Communication from a vet: don’t know what to make of it!

Clodagh

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I’d not cope with an email like that and would probably get seriously out of shape, myself!
Thank goodness for mixed practices where they are practical and efficient.

(Took a terrier in once who had taken it upon herself to go five rounds with a badger, the vet (equine) said ‘ do you want her pretty or functional?’ We agreed functional was the way to go. Job done.

I do also see that any furbaby mummy and daddy’s would get bent out of shape over such a dismissive attitude.

Professionalism works for me.
 

cbmcts

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The dog's mummy thing has been around for at least a decade :)

10+ years ago I went to collect the dog after xrays. I was a bit nervous as it was a rottie who'd been lame for a while and of course the suspicion was bone cancer. So I'm sitting in the waiting room, not far off tears with worry and one of the nurses came out and handed me a (very nice) black Labrador bitch. I'm just opening my mouth to go 'she's not mine' when one of the receptionists, in the poshest voice possible , booms across the room ' that's not Millie's mummy, that's Conan's mummy'. Deathly silence, then hysterical laughter from about 10 people :)

Same visit, I get called by the vet into the back rather than the dog brought out. Terror again but I find my dog sparko on the floor of the tiny xray room, covered by a blanket with a note pinned on saying Do not disturb. The vet explained that he'd only had a light GA - he reacted badly to GAs and took a full week to recover normally so since it was only xrays, they give him the least possible - he started coming round before he was back in the cage and decided that he was going to stay where he was, thank you. They spent the entire day stepping over him by all accounts rather than disturb him
 

ycbm

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I have heard people complain about their pets being called Sqiggles Smith (petname owner surname) and I always wonder how they expect the vet to distinguish between Squiggles Smith and Squiggles Jones any other way.

I like it. And we do call ourselves Mummy and Daddy, very silly but that's in private, I don't expect my animal care professionals to do the same because they don't know how anyone else feels about it.
.
 

SOS

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I have heard people complain about their pets being called Sqiggles Smith (petname owner surname) and I always wonder how they expect the vet to distinguish between Squiggles Smith and Squiggles Jones any other way.
.

Maybe they’d prefer Alfie no743 or Bailey no221 ;)

If we just called out the first name half the waiting room would walk into the consult room. Most dogs are called the same 20/30 names haha!
 

LadyGascoyne

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Fur baby… honestly, what is the world coming to.

The vets probably can’t win though - if they don’t go all squishy and revolting then the Facebook fur mothers might be up in arms. I suppose the impression of being uncaring (however idiotic and misguided) would be more damaging to business than the impression given by using unprofessional language. Sensible people aren’t going to stop using the vet if the treatment is excellent but the animal is referred to as a fur baby. The fur baby brigade might stop using a vet even if the treatment is great, just because they think they don’t… luff their fur baby just as much as they do ??‍♀️

Sadly, we do seem to just get to a position of adjusting communication and behavior to accommodate this sort of thing.
 

AShetlandBitMeOnce

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I hate the term 'x's mummy' - unless I have pushed it out of my hoo-haa then I'm not it's mummy. Plus with my cats 'pog's servant' would be more apt :p

I took a friend's cat to the vet yesterday for routine jabs etc, it's a hairless kitten and he has called it b*llsack (i secretly love the name)... I'm glad the waiting room wasn't full though as I also don't want to be known as 'b*llsacks mummy' either!!
 

paisley

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Maybe they’d prefer Alfie no743 or Bailey no221 ;)

If we just called out the first name half the waiting room would walk into the consult room. Most dogs are called the same 20/30 names haha!
Back in the day of going to charity dog shows, the whippet was always registered as 'Alphonso Waggapants, First of his Name '

Honestly think that although sometimes you cant do right for wrong, in this case the vets communication almost feels like something put up on Instagram.

Given you've got consent forms to sign, it might be more sensible to add a section regarding how you'd like to be contacted during your pets recovery
 

P3LH

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Ours does pets name and family last night. I’m alright with that. An aunt had a cat named as such because of their last name, and they used the same vets. Always makes me smile to remember a particular old vet who would always call them in with ‘Edgar Edgar - and don’t hold the horses!’
 

Berpisc

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Fur baby… honestly, what is the world coming to.

The vets probably can’t win though - if they don’t go all squishy and revolting then the Facebook fur mothers might be up in arms. I suppose the impression of being uncaring (however idiotic and misguided) would be more damaging to business than the impression given by using unprofessional language. Sensible people aren’t going to stop using the vet if the treatment is excellent but the animal is referred to as a fur baby. The fur baby brigade might stop using a vet even if the treatment is great, just because they think they don’t… luff their fur baby just as much as they do ??‍♀️

Sadly, we do seem to just get to a position of adjusting communication and behavior to accommodate this sort of thing.
Facebook fur mothers, love it ??? ??.
Agree it must be hard for vets these days, I dont mind being called in the surgery with my surname after the pets name as this is clear to all concerned. Cant abide fur baby though.
 

poiuytrewq

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I like the dog name/surname thing.
I particularly like it when (pre covid) OH and I who have different surnames used to take the Labradog brothers together for their jabs and they called his dog by my surname!
It really annoyed him! ??
I refused to correct them as he asked, what a bloody idiot I’d look explaining that “yes that surname belongs to the yellow one but can you refer to the black one as Spud Bolter please”
Just no!!
 

Karran

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Although Mrs Spaniel is a nickname I use, she was called that for the first 6 weeks I had her as her "real" name doesn't suit her and I couldn't think of anything else. She only just missed out on it being her name at the vets because the ex registered her under her real name as he said he couldn't sit in the surgery and hear Mrs Spaniel (surname) get called out.
 

minesadouble

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I recall reading someone objecting to the term fur baby and pondering how anyone might feel to have their human baby referred to as a 'skin dog' ?
I'd love to try that phrase out on someone!
I'm with you OP, it would massively put me off the practice, I detest the 'fur baby' thing.
 
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