While working at the veterinary hospital, I had the pleasure of meeting many pets and pet parents.
To provide the most appropriate treatments for people and their pets, we needed to have a good idea of how aggressive (or not) they wanted to be with any given treatment or diagnosis. If I had to draw up a scale it would be from 1 to 10:
1- being a “do nothing client”
10 – being a “do everything”
I know this may sound harsh, but I couldn’t think of a better way to describe a 1. “Do nothing clients” were few and far between. However, we did run into a few. These clients typically brought their pet in, but didn’t want to move forward with any treatments or procedures, or have conversations about potential options. Now it may seem easy to quickly judge these people. How can they just do nothing? That’s ridiculous! Why even bring in their pet?
However, in some cases, it was simply a lack of communication. Either they were facing severe constraints, or there was something about the diagnosis and treatment they didn’t understand. Once they started to communicate with us their situation and what they wished they could do for their pet, we were able to make a better treatment plan.
My point is that the question is not simply, “How Far Would You Go For Your Pet’s Health?”, but rather a series of questions that can be addressed separately:
How Far Can You Go For Your Pet’s Health?
To provide people with the right health care for their pet, we had to understand the constraints they faced as pet parents. These were some of the common constraints I saw people face:
- Finances: More often than not, the ability of a pet parent to give their pet the excellent care that they need is constrained by their financial situation. For this reason, we always provided estimates for clients before we moved forward with procedures. We also broke down the estimates into “must have items” and “ideal items”. For example, there would usually be 2-3 treatments that were absolutely necessary to diagnose and treat a pet. Then there were treatments that would provide the veterinarian with a more comprehensive view of the pet’s health and might contribute to your pet recovering much faster, but could be saved for another time to avoid costs that day.
- Time: Long-term treatments and surgeries may take a lot of additional time. For example, I had a few patients in the past that benefited from acupuncture. Although acupuncture made a huge difference in the pet’s mobility, the appointments were at least an hour long every 4 weeks. When people are pet parents all by themselves, this may not be a time commitment they are willing, or able, to make. Additionally, there are specialty treatments that often require significant travel, which may not be possible for a client’s schedule.
- Resources: Sometimes people are the only pet parent. Perhaps they are a single parent raising a family that includes a dog. Other times it’s just them and their pet at home. Often, not only does this play into financial constraints, but their schedule may not have the flexibility to bring their pet in for regular or frequent treatments, which may affect their pet’s health plan.
It’s important to know that as a veterinary staff we were very aware of these constraints and challenges that warrant conservative veterinary care. Not to mention, we often faced them ourselves. Therefore, don’t feel judged.
I have heard from many pet parents on several separate occasions that they felt like they were judged by the veterinary staff for not adding the extra test or taking additional steps. I certainly can’t speak for veterinary staffs around the world, but what I can say is that we often know when you are trying your best.
How Far Do You Think You Can Go For Your Pet’s Health?
Sometimes pet parents come to conclusions based on lack of information. For example, some pet parent don’t realize that epilepsy is a disease that doesn’t stop pets from living long healthy lives. So they see their pet have a seizure, and they assume it’s the beginning of their pet’s deteriorating health. In a more extreme example, some pet parents might think that a brain tumor isn’t treatable. However, some brain tumors can be treated by a veterinary neurologist (which is a job many people don’t know exists).
My point is that it may seem like people don’t want to go as far as you would for their pet, but sometimes they are unaware of the treatments and specialty care that is available. If they are interested, it’s our job as veterinary professionals (in my case a former professional) to steer them in the right direction.
How Far Do You Want to Go for Your Pet’s Health?
If you want to do everything you can for your pet’s health, but find yourself facing constraints, here are a few things you can do to allow yourself to do more for your pet’s health:
1) Purchase Pet Insurance: I have spoken of pet insurance before, and I will probably continue to speak of it for a long time. We have it for Rooney, and I can’t tell you how much of a difference it has made in our ability to provide him with every necessary treatment. For example, when he slipped a disc in his back in June 2014, we didn’t have any extra money to spend, but we were looking at an overnight stay at the ER and a neurology consult. Thankfully, our Trupanion pet insurance covered 90% above our exam fees and deductible, saving us $1,000 in debt.
2) Be Proactive: While your pet may be diagnosed with a series of things your can’t predict or protect them from, you can take a proactive approach to their health. Each walk, each day your brush their teeth, and each veterinary visit may seem isolated, but all of these actions are providing your pet with improved health. Not to mention, preventing diseases that will cost you money in the future. Here are just a few examples:
Brushing Teeth on a regular basis can prevent your pet from developing periodontal disease. Treating periodontal disease with dental surgery can cost upwards of $1500, and your pet may need multiple dentals over the course of their life.
Providing your pet with daily exercise can prevent diabetes, which requires years of ongoing treatment and medications.
No matter your situation, it is important that you communicate the answers to the above 3 questions to your veterinarian and their staff. Veterinarians have a wealth of information and a finite amount of time. The sooner you communicate your constraints, abilities, and goals, the more effective their treatment plan will be for your pet. Here is what my veterinarian knows about my family:
1) My family and I have financial constraints, but we have pet insurance for Rooney.
2) We are aware that specialty veterinary care exists and we are willing to pursue it.
3) We are willing to pursue every avenue and travel as far as possible for Rooney’s health. However, we face time constraints due to our full-time jobs and will need to see specialists with flexible hours (i.e. weekends).
Tell me, does your veterinarian know how far you are willing to go for your pet’s health?
For a Mom perspective on this topic, please visit my good friend Carol from Fidose of Reality.
