A Mercer Island “local pet hero” may soon receive national recognition for her commitment to animal care.

Monique Feyrecilde has been a veterinary technician at the Island’s clinic for 14 years. She said that she’d always wanted to be a veteranarian and help animals, but found that she could have more direct contact with both people and animals by being a vet tech.

“I get to do a little bit of everything,” she said, from X-rays and dental exams to behavior and grief counseling. “Every day is different.”

Now, she’s a semifinalist for the PetPlan 2015 National Veterinary Technician of the Year, out of 2300 nominees. She was nominated by Nancy Burke, one of the clinic’s clients.

“I have known Monique for many years, and her passion and persistence in the pursuit of understanding animal behavior to the goal of preventing homeless animals and unnecessary euthanasia, has never flagged,” Burke said.

According to her website, www.teachinganimals.com, Feyrecilde’s mission is “to make that gift of mutual learning available to any handler interested in receiving it.”

“To have a client of mine be so happy with the care of her pets to nominate me, and then to actually get picked… It’s a big deal,” she said. “You go to work every day and you work hard, but you don’t always understand the impact you have.”

As the most senior technician at the Island clinic, Monique said she enjoys teaching new veterinarians the practical skills they need to provide high quality care to pets and their people.

At the end of the day, it’s all about the animals – caring and advocating for them and teaching others to do the same. Feyrecilde has eight of her own: three dogs, one cat, two parrots and two snakes.

Animal behavior is her speciality, as she is one of 11 certified veterinary behavior technicians, nationwide. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Washington State University.

She said the more common problems she sees with dogs are fear aggression and on-leash aggression. She uses positive association, for example, pairing seeing other dogs to playing with a tennis ball, to help animals see they are in a safe environment.

“It takes a lot of patience,” she said. “It’s a long process, but the results are lasting. It’s really rewarding.”

Some dogs with behavior issues aren’t safe, though. Behavioral euthanasia is the leading cause of death for young dogs, she said.

That inspired Feyrecilde to bring behavior awareness to the forefront. She and other four vet techs partnered with CEVA, a veterinary pharmaceutical firm, to form the Behavior Advocate Program. They provide free, full-day behavior  training sessions for vets around the country.

“I draw blood and get peed and pooped on for a living, but I get to teach every day,” she said.

For more information about PetPlan’s Annual Veterinary Awards, recognizing veterinarians and their staff who go above and beyond to help pets, visit http://www.gopetplan.com/form/raise-a-paw.