10/23/2026
I just listened to part 1 of 2 of Dr. Sally Foote's podcast on safety tools. Unfortunately, I could not link the podcast to my page due to exceeding the amount of links that have been posted this month!
But you can find more information from Dr. Foote on her page at Know Your Pet and Vet
Please, please read her expert knowledge below:
"In my many years immersed in less-stressful pet care, I have always focused on the reality of caring for all small animals.
The reality is that the animal may act out in anxiety or aggression, no matter how calm we make the clinic environment, use pre-medications, and use proper handling techniques. Pain-triggered aggression is reflex-like, with a sudden lunge-swipe-bite instead of the warning body language of growls, snarls, or avoidance. Some animals have been punished for growling or displaying other warning signs by their owners using electronic collars and other devices. So they have been taught not to display warning behavior.
When an animal comes in for care dehydrated, feverish, or after trauma, I cannot ask to reschedule so they can be brought back after pre-medication. In emergenies, it requires some kind of approach and touch to the animal’s body to administer pain relief. That moment of administering pain medication is the riskiest time for a bite, no matter how skillful one is. In short, veterinary medical practice, especially small-animal practice, carries a high risk of injury. Our workman’s compensation insurance rates reflect this, and any veterinary professional with more than a year of experience will agree that not every pet that comes in for care is calm, accepting of touch and exam, or the clinic environment.
One would think that veterinary teams would be highly educated about safe practices for handling animals and preventing injury. The opposite is true. Most veterinary team members, especially those new to the profession, are not trained or knowledgeable about injury risk, especially bite risk in small animal medicine. Other factors that create hesitancy to use safety tools are client resistance, stigma about the tool itself (a muzzle means a bad dog; gloves mean a difficult cat), not having the proper tool readily available, and an assumption that the animal will be calm and predictable due to prior interactions, training, or medications.
In part one of this article, I am going to present studies and information available in veterinary medicine on workplace safety when interacting with animals. The part two will explore the culture of safe care and solutions for providing a positive animal experience through safety tools. My focus will be on small-animal medicine, specifically canine and feline care. Certainly, large-animal, exotic, and equine medicine carry injury risks, yet my studies and expertise are in traditional small-animal care.
Making the muzzle fun with lots of treats during a nail trim.
The Studies
The most recent studies I could find from a public health and industry perspective were the
2013 "Work-Related Injuries to Animal Care Workers et al" by Dr. Heather Fowler
2023 study An Increase in Animal-Related Occupational Injuries at a Veterinary Medical Center
2025 survey "Just Part of the Job - Understanding work-related injuries and safety culture in companion animal medicine
2018 Pet Owners’ Perception of Veterinary Safety Practices.
The first study by Dr. Fowler in 2013 reported rates of work-related injuries, comparing veterinary staff with non-veterinary animal care professionals (dog groomers, kennel workers, and non-farm animal caretakers). The majority of animal injury claims were made by non-veterinarians. Veterinary assistants and technicians together filed 69% of animal injury claims, compared to 31% from non-farm animal workers. Cats were the most common source of injury (63%) followed by dogs (34%).
The results show that non-doctor veterinary staff have the highest injury rate, and that cats are the most common species involved in injuries. Injury counts were higher in non-veterinary work settings. There is a difference in the reporting of injuries in non-veterinary versus veterinary settings. One of the most important differences for veterinary staff to acknowledge is the reduced reporting of injuries compared to other work sites. Other studies have shown that veterinary staff self-medicate and manage injuries, thus avoiding medical reports and workers’ compensation claims.
It is very common in a veterinary clinic for staff to wash out a wound or scratch, take an ibuprofen and possibly an antibiotic off the shelf, then get on with work.
Some clinics may send staff to urgent care and pay cash for services to avoid filing a workers’ compensation claim that would raise the clinic's insurance costs. Until these habits are abolished, the veterinary industry will have a challanging time getting accurate numbers on the rate of workplace injury.
When I read this study years ago, I called Dr. Fowler. I was editing my Bite Near Bite Job Stress Survey in Vet Med for publication. One of the observations she shared was that the veterinary staff often deprioritise their safety needs because of the stigma of using gloves or a muzzle. The staff feels bad about labeling this animal as “aggressive”, one to be feared and forced to comply with care. Working over the years in various practices, training staff, and doing occasional relief work, I see Dr. Fowler’s point, along with other factors, as a cause of hesitancy to use safety tools.
The 2018 study, Pet Owner Perception of Veterinary Safety Practices, found that a lack of, or impaired, veterinary personnel-client communication negatively affected the use of safety practices. In short, when clients say, “You won’t need a muzzle. I can hold him. He trusts me,” staff tends not to inform or enforce the reasons a muzzle is needed, so none is used. Maybe an actual bite did not happen, but the warning and risk were still there. Yet the communication is not happening, so hesitation to use the safety tools remains.
I am often asked, “What do you say to a client who refuses a muzzle or pre-medications?” when I present my low-stress safety tool use lecture. I often reply “You need to tell the client before any handling begins that these safety tools are needed and will make the care less stressful”.
Normalizing the risk of aggression is our staff's job, and communicating that to owners is important so the animal can receive care. I always took a hard line on this with clients.
No muzzle, no care.
“We make muzzling fun!” was our motto.
Then we would immediately share the Muzzle for Rewards Video, a 2-minute demo showing how to put the food into the muzzle so the dog wants to put it on, and how to continuously feed through the muzzle as care is given. That video brought a lot of clients on board to the idea of muzzling, and for those who were not, I thanked them for bringing their pet in, but told them they needed to find a different veterinary clinic. Frankly, I had more clients come to my clinic because they felt less worried about their dog or cat biting, and saw how much their pets ended up liking the safety tools.
The 2023 studies Just Part of the Job et al. and An Increase in Animal-Related Occupational Injuries et al., which surveyed injury rates among veterinarians and veterinary staff, revealed that bites are common in small-animal practice during examination, care, and hospitalization. Reporting is inconsistent, especially for minor injuries, and many workers simply find a way to get back to work, with the acceptance of injury risk considered normal. Both studies found a lack of reporting protocols that included scenarios of the bite, any near misses, or plans for reducing injury.
In my life, I have seen other industries improve workers' compliance of safety tool use. From what I’ve seen, the construction industry has had the most change over the years. Twenty years ago, roofers did not have flags or ropes to mark the edge of the roof, but that is commonplace now. Hearing protection and safety glasses are standard now.
The American Veterinary Medical Association provides a veterinary safety manual based on the OSHA guidelines. The animal handling and restraint section is very brief, with general requirements and a primary focus on lifting and moving animals or medical equipment. I did not find any statement regarding a reduction in the risk of bites, strikes, or other animal injuries.
Veterinary medicine needs to know itself better
Reading through these studies and articles, I am frankly surprised at how naive (or dismissive) industry leaders are to the significant risk of animal injury in small animal medicine. While the average claim cost for a bite is far lower than a disability claim from a back injury, the impact on our profession from animal injuries is significant. Reduced productivity, staff turnover due to burnout from daily risk, and a lack of training to help staff understand the behavior of the animal in care are affecting many understaffed, overworked clinics.
Stay tuned for part two where I explore the different work culture, education and emotions surrounding the hesitancy to use safety tools."
-Dr. Sally Foote, DVM, CABC-IAABC, LSHC-S, FFE
