My Hero: Every single veterinarian who has ever helped my dogs
This month at the Academy for Dog Trainers, we are doing a “heroes month” celebrating all the people who have inspired and motivated us to be better dog trainers and better advocates for dogs. I have so, so many heroes in my life: my mother, who taught me that science matters and women can do anything they put their minds to; my bosses, who are both clever, dedicated women making strides through the rather mucky situations they’re presented with in their separate realms; my wife, who carries in her heart a dedication to securing an adequate local supply of good food; my university profs, who managed to spark curiosity and a passion for life-long learning…the list goes on.
But today, I want to shine a light on another hero. Well, a set of heroes, actually.
Every single veterinarian who has ever helped one of my dogs.
Veterinarians have an extremely tough row to hoe. They are doctors for a really broad range of animals: predators and prey, tiny and huge, be-pawed or be-hooved, feathered or furred or heck even scaly, friendly and whoa nelly not so friendly…unlike human doctors, who have to focus on just a single species (and due to specialization, many doctors focus on a single system of a single species!). Vets have to handle emergencies like a paramedic and trauma surgeon would, they have to dredge up and dust off counselling skills for their human clients about some very sticky issues in the face of colossal mythologies and boatloads of “but Dr. Google said”-isms, they have to keep up on endocrine issues and cancer and setting broken bones and oh heck did that Pug’s eyeball just really pop out?
But that’s not the end of it, is it? Vets are regularly tasked with euthanising the animals in their care, either for good reasons (ending suffering) or for reasons which may feel heartbreaking to them. This absolutely must take a toll, to say nothing of being around all of us blubbering dog guardians who are saying good-bye. The ridiculous shortage of veterinarians (a problem they did not create, and which needs a political and social fix) means that they are often fitting in these appointments, stuffing them between other pressing appointments when they can.
Finally, and most distressingly, veterinarians are faced with angry pet owners who haven’t gotten the message that vet care really honestly just costs money. It is not simply the vet’s time, it is the time of all the technicians, the front desk staff, the building rental, the equipment, the supplies, the professional fees, the insurance…the list goes on and on. Vets regularly work with humans who can’t, or won’t, cough up the cash needed to take reasonable care of the animals in their exam rooms. I have seen a vet turn away from me with tears in her eyes when I said “we’ll do whatever it takes, go ahead with that test”. Tears! Hearing that I would do the test she recommended made her so thankful she teared up. Vets love animals, and they love helping animals, and they’re put into these rock-meet-hard-place scenarios where they are forced by circumstance and social mores to deliver sub-par care. They are advocating for the health and welfare for our animals, and getting anger back from us.
No wonder there is a suicide problem among vets, prompting the Not One More Vet initiative.
So, to all the veterinarians who have helped my dogs: thank-you. You are my heroes.
This blog is dedicated to Datson (Jan 16, 2008-June 2, 2022). I miss you, Datsie Matsie. You were also my hero for putting up with Timber all those years.