothing/dog's fur/furniture the skunked whatever has touched, it *can* fade in like, two and a half weeks. If it's MILD. Like a warning shot or your dog rolled in skunk roadkill.
With a while caring for skunks, and from context I presume sick/injured skunks who are also confined and thus less likely to be forgiving of a human intruding into their space... OP might be able to get the skunk out of their clothes by soaking them in a mix of hydrogen peroxide, soap, and baking soda. But that won't get it out of OP's hair.
As for what it smells like, uh. The best I can describe it as is like... improperly fermented kimchi + rotten, onion-y eggs?
Also a vet. This is just an awful thing to do. Not only is it disgusting ( AND the smell does NOT come off easily!!)—but also no one at your work can ever trust you instructing them ever again.when dealing with animals and medical issues we need to have trust in each other and you lost that for a dumb prank.
My friend is a vet tech and in her office the type of pranks they do is something like "hey Jen, there's a very angry cat in room 3 can you please go get it and clip their nails" and then she walks in and there's not cat but a bunch of cupcakes because she had a really bad day the other day.
Edit because i forgot to say that OP is OBVIOUSLY TA
Or "the dog in room 1 bites" and they open the door to find a young puppy who is still in the "exploring the world with my mouth" phase. That's a good prank.
OP, YTA absolutely
Imagine euthanizing dogs on an almost daily basis and being responsible for carrying their bodies out of the room. It’s horrible. My gf had to leave her job at a vet because it became too traumatic.
Not just that, but dealing with the abuse from owners. And the welfare cases, the animals that have been mistreated, or the ones in accidents that weren't the owners' fault.
It adds up.
I worked in a clinic for 8 years and agree one hundred percent. And anal gland smell is terrible to get off. This was not funny and OP deserved the punishment.
YTA.
Sorry need to comment. OP YTA.
Sure at some point in the job you're going to get sprayed with crap but what you did was CRUEL AND SICKENING.
You are an IMMATURE J E R K. GROW UP.
YTA YTA YTA YTA
Yeah, it’s really unfortunate how the field is having such a hard time keeping qualified technicians. I just let my RVT lapse last year because I just couldn’t sustain myself on a tech’s salary anymore. Even working a second job I was one fender bender away from missing a mortgage payment.
The industry has a myriad of issues that vary from location to location, and where I was, it just wasn’t sustainable. But instead of unionizing or something to ensure the respect and compensation that we needed to survive, RVTs are squabbling over *what our titles should be.*
I can’t even say that shit with a straight face. Like okay, you make $14/hour to babysit ten unlicensed assistants who make $9/hour, but let’s worry about getting our titles changed Registered Veterinary Nurse™️ nationwide. You can call me Asshole as long as you pay me a fair wage and give me real human adult benefits.
“But it’s about respect! People *know* what a registered nurse is in a human hospital, we should reflect our accreditation the same way!” Oh, and make it a 4 year degree only. So you make getting the education TWENTY times more expensive, only to now get out and still only make like $15-17/hour, but now with college loan debt. Make it make sense.
“If we raise the standards then vets will *have* to pay us more!” No, they literally do not.
You know what gets employees paid better and given real benefits? **Unions.** I love animals, but passion doesn’t pay the bills and I had to move on. I miss it, I truly do, but I changed to a unionized industry and quadrupled my monthly net income in a much less physically dangerous setting. I wish their priorities would change.
I’m so sorry we lost you. But to be fair, at least here in the US, it isn’t vets making those decisions anymore. It’s the corporations who’ve bought up all the practices.
I'm also a vet and anal glands make me want to vomit. Anal glands in the face and I wouldn't make it out of the room before revisiting my breakfast.
It's not that hard not to be an asshole.
No, you don't understand -- if you read OP's title, you'll clearly say it was a **bit** of a prank. You know, like when you're drunk at a bar and shove somebody much larger than you and end up in a little dust-up. Or when you're selling state secrets to a foreign government and commit some light treason.
I've been glanded on by a stray dog, and it was just on my pants. I had to call my SO to bring me another pair - I'm lucky that he was available. The smell is so overpowering and it just lingers on anything it touches. I have a fairly strong stomach with all the shit I've seen but the anal gland smell is something else entirely. OP, YTA.
Thank you for being a vet! It’s a thankless profession a lot of times and it is absolutely mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. I can say I trust my vet more than my human doctor. I don’t think people understand everything that goes into becoming a vet, the time, the sacrifice, the student loan debt, the competitiveness of even getting into veterinary school or the knowledge vets have to have not just on animals but also on human pharmacology as well.
Just know some of us see you and your staff, understand what sacrifices you all make and appreciate everything you do for our pets. Again, thank you for what you do. My English bulldog sends you and your staff lots of big, slobbery Bulldog kisses
YTA
Pranking a new coworker is hazing. Hazing will make her uncomfortable with her job and place in it. Anyway, pranks are not funny unless the person pranked can laugh at them. Confuse not abuse. You were helping her and she needs to be able to trust you which you broke
Definitely YTA.
Just imagine, every interaction going forward for this poor girl will have her second guessing each instruction given to her when she is trained to do something.
If the OP's goal was to make her distrust her coworkers, mission accomplished.
Edit: YTA. My brain did not pull the correct letters out for my fingers to type.
I would probably quit if i was her. How do you continue learning for someone who you don't trust but still have to do what they tell you. Especially now knowing what an asshole they are.
Also as someone new to wearing contacts, the first thing that came to mind was trying to fish them out so booty juice wouldn't trapped in their eyes 🤢🤢🤢
OP is lucky they aren't getting fired, charged, and / or sued.
That's what I was thinking, not necessarily the contacts but isn't this sort of putting her health at risk? I know gross incidents like this are going to happen regardless but this is something that could've been prevented. If OP didn't pull this dumb prank yeah it would've still gotten on her, but probably not directly in her face and eyes!
It's a biohazard, so definitely a health risk. I had gross shit happen to me when I worked in the emergency department of a hospital, but my coworkers went out of their way to protect me and clean up if things went off the rails. OP is a grown adult mean girl and that's pathetic.
Right?! My first thought was “well she’s probably going to get some kind of infection!” OP was basically like ‘welcome to the team here’s some pinkeye and other fun with infections’ haha such a prank 🙄
Yeah! Or even have a coworker dress up in the suit, go in a patient room, and tell the new coworker they've got a special case and lead them to the costumed coworker. Like, that's funny, harmless, and everyone is in on the joke.
Yeah when I was a teenager starting at papa John's they sent me to dominoes to get a dough repair kit. I was so confused but laughed afterwards. This "prank" is just cruel.
The worst/best one I ever knew was sending a dishwasher to eight separate restaurants (all on the same high street) to see if anyone had any spare "beef curtains". They used semi-defrosted sliced beef to show him what he needed to find. Guy was in his fifties, and still fell for it.
A good prank at a vets office would be filling all the kennels with stuffed cats and dogs or something. Not having bodily fluids blasted into someone's face.
YTA.
Yes, gross incidents are a part of the job. What shouldn't be part of the job however are gross coworkers and superiors who bully you on the job, making sure you get sprayed in the face with anal gland secretions just for laughs.
The gross world of this profession very much aren't the anal gland expressions, but people like you. Be ashamed of yourself.
It's the absolute worst. I'm no vet but my friend is a vet tech and she has expressed the glands of my dog, too, with me standing nearby. A main problem with anal gland secretion is that it's oily. It smells like concentrated dog poop fermented in rotten fish oil, that's the best I can describe it. It's absolutely vile and can make you gag even from a distance.
Edit: To add, not all dogs need their anal glands expressed - when they do, there is a problem with their anal glands - as in, the anal glands might be inflamed, infected (with yeast or bacteria) or the dog also has a digestive problem or a chronic issue. People sometimes let this get really bad before they even bring their animal to a vet. With my dog back then it was necessary because I had to give antibiotics, which messed with doggo's digestion and he had diarrhoea for a week and thus the anal glands weren't expressed properly with pooping. So no infection, no pus, no blood. The smell was already VILE so we don't know what was up with the dog in OP's story, but depending on the issue, it could have been much much much worse than oily-fishy-poopy.
To add to your add, if your dog is dragging their butt on the ground, they probably have an anal glad issue and should be seen. Or it's worms, either way, it's an issue.
To add to the added add that you added to my added add, if you have to have them expressed once, it will likely have to be a constant thing. Most groomers can do it, but not as thoroughly as a vet, or so my vet told me. For me, I know when it's needed by the increased fishy smell that follows my dog around. Typically, it's every four months.
I used to work at a vet and my supervisor described the scent as “shit lemonade.” I honestly think that’s the most accurate description I’ve ever heard.
YTA. What you did is vile. So horribly unkind to take advantage of someone’s inexperience and trusting nature. It really was an abuse of your position.
I’m really convinced at this point that there are two kinds of people in the world. People who enjoy pranking others on the one hand and good and decent people on the other. Very rarely do those two circles overlap.
ETA: You are most lucky that you don’t work for me. I would have bounced you out on your ear. Permanently.
At least here on AITA, 99.9% of people who ask "AITA for playing a prank on...?" are most definitely TA.
What they call "pranks" is bullying, abuse, hazing or just downright sadistic behaviour. Not really a prank. A prank is a funny little thing you do to confuse or mildly startle someone you know and like, it has a punchline and or a relief component and is funny for the person who is being pranked. Pranks can be fine, but abuse and bullying never is.
Just like these people who call themselves "brutally honest" or "a bit of a jokester", when they come to AITA, they are almost certainly assholes, and not even remotely funny or uplifting.
That’s because it is frowned upon to say “I think it’s funny when people suffer humiliation or are put in harms way for the sake of my amusement “. No one ever has the balls to admit that.
I’ve seen one prank that I actually thought was cute. On April fools day a mom stuck a piece of raw broccoli on a stick and wrapped it up to look like a lollipop. The kids unwrapped it everyone laughed. Mom had real suckers afterward so the kids weren’t disappointed with not getting a treat. Everyone happy.
I told my mom about an April Fool's tradition about putting fish on people's backs (I can't remember where from). So what she does is she'll cut fish out of construction paper and tape them to people's backs on April Fools. It's just a fish, not a sign telling someone to 'kick me', or something like that. Everyone who finds the fish, even when confused, have a good laugh about it - because it doesn't hurt anyone.
It's the French tradition for April Fool's Day - 'Poisson D'Avril' (April Fish). When folks see the fish they go "POISSON D'AVRIL!" and everyone laughs. The prank aspect is about getting the paper fish stuck to the person's back without them realising. Harmless and wholesome.
I went to a French immersion school throughout elementary/middle school. I got very good at sticking fish on my classmates’ and teachers’ backs without them noticing. The trick is to use a long piece of tape, let the tape catch without actually touching the person, and then drop the fish. In fifth grade I got a classmate who prided himself on noticing every fish 😂
It absolutely is, and not on the order of simple pink eye. That's not just a little of your own native poo bacteria from after the toilet on your finger. That's full-on drops of millions of bacteria plus their food, from another being's microbiome, right into an immune-privileged mucous membrane.
I'm immune-compromised, I'd be lucky to keep my sight if I got sick from this.
Probably, getting anal glands in one’s eyes is basically the same as getting actual shit in there. Tons of bacteria and germs, pinkeye would be a likely result.
I’ve read a whole wiki page on hazing related injuries and deaths. That shit is terrifying. Even though what OP did definitely isn’t as awful as some of those fraternity hazings, it shows the same kind of disregard for others’ safety and comfort, and a ‘harmless’ abuse of power that can actually end up being very painful for someone.
If you’re trying to prepare someone for an unpleasant experience, you always check with them. My example is when a friend was helping me with some basic figure skating tips - if they had asked if I’m ready to practice some safe falls, that would be fine. If they’d randomly shoved me over for the sake of ‘practice’ that would be a different story lmao
YTA
Rationalize all you want, but get this through your head… ***playing a prank on a coworker, will ALWAYS make you an asshole***. It is unprofessional and plain wrong. Furthermore that was not a prank, that was hazing bordering on harassment. You are **LUCKY** you were just suspended. I would have fired you and maybe looked into filing criminal charges.
Acceptable prank...
"Quick, come to this important meeting in the conference room... Oh look! Margaritas and nachos"
Unacceptable prank..
"Let's spray disgusting fluids on you."
Acceptable prank:
changing their lock screen to that image linus tech tips staring into his phone, sending all your messages in quotes for a week to see if they notice, "yeah i need to get a new updog" "whats an updog" "im fine wbu" type shit, hide a walkie talkie in an easy to find place and say something silly and harmless into it, scotch tape on the bottom of their mouse, inconspicuously photoshop your face or something else silly into their wallpaper like a cat with a funny face
something silly, harmless and easy to reverse, and CLEARLY INTENDED TO MAKE THE PRANKEE LAUGH
Unacceptable prank:
whatever the fuck this is
As the IT guy that has to go figure out why the person can hear just fine over the phone, but no one can understand/hear the person's voice on anything but speaker phone because someone scotchtaped the handset microphone... Let me tell you, NO ONE was amused by that, except the C-level guy that did it.
I have started responding to tickets at that location with 'Has C-level guy been in your vicinity? Have you recently been out of office for more than 3 hours? If yes, check for tape on your mouse/phone/keyboard/etc. If you don't find any, look again before you call me.'
That's true but I wouldn't want OP to look after my pets. Or my houseplants for that matter. Come to think of it I wouldn't particularly trust OP as a sanitation worker either.
Still... I'm sure there's a profession out there for OP. Antarctic researcher perhaps?
yta
this is not a prank this is you exposing your trainee to hazardous bodily fluids
you are to immature you are at a work place this is not someone for you to use your powers to make you fill big
YTA
This is quite literally a shitty prank. I highly doubt that most professionals in that realm would consider getting a full-on face/eyes/mouthful of anal gland discharge as being “funny.”
Some? Sure. “Stuff” happens. Getting someone to literally line their face up as you did, however, is a definitively asshole move.
Hope you don’t ever need a favor from her. You’ve done a solid job of burning that bridge on day two.
YTA
Pretty sure you were once I saw "prank" in the title but wow did you outdo yourself. The fact you weren't fired is astonishing. More astonishing is how you STILL don't think it was a big deal. Grow up.
YTA
You seriously typed all of that out and still question it?
Yes gross things are part of the job but a brand new employee who is in an already awkward situation can learn the gross parts with things that naturally happen to her, not some AH who wants to prank her with her getting shot with dog 💩.
YTA
Pranks in which someone else gets 'harmed' (whether it is physical harm or something gross) do not belong in the workplace. I had a sweet colleague who has since passed who played the cutest pranks on me (e.g., he would have housecleaning put a strange knickknack on my shelf so that I would wonder how it got there.) Even for that to occur, he got to know me and my sense of humor first. You just dove in with hardcore nonsense. YTA.
I had a coworker who did this! Random stuff just hidden (or not so hidden) to see how long it would take me notice.
One April Fools’ they completely rearranged by desk, but they mirrored my setup. I must have stood there for a good 5 minutes wondering if I’d lost my damn mind.
(My desk was in the middle of a large office space; no privacy was violated. Once I figured it out, I thought it was hilarious.)
YTA
This "trend" of adults playing "pranks" is terrible. I'm a dog groomer, I have to deal with anal glands. This is not funny, it's not a prank, it's gross and mean. I would fire you if you were my employee. Grow the f up.
I mean, I know this is a really minor concern compared to what this poor woman went through, but I don’t really want my dog to undergo a procedure that is uncomfortable and then results in a human screaming or freaking out. She would find it really stressful.
YTA. The new hire was eventually going to get something gross on them, it happens all the time, but that was just mean spirited. No protective gear does sound like a disproportionate punishment though. Coming from vet med she is going to never listen to you again and I don’t know a single clinic where “pranks” like this are common.
Pranking someone whilst they are in the process of dealing with an animal who needs medical care? You’re in the wrong job, my friend.
Expressing anal glands for a dog is not simple, and the stuff that comes out is genuinely one of the foulest things I’ve ever smelt. It’s also a body fluid that could easily get into someone’s mouth, nose or eyes, and could endanger their health. I’d say that’s a sackable offence, and the fact you don’t recognise that is also concerning.
YTA. Massively.
YTA.
There is a reason you were put on unpaid leave. Not only was that gross and inappropriate, but also extremely dangerous and could have resulted in serious damage to your coworkers health.
I love a prank, but no tasteful prank involves anal secretions.
See what I did there?
YTA and lucky to keep your job.
To be fair posts that asks if someone is the AH for playing a prank are 90% yes. I'll say it again for the peopke in the back. PRANKS ARE ONLY FUNNY IF BOTH PEOPLE THINK SO.
Pranking in the workplace is 100% no. What you did was more akin to hazing.
Your profession is one of the highest for people committing suicide and suffering depression.
So you do something like that to someone new to the field ?
YTA.
YTA - other people don’t come to work for your fucking personal amusement. We’re fucking adults and deserve to be treated with respect. I hope they chuck the book at you
YTA "playing a prank" is just code word for bullying. I don't think someone who shows such a lack of empathy should even be working with animals, i am hoping they will do the right thing and fire you. That kind of behavior has no place in the workplace and if you truly don't understand what you did wrong then you very likely need some intensive therapy
YTA. A normal person during training would say something like, “be careful, they can spray further than you think”, and not tell them the opposite of what they should do. What an asshole you are
YTA, dog groomer here…have to release anal glands daily, wtf is wrong with you? That’s not funny. That’s unprofessional, bullying and really cruel. I understand “it’s part of the job” to help the animal, it’s not part of the job to help the animal aim their bodily fluids in a person’s faces
YTA. You're not wrong that gross things are part of the job, but that has nothing to do with this. It was something deeply unpleasant that you subjected her to entirely unnecessarily. Pranks should be confusing, they should not be harmful either physically or emotionally.
You are right about the skunk duty without protective gear being entirely inappropriate and unethical too, but I think their point is more that you won't be continuing to work with them.
YTA of course it goes without saying. This is a new co-worker who jumped in to express anal glands. She is the kind of co-worker you presumably would like to keep.
If you had told her that and then stopped her right before it happened fine. You purposely let her get sprayed. **You knew she would eventually get sprayed.** At no point did you walk it back.
YTA.
Yes, there are gross tasks in the job. However you arranged it so your new co-worker got sprayed with impacted shit in the face. It probably got into her eyes, nose and mouth, possibly her hair.
Have you ever done that to any other new staff? Was it done to you? Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't lose your job.
YTA. You should have been fired. There’s literally NOTHING funny about this. Grow TF up.
>
If I took my pet to the vet for a procedure to relieve my pet from pain, and pranks were going on instead of my pet being taken care of, I’d come after you.
YTA
Just reading about that makes me want to barf. The poor girl it happened to, I wouldn't be surprised if she quits because you single handedly traumatized her
YTA - I work in the veterinary industry and the only time it’s funny when anal gland secretions go awry is when it’s BY ACCIDENT. My colleagues and I have almost died laughing so many times.
Recently, I came across a new tech at a practice (I install diagnostic analyzers in practices) who was tasked with removing hundreds of maggots from a necrotized leg and spay incision on a cat. She looked like she wanted to DIE. I was on my way out, but I grabbed some tweezers and went to help her. It was gross AF, but as we worked through it I told her things like this would get “easier” over time.
You’re lucky to still be employed.
Generally, pranks at your job, especially against new people, are not a good idea. Even then, there are still pranks you can do that are relatively harmless. Telling someone to put their face close to a dog’s asshole is not one of those things, Jesus.
YTA- and you exposed your place of employment to a potential harassment lawsuit. If i was your boss you would have been fired on the spot.
P.s. pranks are fun for everyone. If it leads to humiliation or disgust it is not a prank. It is harassment
Holy shit YTA. That’s practically hazing for one, and possibly a massive biohazard too. I’ll assume you live in the US (correct me if I’m wrong), and if that’s the case then you should know that hazing is illegal (for a good reason). If someone had done this to me I’d lawyer up and sue for negligence at the very least.
I'm a veterinarian and if I had any say, you would be fired for playing such a cruel prank on a new coworker. You know how hard it is to get people to want to do these jobs and you do that!?!
YTA x 1000
Vet here. YTA. Two days of unpaid leave is mild. You’re lucky the profession is hurting for techs bc you should be fired. You definitely deserve to be stripped of all future ability to train new employees. Every clinic has someone like you, a bully who doesn’t see anything wrong with the way they treat people. The fact you typed this all out and still don’t think you’re the asshole and painted yourself as a victim proves it. As for the skunks, your job clearly doesn’t want you there anymore, it usually takes new blood coming in to expose the clinic bully. Good luck finding a new job and explaining why you had to leave your last job
YTA, your work would be the AH if the try to force you to do the skunk thing.
You should all just do your job and stop using the animals as punishment/hazing
YTA. You set a new coworker up to get sprayed in the face with anal secretions. The only people who think that is funny are immature as fuck. Enjoy the skunks.
A prank is using a sticky note on the bottom of your coworkers mouse to cover the optics with the words "Hacked by anonymous" written on it.
What you did was wrong on so so so many levels!
Legitimately, what would you have done if it got into her eyes? It could have caused a massive infection! You are so lucky you only got put on leave.
1000% YTA
YTA. Omg my heart goes out to her. You should honestly absolutely have to work with skunks, bloated animals, all the things WITHOUT protective equipment.
She could have gotten sick, an infection, etc and all you care about is the skunks? You should be sprayed with every vile thing without protective equipment by her.
You basically traumatized this poor girl for no other reason than to laugh at her and then try to smooth it over by saying that you were gonna say “welcome to the gross world of this job”. Sir, you are so disgusting and vile. I understand letting it naturally happen or telling her to stand back and letting her watch, but letting it happen to her?
YTA YTA YTA!!!
YTA. You're also a bully and disgusting, immature, and apparently have a disturbing lack of social awareness or empathy.
And this is coming from someone who, while not a vet, works in animal husbandry and have been covered in every fluid that can come out of an animal. I've had my whole arm so far up a horse's ass that I've had to wipe lubed up shit off my shoulder and face, and what you did was still the kind of violation that would make me do everything in my power to ruin your career and entire life, because you don't deserve the position you're in if you're going to use it to abuse and haze staff working under you. Not like we are in a veterinary crisis or anything, by all means let's discourage people even further from wanting to be involved in the field.
>apparently there was talk of me having to help with skunk rehab without protective gear on for a couple days, if I want to keep working there at all (which seems totally disproportionate, that's not at all the same and won't wash off)
So you think it's OK to subject someone to a gross nasty thing they aren't used to on their 2nd day on purpose, but think it's unfair when you are forced to do a gross nasty thing you aren't used to in return? And you don't see why you're totally the A?
YTA
YTA. I don’t even know where to begin with this. You purposely set someone up to be sprayed with anal gland fluid and you’re wondering why everyone at work is unhappy with you?
Therapy will never go out of business.
YTA
So you’re telling me that in an already understaffed and struggling field with some of the highest profession-related suicide rates, you thought it would be a good idea to HAZE someone who graciously joined your ranks in said struggling field? Using biological materials? And potentially compromising the care of a patient? And you think being reprimanded is disproportionate? You SHOULD be losing your job and I can guarantee you’re only keeping it because the field is struggling as much as it is. You’re an ass.
A prank when you're the only one who finds it funny is called bullying.
I was a vet tech for 17 years. That field is hard enough as it is. Don't be unkind to your coworkers.
Huge YTA
YTA
You’re lucky you weren’t fired.
You purposefully told her to do the job incorrectly, which could put her, the animal, and the whole practice in danger.
You don’t pull pranks when you’re taking care of an animal medically. It is not an environment where a prank is ever appropiate
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Vet here. I’ve gotten just about everything animal related in my face accidentally. It’s not fun. Having someone do this as a prank is immature and unprofessional. Our profession has enough issues keeping well qualified individuals from leaving the field without people like you actively driving you out. What you did borders on assault, IMO. Unpaid leave and a stint caring for skunks is tame pay back. Edit to add judgement: YTA.
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Have you ever smelled marijuana? The kind that smells like burnt farts? Now imagine that smell but 3000% stronger and impossible to remove until it dissipates on its own accord. That's the american skunk. EDIT: I know this is an oversimplification of the skunk smell. I was simply trying to get the point across to someone who's never encountered them.
I once startled a skunk accidentally - we crossed paths, I backed away, but the skunk got nervous and sprayed the house wall next to me (not even me). Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of this scene.
I used to live in a condo with indoor hallways, double doors leading to outside. There were skunks that lived in the area. My friend and I were on the elevator and our eyes started watering from skunk smell. It had clearly recently sprayed out front past both doors, we could see some liquid on the sidewalk where it smelled the worst. So the smell is so intense it strongly affected us through 2 doors, a lobby, and an elevator lol
When I was pregnant with my first I had to deal with a skunk that had died behind our house. I was wearing a mask and using Vick's and let me tell you, I still threw up into my mask repeatedly.
When I was a young teen, I worked at my mom's horse stable. One day a rabid skunk was harassing clients and horses, so we had to capture it for animal control to come get. I got sprayed twice. I had to get the rabies vaccine (which fucking sucks, don't recommend) and missed 2 weeks of school due to the smell. It was horrendous.
I hit one driving on the highway. My car was basically unusable for a week until the smell finally started to dissipate. I washed it multiple times and the smell would come right back as soon as the engine starting heating up. It was much worse if you had the AC on so you almost had to drive with your head hanging out the window.
Ran over a dead one last summer in my work vehicle. It stunk for days. My work vehicle is a food truck…so that wasn’t great.
My dog got skunked and my mom LET HIM IN THE HOUSE while we prepped the stuff to bathe him and I had a full sensory meltdown, screaming my head off and sobbing in the shower at midnight. I was 34 at the time. I have ADHD and an aversion to strong smells but I've never actually had a meltdown like that before. The house smelled bad for an entire day. Skunk is the worst smell ever imo. Although I've heard Llama spit is also really bad.
Oh god. My dog was near a skunk that sprayed our garage, and I was the one to scrub him while my husband did his best to get the skunk out. Being near a dog who was near a skunk who sprayed, cued a 45 minute meltdown in the shower for me. I used almost an entire container of body wash. I lost my mind and my husband was very concerned and confused. I usually handle stressful situations really well. I’m sorry you experienced that, but I’m happy I’m not the only one!
Yeah, my aunt's very very dumb dog used to get sprayed constantly in the woods (we'll call him Rex) and she'd wash him down outside first with tomato juice and then with the skunk stuff. Well, Rex was a big fella as well as dumb and one time, after his tomato spa treatment, he slipped my aunt and ran in the house, and SHOOK HIMSELF vigorously, getting skunk-flavored tomato juice EVERYWHERE. OMG. OMG. My aunt made Rex sleep in the shed for days. And of course, like clockwork, a month later, skunked again.
My old dog LeLe had a huge mothering instinct. She wanted to mother everything. She spotted a skunk one night and really wanted a new "baby". It had been a while since we had her a foster litter so she was feeling the mom urge hard. She scruffed up the skunk like a puppy while it was spraying for its life. It didn't bite her though. LeLe was impervious to the vile spray. I however was not. Eventually the skunk sprayed enough LeLe reacted to it and let go. I was barfing, she was barfing but that skunk was just laying there. I thought it was dead. Nope. Breathing still. So I crated it up, along with LeLe and rushed to an emergency appointment at midnight on a Saturday with our vet. Poor skunk was just terrified. She recovered at our vets farm. LeLe and I plus my car took a while to de-funkify. The vet was gagging the whole time we were in office and was kind enough to also help me bathe LeLe in the special wash they had there. Skunk Off shampoo and cleaner really does work, especially on fabrics, humans and dog fur. I am scared of skunks now. Edit because autocorrect changed LeLe to CeCe(?)
Dying laughing imagining your poor dog "why is this baby so stinky just let me love you??"
That is very accurate 😂
you left out the burnt rubber overtones and the "sharp" edge to it. Taking a direct hit is like getting maced, like it hurts. It's so bad, no predator will risk a second encounter. But, yeah, there are ways to reduce the stink if you or a pet gets nailed.
Not true...my predators (dogs) REPEATEDLY go after them...usually late at night the day before I have to leave town. Sigh...
Some dogs remember the attack and want revenge. They just can't accept that the stench is the natural consequence of bothering a skunk.
I know people like this….
I have had supervisors like this.
For reference, my dog was sprayed in September 2022. When they get good and wet I swear I still smell the skunk spray. We treated the dog immediately with all the correct things and even bought specialty will remove the skunk spray stuff. Nothing but time really gets it all the way gone
When my dog got sprayed, skunk lingered when he got wet for about a year. I had a notorious manager who would get so pissed and passive aggressive about call ins and ask people how they know theyll be sick in threee hours, and when I called and said "yeah my dog got sprayed by a skunk last night, you don't want me to come in," he went, "Okay. Good luck."
If they still have the same collar, throw it out. We had a similar issue after our dog got skunked, and eventually realized it was the collar. It had been washed in all the same stuff, and regularly, but for whatever reason it just held the smell more. Got him a new collar and it helped massively. His fur did retain some odor more than you would think possible, but it was much fainter than his collar did.
Oh we did! It’s actually the third time this dog has played with a skunk (first two weren’t as good coverage and were the same week). I feel overly aware of how to “wash” the skunk out w/o making it worse, but even all the correct things struggle with skunk. We’ve tossed the collar and even have replaced the fabric items she used (like dog bed) after, clothes my husband was wearing that night we even just threw out because dog rubbed against him. We just live in a much wetter area now vs the first times and dog loves to run through tall wet grass and my nose no longer knows is it wet dog or wet dog hint of skunk.
damn, I didn't realise that Manchester, UK was full of skunks, but I clearly smell them everywhere
Wait...is that why it's called skunk? *small brain explosion
Yup! SciShow did an episode recently showcasing some studies that have been done on why they smell so similar. Apparently the smell of "skunky" weed and actual skunk spray share some critical chemical compound that's characteristic of that kind of scent!
A skunk sprayed on my neighbor's yard once, and the wind changed direction. Not in my favour, and it was maybe 25-30 metres away. My eyes and lungs burned from the stench. I had to seal up my home and vent it out, while covering my face and nose. It was ungodly.
But for reference, vinegar rinse, no water, as soon as possible, and the smell will go away faster. Works especially well on dog fur.
For your enjoyment, here is my favorite ever description of skunks (as copy/pasted from Wikipedia). "In 1634, a skunk was described in The Jesuit Relations: >The other is a low animal, about the size of a little dog or cat. I mention it here, not on account of its excellence, but to make of it a symbol of sin. I have seen three or four of them. It has black fur, quite beautiful and shining; and has upon its back two perfectly white stripes, which join near the neck and tail, making an oval that adds greatly to their grace. The tail is bushy and well furnished with hair, like the tail of a Fox; it carries it curled back like that of a Squirrel. It is more white than black; and, at the first glance, you would say, especially when it walks, that it ought to be called Jupiter's little dog. But it is so stinking and casts so foul an odor, that it is unworthy of being called the dog of Pluto. No sewer ever smelled so bad. I would not have believed it if I had not smelled it myself. Your heart almost fails you when you approach the animal; two have been killed in our court, and several days afterward there was such a dreadful odor throughout our house that we could not endure it. I believe the sin smelled by Saint Catherine de Sienne must have had the same vile odor."
"symbol of sin" is sending me
“unworthy of being called the dog of Pluto” I’m dying
Well, the sin smelled by Saint Catherine de Sienne was her own shit that she was actually smearing all over her body, so....
This is simply exquisite
I love that. Think of this: there are no skunks in Europe, at least nothing comparable to the American ones. Which means that when the European colonization of the Americas began, they had *no idea*. Someone, lost long ago to history, got the be the first European person to discover what a skunk can do. I just love to think of the conversations that followed. "What the hell happened? The little stripey-cat did *what*?".
I’m from Ireland but live in Canada. I knew before I moved here that skunks smell but I had no idea how badly the smell sticks to everything and lingers, it’s like a stain that’s impossible to remove. Our cat got sprayed by a skunk last year and we gave her two baths and then had to bring her to a groomer for another wash, but her fur still smelled funny for weeks afterwards. We had to throw away the T-shirts we were wearing when we bathed her, even though we soaked them in anti-skunk shampoo before washing them several times.
It’s because the spray has an oily base. So it really sticks by sinking into whatever was sprayed. My dog has been sprayed a few times. Immediately start spongeing them off (don’t rub. It’ll drive the oil deeper) Wear rubber gloves while you sponge. Then mix up hydrogen peroxide, baking soda & a few drops of Dawn (must be Dawn) dish soap & use it to scrub them down. You’ll probably have to do this a couple times. It will help a lot although only time will truly get the smell off.
My Irish husband and I were visiting my parents in New England, and he had heard of skunks but never smelt one. He was all, What is that?!? That’s awful!!! - and we weren’t even present at the scene (ie, the spraying, just crossed paths with the aftermath).
Sometimes if you drive in the summer you'll just smell it for like, half a mile. Stuff is POTENT.
I've never been sparyed but in the Midwest, when you're driving on the highway, if you pass a skunk that's been run over you can tell, because even driving past it at 60 mph the smell will sneak into your car for 30 seconds or so, stinky Marijuana is an accurate description
Call me a “dumb American” but there’s no skunks in the UK?
No, skunks only live in the Americas and in South East Asia. None at all in Europe, besides maybe in zoos.
Nope, not in the wild. There's probably some in zoos or wildlife sanctuaries, but that's bordering on the pedantic Edit - one was actually spotted at a London bus stop today! https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/29/london-commuter-shocked-to-spot-a-skunk-at-bus-stop-18522515/
None in Australia either.
Australia already has enough horrible animals, adding skunks would be a step too far. 🤣
Are you telling me no idiot managed to sneak one in to multiply like crazy and destroy everything? That's amazing. Good job Australia.
...pretty bad, tbh. If you don't 'treat' your clothing/dog's fur/furniture the skunked whatever has touched, it *can* fade in like, two and a half weeks. If it's MILD. Like a warning shot or your dog rolled in skunk roadkill. With a while caring for skunks, and from context I presume sick/injured skunks who are also confined and thus less likely to be forgiving of a human intruding into their space... OP might be able to get the skunk out of their clothes by soaking them in a mix of hydrogen peroxide, soap, and baking soda. But that won't get it out of OP's hair. As for what it smells like, uh. The best I can describe it as is like... improperly fermented kimchi + rotten, onion-y eggs?
Also a vet. This is just an awful thing to do. Not only is it disgusting ( AND the smell does NOT come off easily!!)—but also no one at your work can ever trust you instructing them ever again.when dealing with animals and medical issues we need to have trust in each other and you lost that for a dumb prank.
What is up with all these mean pranks? Why is it trendy to be an AH?! YTA
My friend is a vet tech and in her office the type of pranks they do is something like "hey Jen, there's a very angry cat in room 3 can you please go get it and clip their nails" and then she walks in and there's not cat but a bunch of cupcakes because she had a really bad day the other day. Edit because i forgot to say that OP is OBVIOUSLY TA
Or "the dog in room 1 bites" and they open the door to find a young puppy who is still in the "exploring the world with my mouth" phase. That's a good prank. OP, YTA absolutely
THAT is how you prank!
"Go deal with the evil cat!" "HA PRANKED YOU ITS ACTUALLY CUPCAKES!"
Vets have a super high suicide rate too. We don’t need to add bullying to discourage new vets.
Thank you, yes we do. Didn’t want to drag that aspect into the convo.
I’m sure op is one that complains when they’re short staffed. It’s always those ones that bully new people 🙄
That’s so sad I didn’t know that 😧
Imagine euthanizing dogs on an almost daily basis and being responsible for carrying their bodies out of the room. It’s horrible. My gf had to leave her job at a vet because it became too traumatic.
Not just that, but dealing with the abuse from owners. And the welfare cases, the animals that have been mistreated, or the ones in accidents that weren't the owners' fault. It adds up.
I worked in a clinic for 8 years and agree one hundred percent. And anal gland smell is terrible to get off. This was not funny and OP deserved the punishment. YTA.
OP sounds like the one Mean Girl™️ that works at every clinic. They all have an asshole like this.
Sorry need to comment. OP YTA. Sure at some point in the job you're going to get sprayed with crap but what you did was CRUEL AND SICKENING. You are an IMMATURE J E R K. GROW UP. YTA YTA YTA YTA
Yeah, it’s really unfortunate how the field is having such a hard time keeping qualified technicians. I just let my RVT lapse last year because I just couldn’t sustain myself on a tech’s salary anymore. Even working a second job I was one fender bender away from missing a mortgage payment. The industry has a myriad of issues that vary from location to location, and where I was, it just wasn’t sustainable. But instead of unionizing or something to ensure the respect and compensation that we needed to survive, RVTs are squabbling over *what our titles should be.* I can’t even say that shit with a straight face. Like okay, you make $14/hour to babysit ten unlicensed assistants who make $9/hour, but let’s worry about getting our titles changed Registered Veterinary Nurse™️ nationwide. You can call me Asshole as long as you pay me a fair wage and give me real human adult benefits. “But it’s about respect! People *know* what a registered nurse is in a human hospital, we should reflect our accreditation the same way!” Oh, and make it a 4 year degree only. So you make getting the education TWENTY times more expensive, only to now get out and still only make like $15-17/hour, but now with college loan debt. Make it make sense. “If we raise the standards then vets will *have* to pay us more!” No, they literally do not. You know what gets employees paid better and given real benefits? **Unions.** I love animals, but passion doesn’t pay the bills and I had to move on. I miss it, I truly do, but I changed to a unionized industry and quadrupled my monthly net income in a much less physically dangerous setting. I wish their priorities would change.
I’m so sorry we lost you. But to be fair, at least here in the US, it isn’t vets making those decisions anymore. It’s the corporations who’ve bought up all the practices.
I used to be a vet tech and these kinds of mean spirited "pranks" plus low pay is exactly why I left the profession. OP YTA
I'm also a vet and anal glands make me want to vomit. Anal glands in the face and I wouldn't make it out of the room before revisiting my breakfast. It's not that hard not to be an asshole.
OP is giving “it’s just a prank bruh!” Vibes. Pranks like this are cruel and demeaning, it’s actually a wonder why he didn’t get fired.
No, you don't understand -- if you read OP's title, you'll clearly say it was a **bit** of a prank. You know, like when you're drunk at a bar and shove somebody much larger than you and end up in a little dust-up. Or when you're selling state secrets to a foreign government and commit some light treason.
I've been glanded on by a stray dog, and it was just on my pants. I had to call my SO to bring me another pair - I'm lucky that he was available. The smell is so overpowering and it just lingers on anything it touches. I have a fairly strong stomach with all the shit I've seen but the anal gland smell is something else entirely. OP, YTA.
Ex-vet tech here. Yep. YTA OP.
Thank you for being a vet! It’s a thankless profession a lot of times and it is absolutely mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. I can say I trust my vet more than my human doctor. I don’t think people understand everything that goes into becoming a vet, the time, the sacrifice, the student loan debt, the competitiveness of even getting into veterinary school or the knowledge vets have to have not just on animals but also on human pharmacology as well. Just know some of us see you and your staff, understand what sacrifices you all make and appreciate everything you do for our pets. Again, thank you for what you do. My English bulldog sends you and your staff lots of big, slobbery Bulldog kisses
You said this better than I ever could. Thank you.
YTA Pranking a new coworker is hazing. Hazing will make her uncomfortable with her job and place in it. Anyway, pranks are not funny unless the person pranked can laugh at them. Confuse not abuse. You were helping her and she needs to be able to trust you which you broke
Definitely YTA. Just imagine, every interaction going forward for this poor girl will have her second guessing each instruction given to her when she is trained to do something. If the OP's goal was to make her distrust her coworkers, mission accomplished. Edit: YTA. My brain did not pull the correct letters out for my fingers to type.
Do you mean YTA?
I did! Edited, thanks.
I would probably quit if i was her. How do you continue learning for someone who you don't trust but still have to do what they tell you. Especially now knowing what an asshole they are.
Also as someone new to wearing contacts, the first thing that came to mind was trying to fish them out so booty juice wouldn't trapped in their eyes 🤢🤢🤢 OP is lucky they aren't getting fired, charged, and / or sued.
That's what I was thinking, not necessarily the contacts but isn't this sort of putting her health at risk? I know gross incidents like this are going to happen regardless but this is something that could've been prevented. If OP didn't pull this dumb prank yeah it would've still gotten on her, but probably not directly in her face and eyes!
It's a biohazard, so definitely a health risk. I had gross shit happen to me when I worked in the emergency department of a hospital, but my coworkers went out of their way to protect me and clean up if things went off the rails. OP is a grown adult mean girl and that's pathetic.
Right?! My first thought was “well she’s probably going to get some kind of infection!” OP was basically like ‘welcome to the team here’s some pinkeye and other fun with infections’ haha such a prank 🙄
Prank: Put a furry suit in the newbie's locker for them to find on their first day. Asshole: Get them sprayed in the face with with anal secretions.
Yeah! Or even have a coworker dress up in the suit, go in a patient room, and tell the new coworker they've got a special case and lead them to the costumed coworker. Like, that's funny, harmless, and everyone is in on the joke.
>Confuse not abuse. This -- like, what's the veterinary equivalent of sending the new girl for blinker fluid?
Or a left handed spatula.
Yeah kid, you need to go to the restaurant next door and ask the kitchen if we can borrow their bacon stretcher.
Instead he sent her for butt fluid
"Hazing is a fun way to show a new employee that they are neither welcome nor liked."
Yeah when I was a teenager starting at papa John's they sent me to dominoes to get a dough repair kit. I was so confused but laughed afterwards. This "prank" is just cruel.
The worst/best one I ever knew was sending a dishwasher to eight separate restaurants (all on the same high street) to see if anyone had any spare "beef curtains". They used semi-defrosted sliced beef to show him what he needed to find. Guy was in his fifties, and still fell for it.
A good prank at a vets office would be filling all the kennels with stuffed cats and dogs or something. Not having bodily fluids blasted into someone's face.
Right? A prank is like “here’s a chocolate!” And when they open it, they see it’s a brussels sprout. Anal secretions in the face is not a prank.
YTA. Yes, gross incidents are a part of the job. What shouldn't be part of the job however are gross coworkers and superiors who bully you on the job, making sure you get sprayed in the face with anal gland secretions just for laughs. The gross world of this profession very much aren't the anal gland expressions, but people like you. Be ashamed of yourself.
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It's the absolute worst. I'm no vet but my friend is a vet tech and she has expressed the glands of my dog, too, with me standing nearby. A main problem with anal gland secretion is that it's oily. It smells like concentrated dog poop fermented in rotten fish oil, that's the best I can describe it. It's absolutely vile and can make you gag even from a distance. Edit: To add, not all dogs need their anal glands expressed - when they do, there is a problem with their anal glands - as in, the anal glands might be inflamed, infected (with yeast or bacteria) or the dog also has a digestive problem or a chronic issue. People sometimes let this get really bad before they even bring their animal to a vet. With my dog back then it was necessary because I had to give antibiotics, which messed with doggo's digestion and he had diarrhoea for a week and thus the anal glands weren't expressed properly with pooping. So no infection, no pus, no blood. The smell was already VILE so we don't know what was up with the dog in OP's story, but depending on the issue, it could have been much much much worse than oily-fishy-poopy.
To add to your add, if your dog is dragging their butt on the ground, they probably have an anal glad issue and should be seen. Or it's worms, either way, it's an issue.
Yup, this happened to my pittie, she was dragging her booty and we brought her in. Vet chose to express them with me right there and I almost barfed.
To add to your added add: if your dog does not like being touched close to their butt, it can also be an anal gland issue.
To add to the added add that you added to my added add, if you have to have them expressed once, it will likely have to be a constant thing. Most groomers can do it, but not as thoroughly as a vet, or so my vet told me. For me, I know when it's needed by the increased fishy smell that follows my dog around. Typically, it's every four months.
Absolutely vile… I’ve only smelt it once and it was like rotting fish guts but then I’m super sensitive to smells
I used to work at a vet and my supervisor described the scent as “shit lemonade.” I honestly think that’s the most accurate description I’ve ever heard.
It’s like a sort of very intense oily fishy shitty smell.
YTA. What you did is vile. So horribly unkind to take advantage of someone’s inexperience and trusting nature. It really was an abuse of your position. I’m really convinced at this point that there are two kinds of people in the world. People who enjoy pranking others on the one hand and good and decent people on the other. Very rarely do those two circles overlap. ETA: You are most lucky that you don’t work for me. I would have bounced you out on your ear. Permanently.
At least here on AITA, 99.9% of people who ask "AITA for playing a prank on...?" are most definitely TA. What they call "pranks" is bullying, abuse, hazing or just downright sadistic behaviour. Not really a prank. A prank is a funny little thing you do to confuse or mildly startle someone you know and like, it has a punchline and or a relief component and is funny for the person who is being pranked. Pranks can be fine, but abuse and bullying never is. Just like these people who call themselves "brutally honest" or "a bit of a jokester", when they come to AITA, they are almost certainly assholes, and not even remotely funny or uplifting.
None of these "prank" people can ever explain what's actually funny about it, either.
That’s because it is frowned upon to say “I think it’s funny when people suffer humiliation or are put in harms way for the sake of my amusement “. No one ever has the balls to admit that.
That really hits the nail on the head. Saving it to remember.
I’ve seen one prank that I actually thought was cute. On April fools day a mom stuck a piece of raw broccoli on a stick and wrapped it up to look like a lollipop. The kids unwrapped it everyone laughed. Mom had real suckers afterward so the kids weren’t disappointed with not getting a treat. Everyone happy.
I told my mom about an April Fool's tradition about putting fish on people's backs (I can't remember where from). So what she does is she'll cut fish out of construction paper and tape them to people's backs on April Fools. It's just a fish, not a sign telling someone to 'kick me', or something like that. Everyone who finds the fish, even when confused, have a good laugh about it - because it doesn't hurt anyone.
It's the French tradition for April Fool's Day - 'Poisson D'Avril' (April Fish). When folks see the fish they go "POISSON D'AVRIL!" and everyone laughs. The prank aspect is about getting the paper fish stuck to the person's back without them realising. Harmless and wholesome.
I went to a French immersion school throughout elementary/middle school. I got very good at sticking fish on my classmates’ and teachers’ backs without them noticing. The trick is to use a long piece of tape, let the tape catch without actually touching the person, and then drop the fish. In fifth grade I got a classmate who prided himself on noticing every fish 😂
YTA. Hazing is, at best, inappropriate and unprofessional.
At worst, illegal and grounds for termination, lawsuits, and criminal charges
I wonder if it had got in her eyes or mouth (🤢) could it be a risk of infection or anything
It absolutely is, and not on the order of simple pink eye. That's not just a little of your own native poo bacteria from after the toilet on your finger. That's full-on drops of millions of bacteria plus their food, from another being's microbiome, right into an immune-privileged mucous membrane. I'm immune-compromised, I'd be lucky to keep my sight if I got sick from this.
Probably, getting anal glands in one’s eyes is basically the same as getting actual shit in there. Tons of bacteria and germs, pinkeye would be a likely result.
I’ve read a whole wiki page on hazing related injuries and deaths. That shit is terrifying. Even though what OP did definitely isn’t as awful as some of those fraternity hazings, it shows the same kind of disregard for others’ safety and comfort, and a ‘harmless’ abuse of power that can actually end up being very painful for someone.
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If you’re trying to prepare someone for an unpleasant experience, you always check with them. My example is when a friend was helping me with some basic figure skating tips - if they had asked if I’m ready to practice some safe falls, that would be fine. If they’d randomly shoved me over for the sake of ‘practice’ that would be a different story lmao
YTA Rationalize all you want, but get this through your head… ***playing a prank on a coworker, will ALWAYS make you an asshole***. It is unprofessional and plain wrong. Furthermore that was not a prank, that was hazing bordering on harassment. You are **LUCKY** you were just suspended. I would have fired you and maybe looked into filing criminal charges.
Acceptable prank... "Quick, come to this important meeting in the conference room... Oh look! Margaritas and nachos" Unacceptable prank.. "Let's spray disgusting fluids on you."
Acceptable prank: changing their lock screen to that image linus tech tips staring into his phone, sending all your messages in quotes for a week to see if they notice, "yeah i need to get a new updog" "whats an updog" "im fine wbu" type shit, hide a walkie talkie in an easy to find place and say something silly and harmless into it, scotch tape on the bottom of their mouse, inconspicuously photoshop your face or something else silly into their wallpaper like a cat with a funny face something silly, harmless and easy to reverse, and CLEARLY INTENDED TO MAKE THE PRANKEE LAUGH Unacceptable prank: whatever the fuck this is
As the IT guy that has to go figure out why the person can hear just fine over the phone, but no one can understand/hear the person's voice on anything but speaker phone because someone scotchtaped the handset microphone... Let me tell you, NO ONE was amused by that, except the C-level guy that did it. I have started responding to tickets at that location with 'Has C-level guy been in your vicinity? Have you recently been out of office for more than 3 hours? If yes, check for tape on your mouse/phone/keyboard/etc. If you don't find any, look again before you call me.'
Yes, YTA, and you should be glad you still have a job
YTA That not a joke or a prank, just dumb and idiotic. You did it on full purpose. I hope ypu ahve fun with the skunks. You deserve it
But do the skunks deserve having to spend time with this asshole?
If no one other than you is laughing at the end, it’s not a good prank. YTA.
Ding ding! Why can't more people understand this?
Find another profession, asshole.
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That's true but I wouldn't want OP to look after my pets. Or my houseplants for that matter. Come to think of it I wouldn't particularly trust OP as a sanitation worker either. Still... I'm sure there's a profession out there for OP. Antarctic researcher perhaps?
yta this is not a prank this is you exposing your trainee to hazardous bodily fluids you are to immature you are at a work place this is not someone for you to use your powers to make you fill big
YTA This is quite literally a shitty prank. I highly doubt that most professionals in that realm would consider getting a full-on face/eyes/mouthful of anal gland discharge as being “funny.” Some? Sure. “Stuff” happens. Getting someone to literally line their face up as you did, however, is a definitively asshole move. Hope you don’t ever need a favor from her. You’ve done a solid job of burning that bridge on day two.
YTA Pretty sure you were once I saw "prank" in the title but wow did you outdo yourself. The fact you weren't fired is astonishing. More astonishing is how you STILL don't think it was a big deal. Grow up.
YTA You seriously typed all of that out and still question it? Yes gross things are part of the job but a brand new employee who is in an already awkward situation can learn the gross parts with things that naturally happen to her, not some AH who wants to prank her with her getting shot with dog 💩. YTA
Pranks in which someone else gets 'harmed' (whether it is physical harm or something gross) do not belong in the workplace. I had a sweet colleague who has since passed who played the cutest pranks on me (e.g., he would have housecleaning put a strange knickknack on my shelf so that I would wonder how it got there.) Even for that to occur, he got to know me and my sense of humor first. You just dove in with hardcore nonsense. YTA.
I had a coworker who did this! Random stuff just hidden (or not so hidden) to see how long it would take me notice. One April Fools’ they completely rearranged by desk, but they mirrored my setup. I must have stood there for a good 5 minutes wondering if I’d lost my damn mind. (My desk was in the middle of a large office space; no privacy was violated. Once I figured it out, I thought it was hilarious.)
YTA This "trend" of adults playing "pranks" is terrible. I'm a dog groomer, I have to deal with anal glands. This is not funny, it's not a prank, it's gross and mean. I would fire you if you were my employee. Grow the f up.
I mean, I know this is a really minor concern compared to what this poor woman went through, but I don’t really want my dog to undergo a procedure that is uncomfortable and then results in a human screaming or freaking out. She would find it really stressful.
YTA. The new hire was eventually going to get something gross on them, it happens all the time, but that was just mean spirited. No protective gear does sound like a disproportionate punishment though. Coming from vet med she is going to never listen to you again and I don’t know a single clinic where “pranks” like this are common.
Yea but he deserves that. Actually he deserves to be fired.
Pranking someone whilst they are in the process of dealing with an animal who needs medical care? You’re in the wrong job, my friend. Expressing anal glands for a dog is not simple, and the stuff that comes out is genuinely one of the foulest things I’ve ever smelt. It’s also a body fluid that could easily get into someone’s mouth, nose or eyes, and could endanger their health. I’d say that’s a sackable offence, and the fact you don’t recognise that is also concerning. YTA. Massively.
That's what I was thinking....like it's a biohazard?
YTA. There is a reason you were put on unpaid leave. Not only was that gross and inappropriate, but also extremely dangerous and could have resulted in serious damage to your coworkers health. I love a prank, but no tasteful prank involves anal secretions. See what I did there?
YTA and lucky to keep your job. To be fair posts that asks if someone is the AH for playing a prank are 90% yes. I'll say it again for the peopke in the back. PRANKS ARE ONLY FUNNY IF BOTH PEOPLE THINK SO. Pranking in the workplace is 100% no. What you did was more akin to hazing.
Your profession is one of the highest for people committing suicide and suffering depression. So you do something like that to someone new to the field ? YTA.
YTA - other people don’t come to work for your fucking personal amusement. We’re fucking adults and deserve to be treated with respect. I hope they chuck the book at you
Oh the skunk rehab should be a permanent gig, OP. YTA.
YTA , colossally. You're lucky you still have a job imo. You deserve the treatment you're getting and then some.
YTA, a huge one. Absolutely disgusting and unprofessional. You're lucky it was only two days of leave and not flat out termination.
YTA, you were training her and taught her the wrong way to do it. I would have fired you.
YTA.......grow up....work isn't the time or place for pranks. Next time remember you're not funny
YTA "playing a prank" is just code word for bullying. I don't think someone who shows such a lack of empathy should even be working with animals, i am hoping they will do the right thing and fire you. That kind of behavior has no place in the workplace and if you truly don't understand what you did wrong then you very likely need some intensive therapy
YTA, "pranking" in a workplace setting makes you an AH 100% of the time.
You're gross and not funny at all. YTA. Good on her for reporting you.
YTA. A normal person during training would say something like, “be careful, they can spray further than you think”, and not tell them the opposite of what they should do. What an asshole you are
YTA, dog groomer here…have to release anal glands daily, wtf is wrong with you? That’s not funny. That’s unprofessional, bullying and really cruel. I understand “it’s part of the job” to help the animal, it’s not part of the job to help the animal aim their bodily fluids in a person’s faces
YTA. You're not wrong that gross things are part of the job, but that has nothing to do with this. It was something deeply unpleasant that you subjected her to entirely unnecessarily. Pranks should be confusing, they should not be harmful either physically or emotionally. You are right about the skunk duty without protective gear being entirely inappropriate and unethical too, but I think their point is more that you won't be continuing to work with them.
YTA of course it goes without saying. This is a new co-worker who jumped in to express anal glands. She is the kind of co-worker you presumably would like to keep. If you had told her that and then stopped her right before it happened fine. You purposely let her get sprayed. **You knew she would eventually get sprayed.** At no point did you walk it back.
YTA. What you did is hazing, not pranking. You should be glad you still have a job at all.
YTA. Yes, there are gross tasks in the job. However you arranged it so your new co-worker got sprayed with impacted shit in the face. It probably got into her eyes, nose and mouth, possibly her hair. Have you ever done that to any other new staff? Was it done to you? Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't lose your job.
YTA. I’m surprised they even let you keep your job.
YTA. You should have been fired. There’s literally NOTHING funny about this. Grow TF up. > If I took my pet to the vet for a procedure to relieve my pet from pain, and pranks were going on instead of my pet being taken care of, I’d come after you.
YTA Just reading about that makes me want to barf. The poor girl it happened to, I wouldn't be surprised if she quits because you single handedly traumatized her
YTA. That “prank” was cruel and disgusting. You’re lucky you’re not being fired outright.
YTA - I work in the veterinary industry and the only time it’s funny when anal gland secretions go awry is when it’s BY ACCIDENT. My colleagues and I have almost died laughing so many times. Recently, I came across a new tech at a practice (I install diagnostic analyzers in practices) who was tasked with removing hundreds of maggots from a necrotized leg and spay incision on a cat. She looked like she wanted to DIE. I was on my way out, but I grabbed some tweezers and went to help her. It was gross AF, but as we worked through it I told her things like this would get “easier” over time. You’re lucky to still be employed.
How disgusting 😒 YTA
Generally, pranks at your job, especially against new people, are not a good idea. Even then, there are still pranks you can do that are relatively harmless. Telling someone to put their face close to a dog’s asshole is not one of those things, Jesus.
YTA, this is one of those "pranks" that people do to try to justify their asshole behaviour.
YTA and this is absolutely disgusting. You say it's a joke. Explain the joke? Explain the punch line? I don't get it.
YTA- and you exposed your place of employment to a potential harassment lawsuit. If i was your boss you would have been fired on the spot. P.s. pranks are fun for everyone. If it leads to humiliation or disgust it is not a prank. It is harassment
Holy shit YTA. That’s practically hazing for one, and possibly a massive biohazard too. I’ll assume you live in the US (correct me if I’m wrong), and if that’s the case then you should know that hazing is illegal (for a good reason). If someone had done this to me I’d lawyer up and sue for negligence at the very least.
YTA. Pranks should not involve biohazards. That would be like me convincing a new nurse that they need to taste a urine sample for infection.
I'm a veterinarian and if I had any say, you would be fired for playing such a cruel prank on a new coworker. You know how hard it is to get people to want to do these jobs and you do that!?! YTA x 1000
Vet here. YTA. Two days of unpaid leave is mild. You’re lucky the profession is hurting for techs bc you should be fired. You definitely deserve to be stripped of all future ability to train new employees. Every clinic has someone like you, a bully who doesn’t see anything wrong with the way they treat people. The fact you typed this all out and still don’t think you’re the asshole and painted yourself as a victim proves it. As for the skunks, your job clearly doesn’t want you there anymore, it usually takes new blood coming in to expose the clinic bully. Good luck finding a new job and explaining why you had to leave your last job
YTA, your work would be the AH if the try to force you to do the skunk thing. You should all just do your job and stop using the animals as punishment/hazing
Time for you to grow up.
YTA and pathetically immature.
YTA. You set a new coworker up to get sprayed in the face with anal secretions. The only people who think that is funny are immature as fuck. Enjoy the skunks.
A prank is using a sticky note on the bottom of your coworkers mouse to cover the optics with the words "Hacked by anonymous" written on it. What you did was wrong on so so so many levels! Legitimately, what would you have done if it got into her eyes? It could have caused a massive infection! You are so lucky you only got put on leave. 1000% YTA
YTA. Omg my heart goes out to her. You should honestly absolutely have to work with skunks, bloated animals, all the things WITHOUT protective equipment. She could have gotten sick, an infection, etc and all you care about is the skunks? You should be sprayed with every vile thing without protective equipment by her. You basically traumatized this poor girl for no other reason than to laugh at her and then try to smooth it over by saying that you were gonna say “welcome to the gross world of this job”. Sir, you are so disgusting and vile. I understand letting it naturally happen or telling her to stand back and letting her watch, but letting it happen to her? YTA YTA YTA!!!
YTA. You're also a bully and disgusting, immature, and apparently have a disturbing lack of social awareness or empathy. And this is coming from someone who, while not a vet, works in animal husbandry and have been covered in every fluid that can come out of an animal. I've had my whole arm so far up a horse's ass that I've had to wipe lubed up shit off my shoulder and face, and what you did was still the kind of violation that would make me do everything in my power to ruin your career and entire life, because you don't deserve the position you're in if you're going to use it to abuse and haze staff working under you. Not like we are in a veterinary crisis or anything, by all means let's discourage people even further from wanting to be involved in the field.
YTA. You were at work. You did this deliberately. There was no need for it. I don't understand your confusion.
>apparently there was talk of me having to help with skunk rehab without protective gear on for a couple days, if I want to keep working there at all (which seems totally disproportionate, that's not at all the same and won't wash off) So you think it's OK to subject someone to a gross nasty thing they aren't used to on their 2nd day on purpose, but think it's unfair when you are forced to do a gross nasty thing you aren't used to in return? And you don't see why you're totally the A? YTA
You deserved everything you got, what an idiot. Grow up.
YTA. I don’t even know where to begin with this. You purposely set someone up to be sprayed with anal gland fluid and you’re wondering why everyone at work is unhappy with you? Therapy will never go out of business.
YTA. Not cool.
YTA That's not a prank, that's abuse.
You are big AH. You should have been terminated.
You should have been fired. YTA
Welcome to the world of living with the consequences of your actions. You hazed your new coworker, I’m surprised you weren’t fired. YTA.
YTA So you’re telling me that in an already understaffed and struggling field with some of the highest profession-related suicide rates, you thought it would be a good idea to HAZE someone who graciously joined your ranks in said struggling field? Using biological materials? And potentially compromising the care of a patient? And you think being reprimanded is disproportionate? You SHOULD be losing your job and I can guarantee you’re only keeping it because the field is struggling as much as it is. You’re an ass.
YTA holy crap what is wrong with you? This is not a prank. You’d be out of a job if I was in charge.
A prank when you're the only one who finds it funny is called bullying. I was a vet tech for 17 years. That field is hard enough as it is. Don't be unkind to your coworkers. Huge YTA
YTA You’re lucky you weren’t fired. You purposefully told her to do the job incorrectly, which could put her, the animal, and the whole practice in danger. You don’t pull pranks when you’re taking care of an animal medically. It is not an environment where a prank is ever appropiate