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TT: Things I love and hate to hear as a vet assistant

Chewy giving you the “stare”
  1. Things I like to hear “We brought a stool sample.”

Where else can you bring a bag of poop and the employees there are excited to get it. I know I have on many occasions heard, “I’ve brought you a stool sample.” and I’ve replied, “Oh, good. Thanks.” In truth, regular testing of your pets’ stools is very important. Intestinal parasites and general gut flora can be seen in a stool sample. Tape worms and other intestinal parasites can be easily treated with medication. But, if they are left unchecked, intestinal parasites can cause a lot of health problems for your pet. If your pet’s gut flora are off, a veterinarian can proscribe probiotics to help repopulate the good bacteria that should naturally be in your pet’s gut.

  1. Things I don’t like to hear “He’s only talking, he won’t bite you.”

As a veterinary assistant I get to work with a wide range of pets. Everything from cute fluffy puppies to giant terrified German Shepherds, sweet old boxers to hyper young Labradors, and cats of all temperaments. I love working with sweet pets (who wouldn’t) a sweet boxer or golden who just loves you no matter what you do to them are wonderful to work with. I also don’t mind at all working with a dog that is scared. Sometimes a patient will come in scared to death. Some of these pets stand like statues, others try there hardest to get away from you, and others still become aggressive and will bite you. Usually these patients get muzzles, and the owner understands. The worst is when an owner insists that there pet is “only talking.” If I’m about to stick a thermometer up your German Shepherd’s butt and he starts growling and baring his teeth, I don’t think “he’s only talking.” I’m not going to risk being bitten/clawed by a patient because the owner swears their pet is just vocal and won’t bite. I’m going to get a muzzle.

2. Things I like to hear “The vomiting/diarrhea just started.”

Sweet girl Rigby

As a general rule, people don’t want to hear about vomiting or diarrhea, it just isn’t a topic that is usually discussed. Unfortunately, at work I hear about vomiting and diarrhea a lot. It’s one of the most come reasons a patient comes in. When a client tells me there pet has been vomiting/having diarrhea my first question will be ” has there been any blood in it?” but my second question will be, ” how long as your pet been vomiting/having diarrhea?” Too many times the reply to my second question is that it has been going on for a week or two if not longer. Would you let yourself or your child vomit for over a week before seeking professional help? Pets do on occasion vomit or have loose stools without there being any alarm. I know if I brought my cat to see a vet every time she threw up, she would be in there a lot. I’ve long ago learned the sound of one of my pets about to vomit, and my first response is to rush them outside so I don’t have to clean up any puke. However, my pets don’t regularly or daily vomit. If they did, I would see help right away. One of the most immediate concerns with vomiting/diarrhea is dehydration. If your pet is vomiting or having diarrhea several times a day, please seek out medical help. I’ve seen too many pets come in for vomiting/diarrhea for over a week with significant weight loss. I can’t stress this enough, please call your veterinarian.

2) Things I don’t like to hear, “No, my pet doesn’t have fleas.”

I know that “my pet doesn’t have fleas.” is not always a false statement. Some pets don’t currently have fleas. However, that is not to say that they will not always be flea free. It only takes one chance encounter, one flea to claim your pet as her home to cause an infestation. That flea doesn’t even have to come into your house on your pet, it could come in on a friend’s dog that came for a visit, or a field mouse looking for some food, or even your own pant leg. Monthly flea prevention acts as a shield against any such encounter. A good flea preventative will stop an infestation before it starts. While a flea infestation is a preventable annoyance, most good flea preventatives are also tick preventatives. Ticks are truly more harmful than fleas. Ticks spread Lyme disease which can affect your pet for the rest of its life. Lyme disease can cause fever, lethargy, stiff painful joints, an other symptoms. Fleas and flea allergies can cause your dog a lot of discomfort, itchy skin, and other problems, but ticks and Lyme disease tend to be the forgotten evil that flea and tick prevention should be used for.

3) Things I like to hear, “I’m not feeling well, can I reschedule?”

This phrase has taken a more important meaning in the past few weeks, but, if you are sick, please stay home. There aren’t many things more disheartening and now a days frankly more scary than going into an exam room with a person that looks or is acting ill. I know that people suffer from allergies and other things of that nature, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about people that are genuinely sick that still come into the vet clinic to keep their pet’s appointment. There are times that your pet’s health needs to be checked regardless of how you feel. In these cases I implore you to find a family member, a friend, a neighbor that can bring your pet to the vet. I have been in many rooms with people that seem to be sick themselves, and I do my best to take every precaution not to take whatever that person has home with me to my children. But still, anyone that comes into the vet clinic sick is putting my children and everyone else’s children (both coworkers and clients) at risk. Please, if you are sick, reschedule your appointment, and, if you can’t reschedule, please find someone else to bring the pet on you behalf.

3) Things I don’t like to hear, “We only brought $30.”

I know there are numerous people with varying degrees of financial constraints, and I have worked with doctors that try their best to diagnose/treat a patient within whatever monetary limit the client has. I’ve had doctors give out donated medication (that’s what donated medication is there for after all), I’ve also seen doctors not charge for diagnostic tests. Veterinarians do everything in their power to provide high quality medicine for your pet at very low prices. But, sometimes we have a client come in and, their pet has a very real problem, but the client did not bring enough money to even pay for the basics of vet care. I have heard clients say that a “vet should take care of my pet because they love animals!” Unfortunately, this argument completely washes over the idea that a vet clinic is also a small business, and small businesses usually don’t operate with much financial freedom. Me and Emily both rely on clients paying for vet care. If clients are not paying for their visits, the clinic can no longer keep me employed. So, while we will work as hard as we can to take care of your pet, we cannot do it without clients paying for our service.

I hope you enjoyed my post, and, as always, thanks for reading!!

36 Replies to “TT: Things I love and hate to hear as a vet assistant”

  1. Great post ! People don’t realize, their pets don’t want to be there !

  2. My poor cat is terrified of car rides–something his foster mom (he’s a rescue) did not share with me until the day she dropped him off at my house! You’ve heard the expression “scare the **** out of you”? Well… that’s what happens. Fortunately he keeps it together enough that if he’s in a big dog-size carrier with room for a small litter tray he’ll use the litter. But every single time he sees the vet I get to ask “Hey, do you need a fresh stool sample?”

  4. Thanks for a good, common-sense article. You’d think all of these things would be simple and easily comprehended, but I know they are not as some people are truly that dense.
    I am glad to know some vets will treat an animal if someone truly cannot afford the bill. But I also know many people would take advantage of this and not be responsible pet owners, if allowed.
    Many people forget that vets and other business owners are in business to make money and are not philanthropists as they, too, have bills to pay.
    Have a great day!!!

  5. My last German Shepherd has both her ACLS torn , we took her to Ohio Vet hospital and the bill was 10,000. That was in 2003. She was 2 years at the time . Sidney lived to be a couple months shy of 14. But her last year arthritis had riddled her spine and she could not walk . We would use a horse girth and pick her up and hold her over per pass and she would go. She had a stroke one morning and told us it was time to let her go . I now have a 4 and a 5 year , German Shepherd females .

  7. Great advice and well put! Always love the pics you and Emily insert as well. Thanks!

  8. People just don’t think. There is a mortgage on the clinic to pay, there are the clinicians to pay, the bookkeeper & of course, the veterinarians, & what about all the necessary equipment? If a household has the power bill, of course a clinic does also. It is all lumped under “overhead”. Love all your postings.

  9. I’ve heard from a number of Vets that a significant number of people just show up without an appointment for non-critical pet care.

    Pretty rude. me thinks!

    I wonder if those same people also just “drop by” at their human Doctor’s practice expecting to be seen.

    I’m really enjoying you & Emily’s foray into social media! Miss seeing both of you on the TV, but it’s great that you’re both still a part of our lives.

  12. I very much liked being reminded what the vets want to hear and what they don’t. In general I know these things, but sometimes need to be reminded. It doesn’t hurt. OSU (ohio) just up the road will request $300 up front for an emergency. Otherwise you are just out of luck. The have a great facility and the reason its great is because they run it like a business. If you are already a registered client of their vet clinic and bring your pet in once a year its an entirely different story. You get a professor and usually a couple of students, plus the best of care. I totally get their great program and why it works.

  14. I’m now a RN, but during high school (and later) college breaks I worked for a vet. One of my most memorable stories was of a pt’s family that brought in a stool sample in a brown paper bag. I took it to the back, opened the bag to find a child’s lunch! Yep, you guessed it their poor child had mistakenly took the stool sample as lunch! The client was horrified and looking back as I laugh about it, I hope they can too. Thanks Tony and Emily for your posts, they lift my spirits during this time.

  16. Thanks very much for this post, Tony! All important issues and very well said!

  17. Tony, great info and as always enjoy the posts. You and Emily do such a great job. God Bless both of you

  19. You and Emily should take Airbourne every mourning before leaving the house it build up your immune system and help when people come in sick.

  20. Hi! I want to start by saying I LOVE your posts and YouTube videos. THANK YOU SO MUCH for staying available for us to follow. I miss seeing you on TV. I feel like I HAVE to say this though, I WISH you didn’t give the example (twice) of the dog that you thought might bite you as a German Shepherd. Obviously, you know better than I, ANY breed can be afraid (under any circumstances including the vet’s office) and bite. German Shepherds and other breeds get such a bad reputation. I owned them for many years and often got comments (while walking) like “No one will bother you when you are with him” etc. I now have a Golden Retriever and EVERYBODY wants to pet him!! He loves it and so do I, but my German Shepherd would have too!! As someone who works with animals as you both do, I wish you wouldn’t support these negative stereotypes about certain breeds. Thanks.

    1. You are right, I have met several German Shepherds that were very sweet, and I have met several other breeds of dogs that were very nervous/prone to bite. I did lean on that stereotype a little too hard. Thank you for the correction.- tony

  21. Back in November of 2019 my cat (Tiger/ a calico) vomited and pooped in her litter box. A second later it started to smell like death (it was way worse than a regular cat poop.) I looked at her poop and it had red spots in it. I freaked out called my mom and we took Tiger to an emergency vet. An assistant came into the room and I told her what happened and I said “I brought the poop.” I think she was happy that I did. It was hard to tell since the poop stink up the whole room. Tiger’s result was that there was blood in the poop due to her being dehydrated and was diagnosed with kidney disease (early into stage 1.)

  22. This is such a fabulous post I shared it on other social media. These things are all very true and these reminders help all of us to be better pet parents. Thanks for taking the time Tony. Is that last picture India by chance or just a cute client? 😎🧡

  23. The 1 thing that I love to hear in the present: That there are still good, caring, giving, passionate people that bring light (even the tiniest of lights) and compassion, emerging from the darkness that seeks to consume us.

  24. Tony,
    Thank you for this open, honest, thought provoking post and the pictures.
    I love hearing from you and Emily. It is nice to hear about your lives and careers. It is also very nice to watch your children grow up in pictures.

  26. I have a question for Emily.
    Do you miss working with larger animals? You seemed to really enjoy it except when you were called out to deliver a dead baby because they waited to long to call.

  28. Internet spoiled yet another show for me with another click bait title 🙁
    The article is titled “Is Dr. Emily Married?” And I’m like “Yeah she’s married…oh no! Did they get a divorce?” So I clicked it and the first sentence was something like “Since leaving the show….” X_X
    Good luck with your future endeavors, I look forward to posts from both of you, and I hope you find more Cheese Balls for your quarantine stash 😀

  31. How are you dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic? I know your job is essential, but afterwards, sheltering inside?

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