Don’t you just hate it when the doc you’re going to see spends 5 minutes with you and whoosh is gone. I’ve seen the schedule for one doc in a big hospital and wondered how any doc is supposed to give you any time at all with the requirement that they see that many patients in a day.
It seems to me that animals hate it too when the Veterinarian swoops in, hurts them with big needles, and disappears. They don’t know the Veterinarian is there to care for them, but they see someone with a funny smell spend no time saying hello, patting them on the neck, making friends. Of course, they hate it.
Recently, I cared for 2 horses. They were adorable. They were well behaved. I spent a little while letting them smell me, spoiled them a little with carrots, talked to them, ran my hands down their necks and ran my fingers through their manes. They stood quietly while I retrieved my doctor gear and began the paperwork with Mom. They didn’t mind watching, didn’t mind waiting while I spelled their names correctly, got a history. They stood, watching and dozing.
They were all clean and pretty, but I always want to be sure that where the needles are going are as clean and dry as reasonable. They stood quietly as Mom groomed them and I vaccinated them. No rush. No problem at all. I wanted to be sure they weren’t afraid of me. I cannot see anything good coming from frightening a patient.
These sweet horses were vaccinated, calm, and were also a few little baby carrots down. Mom was delighted. It did not take 15 minutes. But, to me, the animal is worth my time. It is worth my time to relax them, let them know I won’t hurt them. Yes, I’ll spoil your horse for you and, he’ll know that, to me, he’s special.