It is the age of the Internet review. We all do it. A new restaurant pops up and we go online to look at the Google reviews. We judge this new place by the experiences of others instead of trusting in our own experience. We may not frequent these places because of a few bad… Read More
Life With Clients
You Don’t Have to See All the Pets
One of my most crushing failures as a vet came one Friday when I was scheduled to work at a tiny satellite clinic with only a single young veterinary technician. It was my first year in practice and I dreamed of being a great doctor to patients, a great champion for staff, and a great… Read More
The Gifts We Can Give Our Clients
A few years ago, I lost my soul dog, my very first foster and unequivocally the best dog of all time to cancer right before Christmas. His name was Chance, and he was my heart. I had him in my life throughout my career in vet med, through a marriage, the birth of a child… Read More
You’ve Earned the Right to Be Proud
Think for a moment about the nastiest client you have in your practice. The one who has made you and others in your clinic feel awful in every way possible. What did that person do or say? How long have you remembered it? Now, think about your favorite pet owner. The one who brightens your… Read More
How I Navigate Moments of Discrimination from My Clients
I’m kneeling next to Baxter examining his toe. Baxter is a sweet old pit-bull mix that is patiently letting me hold his foot as I stare at an ugly tumor that is growing from his nail bed. The growth is bleeding and the owner had it wrapped in a make-shift bandage. I’m doing all the… Read More
The Things We Say at the End
As a small animal house-call vet, about 20 percent of my practice is hospice or euthanasia care. I’ve seen quite a variety of reactions of people to their pet’s passing and I’m always struck when people apologize for their emotions, or things they say to their pet at the end. As a lifetime pet owner and… Read More