Basil

I always find this topic quite interesting. When we take our animals for a vet visit, does your clinic take your animal to the back to provide the care they need? Or do they allow the animal to stay with you? With the pandemic, this really brought the point home to me as I was not able to go into the clinic with my animals. So I was not able to see how my dog was treated. Was my dog treated with kindness and compassion? Given a break when needed? Given the treats I so faithfully bring to every visit and I give to whom ever takes my dog away? Do they not drag them on the leash as I politely requested?

Over the years I have been to some great clinics and seen wonderful handling of my animals. I have also been to clinics that did not treat my animals well when I was out of eyesight.  So this is a policy that I tend to stand on my pedestal for. I absolutely love my vet. I trust this person implicitly with my animals. However, in the past, I have seen some of the techs do things that were unacceptable to me and had better not happen to my animals. I chose my clinic and vet with care. It took me a year to find a clinic and vet that had the same philosophies as I do with my animals. But loving your vet, cannot always guarantee that they will have techs that have the same philosophy. Some of them are in a hurry. Some of them just flat don’t like your animal (yes, this happens). For me, my animals are my children and I want to see exactly what is being done to them. I know my dogs well (I used to have cats and the same rules applied to them) and I train them well. They feel more comfortable with me there and  I know they feel better when I can comfort them and pet them. And they really enjoy the abundance of yummy treats I provide when we are in the room and they are being examined. The only time I allow my dogs out of my eyesight is if they have to have a x-ray. And when one had to have radiation treatments for cancer. I was able to watch, through a very small window, when my dog with cancer received xrays before the treatments started. I was not happy when I saw the two techs manhandling my dog. This boys is very amenable to just about anything if you ask him politely. There is no need to pick him up and drop him on the table. Or roughly roll him over.

Indy

So for my dogs, they stay with me. I would never, as a parent to a human child, allow my toddler to be taken out of the room away from me to have inoculations or any type of exam. Why is it ok to take our dogs or cats into another room? Please remember to advocate for your animal! They depend on you! You ask for what you feel is best. If you get pushback, then maybe it is time to find a new veterinary clinic.

Here is a great article that brought his subject home for me. Communicate with your vet. Make sure you discuss what you would like your visits to look like to see if they can accommodate you. Sometimes we have to compromise. That’s ok. Choose your battles wisely and make sure you know what would make you and your animals comfortable and happy to see the vet!

I am so thankful that we can once again enter our veterinary clinics and be there for our furry friends. And I appreciate all of our veterinarians that managed through the pandemic. It was rough for all of us.

As a final thought, please tell your veterinarians and their staff how much you appreciate them and their hard work!