CONTENT WARNING: Dog Attack

I worked in veterinary medicine for more than thirty-six years, and we always dealt with some real doozies!

We had a lady come in with a Chow Chow for regular vaccines. After she signed in, she sat on the bench waiting to be seen. One of my techs walked over to her with a clipboard and pen in her hands to get some information. While she stood there speaking with the woman, her dog came over — he had been straining at the leash trying to get out the door — and with no warning, not even a growl, he grabbed hold of [Tech]’s hand with his teeth and began to try and rip her arm off! He shook his head, bit harder, and dragged her to the floor!

Instead of trying to get the dog off of [Tech], the woman began screaming at us for abusing her dog as we tried to break the dog free of [Tech]’s hand. Three of us were bitten trying to get her loose!!

Instead of an apology for owning an aggressive dog and not restraining it when she came in, the woman screamed at us:

Woman: “You people had no right to attack my dog like that and it’s your own fault for walking up to my dog!”

My tech ended up with four broken bones in her hand and a massive infection that put her in the hospital for four days, and in the end, the woman actually had the nerve to file a lawsuit claiming animal abuse against our hospital. She wanted more than $25,000 in emotional distress!

We shut the hospital down on the day of the trial — there was NO WAY we were going to settle — and every staff member who had been involved was there to testify.

In the end, the woman was forced to pay all court costs and lawyer fees, the cost of the medical treatment for every person who was injured, and the cost of shutting down the hospital to come to court, and she was given a fine by Animal Control for having an aggressive dog. She was also told that should the dog ever bite someone again, not only would the dog be put down, but she could be arrested and jailed for having a known aggressive animal in her home and not properly containing it.

I am the manager at the small vet clinic where I work, but my desk is the front reception desk, so I also do a lot of reception work, and I assist the vet when needed. I am typing up a prescription label with the vet leaning over my shoulder dictating the directions, and the client on the other side of the counter is waiting to get their pet’s prescription and check out. Another two clients are filling out boarding paperwork, and the employee assisting the vet for the day is feeding the adoptable kitties. All these people and activities make our small lobby very full and noisy.

The next animal we have an appointment with belongs to an elderly lady who is somewhat hard of hearing. She walks in, and the other receptionist attempts to invite her up to the counter to get her pet checked in.

Before my coworker can make herself heard and understood over the din, a man we don’t recognize walks in and up to the counter, cutting in front of the actual client. Our reception desk is unfortunately too small to ignore someone right in front of it in favor of the person they cut in front of, so my coworker greets him so she can get him out of the way quickly.

Coworker: “Can I help you?”

Man: “Hi, I’m with [Pharmacy], and I wanted to speak to whoever’s in charge of ordering! We have great prices on compounded pet medications, and we have a toll-free number to make calling them in easier.”

Coworker: “Well, that would be my manager.”

She gestures to me. I hunker down and attempt to look EXTREMELY absorbed by the prescription I’m labeling.

Coworker: “But as you can see, she’s currently very busy.”

I didn’t catch what they said next, as I was scheduling my current client’s follow-up and getting them rung up, but I heard the man becoming increasingly pushy about getting someone to agree to hear his spiel. Thankfully, my coworker got him to leave right before I actually became available to deal with him. He left a flyer and his business card, and my coworker was finally able to check in with the client the man had cut in front of.

After our last appointment was discharged, I took the flyer and business card to the vet. She pointed out that if this pharmacy’s reps were so poorly-behaved in their prospective customers’ offices as to cut in front of clients and interrupt business to demand attention, how was the pharmacy going to treat any clients we send to them? We made a note of the pharmacy’s name and chucked their contact information in the trash.

I answer the phone at the vet’s office where I work.

Customer: “Can you extract specimens from my dog while at his appointment so I can clone him?”

Me: “No, sir, that’s not something we do.”

Customer: “Do you know who does?”

Me: “No.”

CONTENT WARNING: Pet Cancer

We’ve had sled dogs for the past twenty years. We use them for pulling and carrying to fulfill their needs but keep them as family pets. At most, we’ve had five dogs. Now we only have one left: Gamlemor. She’s turning thirteen this March. As responsible pet owners, we visit our veterinarian at least once a year — twice a year after they turn ten.

Being a senior dog, Gamlemor is starting to get some “extra” issues as most beings do when getting old. Off to the vet we go, same as always. We’ve used this practice for eighteen years now, and we adore our veterinarian.

He’s got a good size office, with many employees with this very same type of dedication.

I take “Gamlemor” in for itchy ears and a lump on her chest. I think she needs an ear flush for the itch and the lump is just “another lump of fat”. (She’s had a few over the years.)

However, this time, her ear has some deformation and the lump is cancerous. And checking her ears, they notice that a few of her teeth need to come out, as well.

I am very emotional at the moment, so there are probably some variations to the wording. Here’s approximately how this conversation went.

Vet: “The tumor is out, and we are quite sure we got all of it plus some good margins. But she’s an old girl, so belly rubs need to happen every day and you need to be thorough.”

Me: “She already gets them. I just can’t believe we missed this.”

Vet: “Thorough?”

Me: *Through sobs* “Obviously not.”

Vet: “Now, I’ve booked a date for removing the bad teeth, but I’m more concerned about her inner ear. And we need to be clear about what to expect. This is calcification or cancer. This is serious. A CT will tell us more about where it is, but there’s not a lot to do about it.”

Me: “Okay. Is she in pain? What options are there?”

Vet: “It’s not what you want to hear, but Gamlemor is not comfortable. She’s not showing it, but her teeth alone would cause a bit of pain and the ear makes her itchy and dizzy. I’d recommend managing her condition depending on the CT. And there’s an option to remove the inner ear, but it’s extremely painful.”

Me: “Okay!” *Sobs* “What does ‘managing’ mean? Why not operate? The pain is temporary, right? How much is it? Can you do it?”

Vet: “‘Managing’ is medication. I’ll tell you the price for dental care. But… it’s my job to inform you that there are options. I can do the operation, but I won’t. I won’t subject Gamlemor to this at her age. It’s a lot of pain for two to four weeks, and there’s a chance it won’t heal well or at all. And with her age and sensitivity, it’s not an option in my opinion. There are other practices that will take care of this if you absolutely have to, but try to ask why before doing anything. Is it for Gamlemor or yourself?”

Me: *Ugly crying* “You’re such an a**hole, sometimes. You know that?”

Vet: “Yes, but you know this, too: I do business with you because you pay your dues. I like you because you listen and you care about your animals. But I love Gamlemor. Here, take this.” *Hands me a tissue* “And take a moment. I’ll print your appointment and put together an invoice for dental care.”

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we keep coming back. This vet is autistic. He’s not great with people. But he’s honest, direct, and hard-working. And he loves his job because he loves animals. When we show up with our pets, this practice is their voice of reason when we’re upset or not thinking straight.

When we visit, they greet our pets the way their personalities preferred it, and then they greet us. “Do you want something to drink? Great, I’ll bring your human something, too.”

A veterinarian nurse said on our second visit, “You’re the wallet; this is the patient,” while rubbing Oscar’s belly with both hands.

Gamlemor is now on medication for arthritis, inflammation, and pain relief. She’s comfortable, playful, and happy. We might be able to keep her around for a few months still, a year if we’re lucky. She’s on follow-ups every two months — something we asked for, so Gamlemor has her advocate when it’s time for her to go, but forever.

Many years ago, I inherited a very angry chihuahua mix who had a lot of health problems along with a horrible temperament. I spent a lot of time socialising him carefully with people, and I finally got him to a point where he felt comfortable meeting new people as long as he was in a pram or in my arms.

However, he didn’t tolerate anyone who threatened his home or his human (me) which ended up with him aggressively assaulting the heel of a 6’3” police officer’s shoe. But that’s a story for another day.

The time finally came to have my dog neutered, and I dropped him off at the vet. I let them know that he could be aggressive to new people, had previously bitten someone, and may need to be handled with thick gloves and a towel. I also gave them his harness, leash, training treats, and the secret code phrase I had for him when he was a good boy: “Who’s a good booger?”

I spent the day a complete nervous wreck, wondering if I was going to get a call saying he had attacked someone. Finally, I got the call saying he was ready to be collected, and I rushed over to see what damage he’d caused.

The vet brought him out in his little cone and handed him over, all smiles. 

Me: “How many people did he bite?”

Vet: “Who, this little guy? He’s the best-behaved dog we’ve had in here today!” 

And that’s when I knew that he was going to be okay. 

It’s been a couple of years now, and he’s the best dog — sociable, easygoing, and loves to walk off-leash at the beach. 

He’s not a good booger; he’s a great booger.