More than 30 years ago, Annette Jernberg was the youngest volunteer at the South Suburban Humane Society in Chicago Heights. She still has a clipping of a story about her that appeared in a small local paper when she was 13. She had told the reporter that she wanted to work with animals when she grew up.

Today, the New Lenox resident is a Certified Veterinary Technician at the Spay/Neuter Clinic recently opened by the SSHS. After graduating Parkland Junior College in Champaign, Ill., with an Associates Degree in Applied Science in 1984, she passed the state boards to become a Certified Veterinary Technician.

Jernberg spent her first 23 years as a vet tech at veterinary hospitals, including 18 years at Glenwood Village Pet Hospital before moving to the spay/neuter clinic.

"It was a very hard decision to leave however, I could not pass up the opportunity to work for the Humane Society," she said. "It just seemed like something that was meant to be since I had worked for them when I was younger."

At the SSHS clinic, she sees new pet faces each day.

"I am an advocate for them and treat each one as if they were my own pet," she said. "Not only is the nursing care rewarding, but the fact that I am helping to put an end to pet overpopulation is very gratifying."

The most frustrating part of the job is knowing that many of the pets she sees from shelters or humane groups my never get a home.

"Unfortunately, many may be euthanized or spend a good part of their life in a cage," Jernberg said. "They will never get the opportunity to go home and experience the fun that every cat and dog should experience."

FYI: Learn more about the SSHS at sshspets.org.