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Times, They Are a’ Changing

Katherine Dobbs, RVT, CVPM, PHR

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been working in veterinary medicine for over 20 years. Besides the fact that that makes me feel old (well, older at least) it also gives me a perspective on veterinary medicine that newcomers do not have. I’ve been visiting my family in Texas (where it’s really hot, by the way) and have been in a few conversations this week about the changes in the veterinary profession. So I thought I’d share a few with you.

When I entered the veterinary field, the four-letter-word OSHA wasn’t even a concept in my mind, or really in the practices I worked. Maybe they had safety measures in place, but I recall dunking radiographs in chemicals with little regard for the solutions, which then processed radiographs with skeletal human hands in the scene (usually mine); handling medications that now require gloves; or perhaps even a hood to have been installed in the practice; assisting in surgery with inhalant anesthesia without even knowing what a scavenger system was, and likely a variety of physical requirements on my body that I took as just a part of the job (bending over the tub, for one).

Now management teams try hard to get their employees to use the PPE (personal protective equipment) they must provide to ensure employee safety. Trust me, it’s in your best interest to take advantage of this protection, so you’ll make it 20 years in the profession and remain whole! 

That may be one way it’s changed for humans, but what about the animals we serve? When I had my first job in a general practice, tail docks, ear crops, and declaws were common place. I dare say, they were a substantial piece of our income.

My brother in Texas has a new Min Pin, complete with long floppy ears and a whip of a tail. Besides the fact that he’s much cuter this way, it did make me stop and ponder how breed standards have been changing. Now, it’s not so easy to even find a veterinarian who will perform these “archaic” procedures. Some communities have or are working to outlaw these surgeries.

Interesting, I haven’t heard the veterinary profession complaining about losing this source of income, like they have about losing yearly vaccinations due to changes in recommendations, or the income lost to outside or Internet pharmacies. Yes, that’s a change, too. Whereas your pet used to have to know a veterinarian to get preventives, now the bottles sit on the shelves of commonplace markets.

As our profession has had to learn to adapt to dogs with long ears and tails, and cats with claws intact, so must we adapt to the fact that pet owners (whom many were not visiting a vet to begin with) can acquire products to keep their pets healthy without us. Hmmm, I wonder, is this really a bad thing? If we can link all these changes to the best interest of the pet, are we not making positive strides in animal care? Something to ponder.

While we ponder that question, there is one product not seen on the supermarket shelves, and this will date you if the smile…where are the yummy chewy Filaribits??? 

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Times, They Are a’ Changing

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