Vet Stress When vets and their own pets’ care go the way of the cobbler’s son’s shoes

There’s a saying in Spanish that goes, “En casa del herrero, cuchillo de palo.” Translated roughly, it means the same thing as, “the cobbler’s son has no shoes.” Except this Medieval version finds the blacksmith using a wooden knife. Sometimes I think I should coin a vet version. It seems some of us deserve it.

Take my own dog: he’s been itchy all weekend and I’ve been dosing him with Benadryl instead of getting him in to perform the diagnostics he needs to help relieve his relatively mild case of the scratchies.

…or my mom’s dog whose dental keeps getting bumped off for yet another week.

And how about one of my good friends (a vet, of course) whose two cats hadn’t been professionally examined in years? (Petting doesn’t count.) Neither had they received bloodwork, X-rays, or dentistries for their miscellaneous mild maladies.

I know it happens in “the best of families,” as my mom likes to say. But why does it happen at all?

Is it because we believe we know our pets well, we’re confident in our clinical skills and can predict the exact moment a problem needs to be addressed (as an emergency)? I hope not—because that’s an idiotic approach.

Is it because we’re so busy that taking time out for our own pets seems like a guilty pleasure or a practice-taxing luxury? Maybe a little.

I’ve had occasion to think about this a lot and finally arrived at a conclusion that rings true for me. I’m just plain scared to handle my own pets’ care. I turn into a simpering wuss when it comes to my own. Even the simple things like skin itchies and nail trims find me useless and cowering when our techs insist on taking care of them. (Let me leave the room first, OK?) Imagine how I handle the big stuff.

So I take my dogs to my boyfriend whenever they need anything major. Even my youg’un’s little limp or my older girl’s inevitably occasional back pain have me running to the surgeon for a series of X-rays and labwork. I have no stomach for it.

Perhaps that’s not everybody’s answer to the cobbler’s dilemma, but it sure beats living without shoes.

July 16th, 2007

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A physician should NEVER treat his family, a lawyer who acts as his own counsel has a fool for a client....how about these adages?

Set up appointments for your animals with a vet you have respect for, do routine care so it doesn't turn into an emergency. Advice I'm sure you share with your clients.....

Jan July 16th, 2007 08:45:00 PM

I'm the same way - all of mine are past due on dental prophys and routine blood screening. I think part of the reason is that we know what needs to be done, and the biggest hurdle to preventive care is making clients aware that it's needed in the first place. It's almost like, since I know that they need dentals and I know why they need dentals, it's somehow okay to postpone it. Makes no sense, really.

anna July 16th, 2007 09:54:00 PM

Yay for Dr. Khuly - I just read your article on blogging in July's Veterinary Economics...cool!

anna July 16th, 2007 10:19:00 PM

This post made me laugh as my vet is the same way.

As she was examining Mojo last week or the the week before to make sure he was healthy enough for his last series of shots, it prompted her to remind herself outloud that she needed to get her kitten in for his last series.

There has been times over the past couple of years that she has gotten a nasty gram from the town stating that she forgot to license her dogs and if she didn't do so ASAP, it would cost her double the price. What's funny about this one is that she's forever getting asked if she'd forgo sending in rabies certificates so that clients won't have to license their pets, to which she just rolls her eyes and tells the client to just pay the $5.00- $7.00 but yet she somehow manages to forget to do it herself.

Beyond those things, she has no problem treating her own animals. Over the past year she's put many of her own pets down due to old age and various health problems which has caused her some grief, but she did what needed to be done anyway. Having to put down her Lab puppy due to brain cancer has left a wound that has yet to heal, but she will and does talk about it.

Stacy July 17th, 2007 08:21:00 AM

It's a sad reality.
After coming home from working several stressfull days in the office, we all seem to bypass our own loved ones sometimes.
I always promote Oral ATP's. Dentistry is a very important factor for me in the animals health care, yet I only brush my canines teeth once a week sometimes two :(. Yes, it's horrible, but after doing dentals all day I sometimes get tired of all the calculus.

Shell July 19th, 2007 10:25:00 PM

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