• Vetiranary Medicine
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Why clients drive me crazy

November 1, 2009
Hilary Petit, DVM

Dr. Hilary Petit loves her clients, but they drive her crazy sometimes.

One day, as I was examining a handsome, good-natured Scottie, its owner gave me a worried look.

"I just found out my dog's father died of cancer," the owner said. "My dog will be at high risk of dying of the same cancer, won't he?"

Dr. Hilary Petit

"What kind of cancer?" I asked.

"Testicular," the owner said.

"Well, as your dog is neutered and no longer has testicles, I think we're fairly safe on that one."

Now, I get that people come to us because we have expertise they lack. I also get it that they're often anxious and may not be thinking clearly. But there are times when I have to wonder what's going on in a client's mind.

Advertisement

QUESTIONS ABOUT SEX (NO, NOT THAT KIND)

I've been called on many times to determine a pet's gender. This should be fairly obvious in the case of dogs, although it's sometimes still a great mystery to the owner. When it comes to cats, I'll be the first to admit they can be of ambiguous gender to the inexperienced eye, especially in early kittenhood. After a time, however, even the most modest masculinity becomes apparent—but not to everyone.

One client brought in two cats—both intact males—and thought one was female. I wondered how the owner identified one cat but couldn't apply the same observational skills to the other. Even more curious is why it was the longhaired cat that was correctly identified rather than the shorthaired cat with testicles the size of kumquats.

These things secretly amuse me, although I don't let on to my clients.

IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE, BUT THEY WONDER …

Not all failures in common sense are funny. At 3:15 a.m., a client anxiously explained to me over the phone that his dog had lymphoma and was on large doses of prednisone.

"He's been panting all night," the worried owner said. "Do you think he could be in pain?"

"Maybe," I said, "but panting is a common side effect of prednisone."

"Oh—the doctors at the other practice told me that," the owner said, apparently just now remembering that fact. "But just in case he's in pain, can I give him a Motrin?"

"No, we don't give Motrin to dogs, especially not to dogs on steroids. Dangerous drug interactions can occur."

"Oh!" the owner exclaimed. "I already did."

Dude, if you were going to wake me at 3 a.m. anyway, why not do it before you give your dog a toxic drug combination? Please wake the veterinarian before you poison your dog.

THIS COULDN'T WAIT?

If your cat died several weeks ago and you still have questions, I'd be happy to answer them as best I can. However, can you call me during business hours instead of in the middle of the night, since there's no longer anything I can do to help your cat? And if it's 6 a.m. on a Sunday, please don't page me to find out if your dog is due for vaccines. I don't have your chart (and those of our other 10,000 clients) memorized—or at home with me. Silly me.

If I'm seeing your puppy because it has diarrhea, and you've brought along a carton with 17 different kinds of treats you give your puppy every day, we will be very happy to see what you're feeding. However, if the doctor tells you your puppy has diarrhea because you're overfeeding treats, perhaps it would be better to stop shoveling those treats into the puppy's mouth by the handful even as the doctor tells you not to. Just a thought.

Dr. Hilary Petit is an associate at Wasilla Veterinary Clinic in Wasilla, Alaska, where she practices on cats, dogs, exotics, and the occasional reindeer. Please send questions or comments to ve@advanstar.com.

Related Content:

BusinessLeadership & Personal GrowthTechnicians
The Vets expands to Raleigh, NC
The Vets expands to Raleigh, NC
Tools for building a growth mindset
Tools for building a growth mindset
The 5 Ws of veterinary diagnostics contracts
The 5 Ws of veterinary diagnostics contracts

Advertisement

Latest News

Managing wounds in pet patients

Spectrum of care: protocols to support pet owners’ budgets

How to support women while still running a successful business

The Vets expands to Raleigh, NC

View More Latest News
Advertisement