10-Year-Old Courtney Oliver Becomes a Certified Veterinary Assistant

Though her parents still see her as a normal kid, many people consider Courtney Oliver to be a child prodigy, much like composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and actress Ally Sheedy, who wrote her first novel, "She Was Nice to Mice," at age 12.

Oliver, 10, completed an online course and now is certified as a veterinary assistant. "In the beginning, she was really itching to get started, to be learning and active, so this is the first step in the veterinary world," said Candy Oliver, Courtney's mother, via telephone from Olympia, Washington.

"You sign up online; they mail you all your books. You do your course studies; for one called 'Field Practices,' she had to go into our Vet when she was working on sterile gloving and gowning and practice those at the Vet. Once those (the course studies) were done, she had to take tests online and those were graded."

"She's Very Forward in What She Wants"

Oliver said that Courtney, who is homeschooled, tests at a post-high school level in most areas. "She had been bothering the Vet since she was about 7 about when she could come in and start volunteering there and they told her when she was 12 because in Washington State, that's the age you have to be to volunteer without a parent present," Oliver said.

The Oliver family breeds Boston Terriers and whenever the family would bring in one of their animals, Courtney would keep asking if she could come in and volunteer. Eventually, after a few years, Candy Oliver said that Courtney wore them down. "It was time for one of our girls, Ivy, to have a C-section, so they invited her to come watch that and they were looking back to gauge to see if Courtney could handle the blood," Oliver said.

"That only fueled the fire for her to work there and be active with her animals. So they said she could come, but I have to be there with her because she's not even old enough to volunteer on her own."

Don't Call Her "Doogie"