I haven't read this entire post so forgive me if this has already been said. But have you ever worked in an animal related job before? I know you have and love animals but that's not the same thing as working with them. I've known plenty of people who love and have animals and tell me they could never do my job (groomer) and people who love and have animals and have tried to be a bather and couldn't handle it. Maybe you should try getting a job as a grooming assistant/bather or possibly vet assistant (if they have those there? I think here you can be an assistant without a degree but not a tech) and see if you can honestly handle that before you jump into vet/vet tech school as I know it's quite pricey. Also it would give you good experience for future training anyway, and it's a paycheck. You can get a job as a bather without any experience at most places, they will teach you. Cleaning up poop/dealing with difficult animals/getting bit is not something everyone can handle, even animal lovers.