My rant and rave for the day...
Working at a vet clinic I see alot of things... Unfortunately, the vast majority of those things are due to ignorance. People walk through the doors of the most high end vet clinic in the city, and one of the top in the state, with no knowledge of pet ownership.
"Well I just bought her from Petland and now she is sick", "My dogs don't need vaccines, they are purebred", "She eats better than I do, my wife buys her beneful", "You mean my pet has to be current on rabies to get groomed", "Where has she had her vaccinations done at... I dont think she has had any vaccinations", "Heck no I'm not getting him neutered, he has papers", "My friend used to have a dog that looked just like him, and she wanted another, so we bred him", "My dog needs shots, but I don't have any money, do you take payments", "My dog is sick, but I don't have any money, what should I do"
These are things that came out of our clients mouths, and that was just TODAY. What's worse is that giving advice on the clock is considered "practicing medicine" and since my license is not to practice medicine, only to support a physician who does, that would be against the law... my lips must remain sealed.
These are the same people that let their four year old run around the clinic without shoes or set their unvaccinated puppy in the grass outside the clinic. The people that have no clue what their dog is due for and leave everything completely up to the vet. The life of a dog must be trivial to these people to be as uneducated and unconcerned as they are. Some days I think people should have to meet certain qualifications before owning a dog... but i suppose ignorance is bliss.
What can we do? BE AN EDUCATED PET OWNER! Instead of shunning backyard breeders and puppy mills and unethical veterinarians, maybe we should spend our time educating the masses that keep them in business?
Working at a vet clinic I see alot of things... Unfortunately, the vast majority of those things are due to ignorance. People walk through the doors of the most high end vet clinic in the city, and one of the top in the state, with no knowledge of pet ownership.
"Well I just bought her from Petland and now she is sick", "My dogs don't need vaccines, they are purebred", "She eats better than I do, my wife buys her beneful", "You mean my pet has to be current on rabies to get groomed", "Where has she had her vaccinations done at... I dont think she has had any vaccinations", "Heck no I'm not getting him neutered, he has papers", "My friend used to have a dog that looked just like him, and she wanted another, so we bred him", "My dog needs shots, but I don't have any money, do you take payments", "My dog is sick, but I don't have any money, what should I do"
These are things that came out of our clients mouths, and that was just TODAY. What's worse is that giving advice on the clock is considered "practicing medicine" and since my license is not to practice medicine, only to support a physician who does, that would be against the law... my lips must remain sealed.
These are the same people that let their four year old run around the clinic without shoes or set their unvaccinated puppy in the grass outside the clinic. The people that have no clue what their dog is due for and leave everything completely up to the vet. The life of a dog must be trivial to these people to be as uneducated and unconcerned as they are. Some days I think people should have to meet certain qualifications before owning a dog... but i suppose ignorance is bliss.
What can we do? BE AN EDUCATED PET OWNER! Instead of shunning backyard breeders and puppy mills and unethical veterinarians, maybe we should spend our time educating the masses that keep them in business?
