It happened again. A family could not afford the care of their pet and the veterinarian offered relinquishment instead of having to euthanize the animal. It should be a feel-good story. It should make you say, “Wow that veterinarian is so nice to do that for that animal instead of euthanizing.” But instead, people get angry. People start harassing the veterinarian. People start spreading misinformation. And then the family gets their pet back at no charge because the public has made a spectacle of it all and forced the veterinarian to work for free.

Misinformation continues to fuel these situations.  I’ve written about this before. People get wrapped up in the title and read very little details regarding the situation and then just click that share button. And then it’s shared… and shared… and shared.  Suddenly we are dealing with a misinformation mess.  Let’s go over what really happens in these situations to try to get some facts straight before this trend continues.

In most of these stories, a pet is brought in for a major issue such as parvovirus or a surgical issue or even just a really sick dog or cat.  Typically the owners cannot afford treatment, even the bare bones estimates. The veterinarian sees this sweet animal suffering and usually has to bring up euthanasia as a treatment option but doesn’t like discussing that when the animal could be saved. So we discuss relinquishment.

Relinquishment means that we will take on the cost of the treatment but the animal now belongs to the clinic. Here is where the story always takes a turn.  The owners will always ask if they can have the animal back once it is better or sometimes will harass the clinic for updates on who is the new owner so they can guilt those people into giving the animal back. Or sometimes you see social media get involved and random people will scream at the clinic saying “If you are doing the work for free why not just give the animal back to the owner.” So let’s discuss those misconceptions.

No, the owners cannot have the animal back once the clinic has saved it unless they come up with the money to pay for treatment. Unfortunately, animal clinics are businesses and we need payment to keep afloat. If we gave back every animal that was relinquished without payment we would no longer be in service.  This also creates a vicious cycle because now those owners think any time their pet is in trouble they can get work done “for free.”

That brings up the second part. We are not doing the work for free. We still have to pay for those medications, anesthesia, and time that had been put into saving the animal.  Several animals that I have saved due to relinquishment or abandonment were charged to my account and I happily paid them since I became the new owner of said animal.  None of the work is for free. Now maybe the clinic will discount some of the services or write them off but that doesn’t mean that any random pet owner should be able to cheat the system and not have to pay.

Relinquishment doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Sometimes animals get into situations that clients cannot afford.  If a veterinarian offers relinquishment that means that they care enough to try to give the animal a chance. But if the public continues to act like veterinarians are just money-hungry people wanting to take everyone’s dogs for profit then a lot fewer veterinarians will be willing to allow relinquishment which means a lot more unnecessary euthanasia.

You don’t have to be rich to own an animal but you do need to take responsibility for that animal. Relinquishing an animal is the responsible route to take if you cannot afford treatment.  You are allowing that pet to live another day. We need to stop punishing both the owners and the veterinarians in these situations. We all want to help the suffering animal and that should be the endgame.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Any time I hear of a dog injuring or killing a child, my heart breaks. As a human, it breaks for the child, who has either been physically and emotionally scarred or taken from this earth far too early.

As a mother, it breaks for the child’s family to see their child endure such a trauma. As a veterinary professional, it breaks for the dog.

“Wait…” you say… “but the dog is to blame for this horrible act. Why should we feel bad for the dog?” My response is always “Why did the dog feel it needed to act this way?”

A recent report of two dogs fatally mauling a young boy in Massachusetts has me once again advocating for the dogs, while everyone else is carrying their pitchforks and calling for legislation.

The details have not been confirmed, but this little boy had found himself inside of the fenced-in area where these two neighborhood dogs were confined. Unfortunately, one of the dogs was euthanized, while the second is in custody.

As a mother to a young boy, I cannot imagine the heartbreak that his family is going through. I do not negate that a child’s life was tragically and horrifically lost. However, let’s take both the dogs and the child out of the picture.

A human trespassed onto someone else’s property.

If this was an adult, they would be arrested or threatened by the homeowner. Let’s add the dogs back into the story. A human trespassed onto someone else’s property and was attacked by the homeowner’s dogs.

In this story the dogs may be considered heroes, simply protecting their owner and their property. Now make the trespasser a child. Suddenly the dogs are murderers, dangerous, and should be euthanized. Their entire breed should be banned. How does this leap happen?

“Well, children don’t know any better. You can’t possibly blame the child for a vicious dog’s behavior!”

How is it that a 7-year-old does not know that you need permission to be on someone else’s property? Or that if you don’t know a dog, you shouldn’t approach them without permission?

According to Stopthe77.com, roughly 77% of dog bites are from a family or friend’s dog. Which means that 77% of dog bites come from dogs that children KNOW.

This tells me that there is a severe lack of education on how children should be interacting with the family pet. If they don’t know how to interact with a dog that their family deems as friendly and tolerant, then how are they expected to know how to approach a strange dog?

Watch any montage of “cute” dog and kid videos and you’ll see dogs who give so many signals that they are uncomfortable. The parents and family taking these videos aren’t malicious – they don’t WANT these children hurt. However, if they knew how to read their dog’s body language they would put the camera down and intervene.

These situations are so easily preventable. As someone who loves dogs, who works with them daily and has taken the time to educate myself on their behavior I urge parents to TEACH their children.

Take some of the blame off of the dogs. They only know how to survive and protect themselves. They don’t speak our language and we can’t teach them to. So that puts the responsibility on US to learn how to speak theirs.

Stop calling for bans on specific breeds. It’s not the dog’s fault. ANY dog can bite; small dogs, large dogs, lazy dogs, old dogs and young dogs. Should a known aggressive dog who is a true public safety risk be humanely euthanized? Absolutely.

Should a whole breed of dogs be banned from knowing what it’s like to be loved, pampered, trained and properly socialized because we’re too selfish and full of ourselves to see past their looks and learn how to communicate? Absolutely not.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

About the Author

Maryanne Aldrich is a Veterinary Assistant at PawSteps Veterinary Center in Northbridge, MA. She graduated with an Associates Degree in Animal Care from Becker College and began working at PawSteps in the spring of 2013. She developed an interest in animal behavior early in her career and has continued to improve her understanding of veterinary patients through self-study, consultations with other professionals, and formal continuing education courses . She regularly advises clients about home behavior care and has successfully implemented programs at PawSteps to provide less stressful veterinary experiences. The mother of two tiny humans, and a chocolate lab named Abbie, Maryanne understands the importance of educating clients and their families on how to “read dog” and is passionate about setting new puppy parents up for a lifetime of success.

“Uh oh!” I look to my right, and a distressed stranger is pointing at the ground next to me.

I’m standing at the front desk of a veterinary clinic, so I look down cautiously. (You never know what could be on the ground at a hospital, and I am admittedly only cut out for the business side of vet med).

There is a river of dog urine closing in on my favorite suede booties. It’s coming from my friend’s senior Weimaraner, Callie.

“Oh my God. I don’t know her,” I joke, shooting my friend my best judgmental look. (Obviously, my dog never does anything embarrassing).

My friend, however, is completely mortified. “SHE NEVER DOES THIS! I AM SO SORRY! CAN I CLEAN IT?” she exclaims.

The customer service representative stares at her blankly. “I mean, there’s paper towels over there.” She motions to a station across the store, and my friend obeys the direction.

Unfortunately, there are about 2 towels left on the roll, and we are dealing with a 60-pound dog amount of pee.

“Kind of seems like a mop situation. Callie really committed to this,” I say to the customer service representative as two more appear behind the desk. More blank stares. As a former practice manager, my head starts to slowly spin. How are they not getting that they should offer to help?

“Well, there are probably more paper towels at another one of the cleaning stations,” the CSR finally suggests. My friend dutifully ventures off to find them while I try to go to a zen place in my mind.

“Not my practice, not my staff, not my problem,” I repeat over and over in my head. I wonder if I’m overreacting, or if my friend is as horrified as I am by the team’s response.

We move on to the exam room, where my friend expresses her concern about the public urination incident to the veterinary technician. She isn’t communicating that she’s upset about cleaning it up. Instead, you can tell she’s worried something is wrong with her aging dog.

“Ya, we’ll check her bladder when we bring her in the back,” the veterinary technician responds. My Wendy Meyers fandom makes me cringe at the term “the back”, but I’m even more concerned about the general lack of concern for my friend’s feelings. Again, I wonder if I’m overreacting.

Callie gets admitted to the hospital, and my friend and I return to the car to debrief.

“They really weren’t very compassionate, huh? It makes me wonder if they’re, like, going to yell at her if she barks while she’s there or something.”

And this is when I realized this is more about a puddle of pee coming dangerously close to my beloved Steve Madden boots. It’s about trust.

My friend felt embarrassed about her dog’s accident, and no one reassured her. She felt concerned about her dog’s unusual behavior, and no one comforted her.

Callie might receive the best possible medical care while admitted at that practice, but my friend’s trust has been lost. No matter how good your medicine is, remember that building trust can start with simply mopping a pee puddle.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Danielle K. Lambert is a former veterinary practice manager and the founder of SnoutSchool.com, a website dedicated to teaching veterinary hospitals to use social media effectively. You can get her 5 favorite social media tools here, or follow her on social media to see excessive photos of her Brussels Griffon. She’s @DanielleSnout on Snapchat, Instagram & Twitter.