By Mike Lowry, Mr. Lowry has been in veterinary practice for “life plus 18” years. In this column, he shares his experiences opinions.

Please remember this when you are speaking to your veterinarian/technician/veterinary support staff and most importantly remember to appreciate and thank them!

Every time you say vets are money-grubbing or “too expensive” or
just in it for the money,

Every time you decline ALL diagnostics, yet demand to know “what’s
wrong with my pet”,

Every time a social function or other completely inappropriate place you
find out that someone is a veterinarian [or veterinary technician, support
staff!] you ask him/her for free advice for your animal,

Every time you feel justified posting a sh!tty practice or vet review when
everything was done according to the standard of care but your pet died anyway,

Every time YOUR lack of preventive care resulted in your pet’s early death,
yet you blame the veterinarian,

Every time she gets in early and stays late and works an 80-hour week
because your pet that had been ill for several days suddenly becomes an
emergency at 5pm on a Friday, and you demand to be seen, claiming these
heartless vets wont treat your baby,

Every time someone complains about the cost of veterinary care, comparing human medicine and insurance subsidies to pet ownership,

Every time someone doesn’t pay their bill and thinks they are entitled not
to because pet ownership is their “right”,

Every time someone walks in to a clinic and threatens to “sue your ass if
you make one mistake with my baby”,

Every time a graduate vet looks at the hundreds of thousands of dollars in
crippling debt and listens to clients driving Mercedes and BMW’s complain about the cost of a spay using good anesthetic care and adequate pain management,

Every time – YOU are part of the problem.

The problem is suicide in veterinarians. Most of us went to veterinary
school because we care. We have a calling to care, but there is a dark and
expensive cost to compassion.

Think before you act or speak!

[Source: Facebook – Dierenarts Maya Herman with Danyel Galvin, June 13, 2017]