12-year-old Yellowknifer well on her way to becoming a vet

Nibbles, the rabbit, has black circles around his eyes.

"That's one of the reasons why I chose him," said 12-year-old Shannon Mercer. "Because I have a black circle around my eye. And I, like, think of that because we were matching."

Mercer was born with a nevus.

"It was much bigger than it is now," she said. "I went in to have my first surgery when I was 11 months old and I've been having many surgeries almost every year since."

Nibbles is far from being Mercer's only pet. She also has a fish, two dogs, and, up until one week ago, a hamster.

"I lost my hamster. His name was Snoopy," said Mercer. "He died of old age, I think. Pretty much one day I just went up and he was lying on his back and gasping for air.

"So we just put him out of his misery."

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'I pay for treats and toys'

Mercer adores animals, and she's already confident that she wants to become a vet.

Last summer she went to veterinary camp on Prince Edward Island. There, she learned how to do checkups on dogs and cats, how to suture, and how to bandage.

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"I've wanted to be a vet for about two to three years," she said.

"The two things I like most [about] being a vet is helping animals and just being able to be with them."

Mercer said she's the primary caretaker for the animals.

"I pay for treats and toys and my parents pay for food," she said.

She gets the money to pay for the animals through babysitting and a weekly allowance.

Mercer said she wakes up 6:20 a.m. every morning to take the dogs for a walk. Then she feeds the dogs, the rabbit and the fish.

After a full day of school, she comes home to take the dogs for another walk. She makes Nibbles a salad (he loves carrots)and she plays with him until 8:30 p.m. when she feeds him dinner.

"The most cramped day is Sundays, because Sundays is the cage-cleaning day," said Mercer. "I have to wash the fleeces in the rabbit's cage, and I have to clean the fish tank and I have to clean the backyard where the dogs are and I have skiing."

But it's all worth it to Mercer.

"Sometimes I don't have a lot of free time but I love it."

Wanting trust

Mercer did some research and found that feeding your animals or playing with them creates a stronger bond.

"I like to have a strong connection with my animals and like to have trust," she said.

Right now she said she's focusing on school so she can make sure she has the grades to become a veterinarian.

She's focusing on science, math, and social studies, "because I feel like those are the three subjects that are most related."

With files from Loren McGinnis