WOW! I was the same way! I wanted to be a vet also but learned the lessons you did. Even in high school, I looked at being a vet, but learned that the school I wanted to go to used pound seizure to obtain it's animals for 'practice'. The thought of performing a test on someone's pet made me sick. Today, however, that school offers alternative education through a partnership with Washington State University.
You know, it's funny. Even if I watch "Emergency Vets" and "Wild Animal Rescue" on television, I have to turn away from the gory stuff. It is unbelievable what some of these talented doctors can do, but I know I could not do it. Vets are portrayed in a sanitized way for children, so it's no wonder so many children think that's what they'd like to be. Barbie never has to operate on or euthanize any of her cute plastic animals, right?! And none of the "doggy goes to the vet" books I ever read mentioned the dog pound or what happens there. Now I do what I can by supporting animal shelters when possible and letting other, less squeamish, people do the dirty work.
There is a wonderful book called Finding Your Perfect Work -- Paul Edwards. This book describes how everyone has an interest that pulls at their heart and many of us turn from our interest because we don't see how we can earn a living from it. Turns out, there are many ways people can turn an interest in animals into something beside becoming a vet, just as there are many ways to make a career out of an interest in music without becoming an opera star. Not all of us can be on stage or in the operating room, but all of us can and should find ways to work with what interests us, because that is often where our true talents emerge. A talent is not always something we do well...it is often something which brings us great satisfaction or joy, whether it is "as good" as someone else's effort or not. Often our interests and abilities do not go hand in hand.
With your talent for putting together picture collections and finding beautiful quotes every day, I'm wondering if you also had an interest in art when you were young.