You & Your Veterinarian

As you may have guessed, I have lots of friends who are veterinarians.  Some I met years ago in graduate school, some I met when I worked for the San Diego Zoological Society, and others I've met through my work as an animal behaviorist, helping pet owners. There was even a time when I thought I might be headed to vet school myself before I immersed myself in all things animal learning and behavior. I admire veterinarians; to me, they are like pediatricians.  They work with beings who aren't verbal, trying to ferret out what's wrong, what needs fixing, etc.  This isn't easy, particularly when your being of choice to work with can bite, scratch, kick, or otherwise maim you!  This is why I'm always dismayed when one of my veterinarian friends doubts the value of what they do or the care that they provide.

According to the AVMA, one in six veterinarians has contemplated suicide and 10% of veterinarians experience psychological distress, and 30% of veterinarians indicated that they've experienced bouts of depression. During the pandemic, pet owners couldn't be there for their pets' appointments, and that was stressful not just for the pets and their owners, but for their veterinarians and staff as well.  While some of our pets are indeed better behaved when we aren't there, most are fearful and unduly stressed when in unfamiliar surroundings like a veterinary hospital.  Vets and their staff were working long hours trying to care for our pets, while also dealing with enhanced risk from frightened pets, staff shortages, etc.  Add to it their own fears regarding the pandemic and its effects on their families and it's a wonder those depression statistics weren't higher between 2020 and now.  

I had a conversation with one of my vet friends this week who was troubled by the verbal abuse she and her staff have routinely received over the last couple of years.  Pet owners who are upset about not being able to be present for exams, mad about the costs incurred with procedures and products, and even infuriated when services could not be provided to their pets because it wasn't safe for staff to do so.  While I understand the frustration many pet owners feel about not being able to be there for their pets early on in the pandemic, most vets are allowing pet owners to be present now.  And with regard to the cost of veterinary medicine:  veterinarians are dealing with increased costs themselves from pharmaceutical companies and those that provide medical equipment and instruments to veterinary practices.  In order for a veterinarian to provide the best service and care, they must have access to the latest technology and products.  Everything has gone up in price from vaccines to anesthesia to surgical care.  While insurance companies defray some of the those costs in human medicine, most pet owners don't have pet insurance. Some of you may argue with me on this point, but I truly do not believe your veterinarian is "price gouging" you.  They are trying to make a living, pay their staff, and provide the best care they can to your pets.  Frankly, I don't want my veterinarian cutting corners with my pets; I want them to receive the best care.  They can't tell me what's wrong and I need to have confidence that my veterinarian can determine the problem and guide me in fixing it.

Yes, veterinarians make mistakes.  We all do.  Even human physicians make errors.  Yelling at your veterinarian, calling them names, etc. isn't helpful.  Honestly, knowing that pet owners I've worked with behaved this way in their vet's office is really disturbing.  That kind of behavior has left my soft-spoken, ultra-compassionate veterinarian friend trying to decide if she should leave the veterinary profession. I'll tell you right now, the veterinary profession would be losing a wonderful doctor and pet owners would be losing someone who truly cares about the bodies AND minds of the pets in her care.  Over the years, we've talked at length about how to make pets less fearful when they visit her practice; how to train her staff to better read canine body language; and how to teach pet owners the basics of dog and cat behavior so that they can help their pets lead better lives.  

If you've come this far, you may be wondering why I'm even bringing this up, given that I'm not a veterinarian.  Well, I work with them every single day on behalf of my clients and their pets.  Hearing their stories about what's going on behind closed doors in their practices is concerning to me.  Your veterinarians and I really want to help you and your pets.  We work together to provide the best care to their bodies and their minds.  I respect the veterinary profession and I'm grateful that the veterinarians I work with respect what I do as well. Let's try to remember that the health and well-being of our pets is what we all want to see and is of paramount importance. 

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

The look on this dog's face says it all.