20/03/2026
Have you ever had a negative vet experience?
I’ve worked in the vet industry for about 12 years- so this isn’t me throwing shade to vets in general.. They’re doing remarkable things to keep our pets around. It’s merely a post to show you that advocating for your dog(or for my vet friends, patients) is also possible.
(P.S. The dog in this video was being supervised)
I loved helping animals, seeing them come in on deaths door and then being able to send them home with a wagging tail, truly an amazing feeling. However, I also knew that besides the medicine, there’s a whole other world here in terms of what can be done for dogs mentally, emotionally, physically..
We see animals at their peak stress due to pain, foreign people/ location, lack of sleep, being touched constantly.. When you study to become a vet/ nurse, they don’t really teach you much about behaviour.
I felt there was always something missing in regard to handling. There’s always a risk of being bitten or scratched so we’ve got to find the best way to man handle the animal into submission… huh??? Or we shove a muzzle on them (they’ve never even seen a muzzle before). WHAT?
Education for nurses and vets on how to handle an animal under stress should be one of the first things you learn before putting in a cannula, or to take blood. We can’t expect these people to be on a trainer’s level with all of the other learning they have, however we can change processes to learn on the go.
I’ve met some amazing people in this industry as well who aren’t just focused on the medicine, or getting the job done, they want to make the hospital experience as easy on the pets as possible.
My interest in the medicine started to fade when I was constantly watching animals in stress when it could have been prevented. So my focus shifted from how quick can we get this done to, how much time do I have to make this dog feel a little more comfortable..
A little care goes a long way.
Again, this isn’t a shot at our amazing veterinary care professionals and the amazing work they do.. it’s just a thought that maybe there’s more work to be done in other areas..
