DOS AND DON’TS WHEN TAKING YOUR PET TO A VETERINARY CLINIC
Having made your decision on the Veterinarian you wish to have to oversee the health of your new pet, I dare say you would want to develop and nurture the relationship, which should ideally lead into a long-term friendship (yes, friendship). You are more than just a client; you and your companion animal have, from the first visit, become part of a clinic family. It is quite amazing how that little tyke can cement an emerging bond between your Vet and yourself. Both you and your Vet want what is best for your companion animal.
Having offered those opening remarks, let me make some general statements:
Visits to your veterinarian should be a pleasant experience – be it for routine check-ups, vaccinations/dewormings, or when your beloved pet may be unwell. The interactions should be positive and without hostility. You have brought your pet to the Vet because you have confidence in him or her. Your fears and even panic should dissipate as you enter the clinic.
Under no circumstance should you allow your anxiety to take control of your behaviour and have you banging on the door of the treatment room/surgery, insisting that “FIDO” is dying and must be seen before all others. Such discourtesy to other clients and the clinic staff does not augur well for the relationship you hope to build with your veterinarian.
It is not uncommon to experience a barking frenzy develop, particularly between two male patients. In my case, our own “Patrick”, a Pom-Pek-Dachs (in other words, a cute mongrel), who believed he was protecting his territory, would give the symbolic bark to intimate his presence to all invaders of his compound. Then he would go to the back-steps and continue to do what he does best, namely sleep.
In the waiting area, the caterwauling (that should be dogerwauling) may, of course, continue between two or even three combatants. And just as the dogs would not back down, so, too, do their owners often become assertive (and even aggressive) towards each other. Bad scene! One (the more sensible) should take his/her barking away from the fray. The excitement engendered by the confrontation may make the diagnosis later more difficult. For example, the body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure would rise, and the Vet would not be sure if a fever and/or high blood pressure reading and an increased pulse rate are consequences of the excitement, or are due to an underlying ailment. It may therefore be more sensible to keep your excitable pet in the car/outside of the clinic until it is his/her turn to be examined. Clinic Assistants will guide you accordingly.
It is recommended that you take your dog for a walk before the drive to the clinic. During the short walk, the dog is almost sure to defecate and urinate. I do believe that Vets (and other clients) just do not wish to witness a dog pooping in the general area where the other animals are waiting. If and when it does occur, please be prepared to assist in removing the faeces/urine with utensils and cleansing products provided by the clinic.
We also need to raise concern over the unrestrained/ destructive dog, which may be a reflection of the animal’s anti-social behaviour. Some owners, on arrival at the clinic, may decide to let “FIDO” run around the place freely, urinating on plants and digging up the soil. Not a good idea! You should never bring your dog – even the most docile house dog – to the clinic without it being attached to a secured leash. Clinics usually would have well-placed signs advising pet-owners of the management of their pets in the waiting area.
I would admit that the incessant barking, defecation, and unrestrained dogs do not overly disturb me. The one thing that makes me shudder, even after 53 years in the business, is seeing a cat being brought to the clinic in its owner’s arms. I have visions (born of several actual experiences) of the calm and purring “FELIX” becoming an uncontrollable monster at its first perception of intimidation, within seconds of arriving at the clinic. It is truly not easy to pacify (and hold on to) a cat that begins to snarl, hiss, scratch, and bite. So, off goes “FELIX” into the unknown beyond – with the Vet, Vet’s staff, neighbours, other waiting clients in chase.
Notice I have omitted to mention the owner. He/she remains transfixed in fear, surprise and awe at this unbelievable development. Confusion follows. And sadness. Rarely do we recover the cat, and guilt feelings and blame begin. I urge cat owners to adhere to the strategically placed instructions provided in the waiting area on management of cats prior to entry into the examination room.
All cats must be transported in a sturdy box or cage (“Pet-Taxi”), if for no other reason than to placate other waiting clients and your Veterinarian. If you need a “carry-cage” after you have arrived, please feel free to request one from the clinic for use during your visit.
If you know that you cannot stand the sight of a needle, or blood, or clinic smells, please let someone of a sturdier constitution accompany you.
I remember a professor telling us students that later, as Vets, we must firstly “treat” the owners, before dealing with the patients. He did not tell us, however, of the “treatment” of clients who collapse in the clinic during the treatment of the sick animal.
I often share this story of an experience with a 300-pound gentleman and his equally massive Great Dane when I was practising in Germany. As I was filling up the syringe, I noticed from the corner of my eye some sweat beads developing on his massive Germanic brow. I asked him if everything was okay, and he guffawed and explained that he was a butcher by trade, and would wade knee-deep in blood every day. As the needle touched the dog’s vein, a “Braddap” shook the clinic when the ‘ten-ton Teuton’ tumbled to the tiles. Can you imagine 150-pound me (in those days) with a Great Dane on the table and a “bazodee” butcher under the table? What I did is another story. The moral here, however, is: if you know that clinics make you queasy, then have someone either take your pet or accompany you to the clinic.
Vets often deal with pet owners who would call to describe symptoms exhibited by their sick animals which require urgent attention. And often, when the owner is told to get to the clinic immediately, the response is that he/she cannot! If it were your baby that is sick, it is very unlikely that you would say, “I don’t have time/I’m working”. You have the option of sending someone with the sick animal. Fortify the person with as much salient information as possible, and make yourself available via telephone should the Vet need more details associated with the sick animal.
Next week, we shall discuss some more dos and don’ts pertaining to your visit to the Vet’s clinic.
