Ever wonder what happens when we take your pet in the treatment area at Happy Pets?
Is it magic that we perform there? Is it full of animals and people? What else is back there? What is in that mysterious place at the end of the hall? When you bring your pet to a veterinarian’s office, many things are taking place out of the view of the client, before, during and after the appointment has transpired. When you make an appointment, we ask several questions to find out why you need to come in. We need to know if the problems your pet is having are going to take more time than the usual “wellness exam”, if the pet is suffering from a contagious disease, what type of animal is it (some animals require a little more time to handle). These questions aren’t because we are “nosey”. We make every attempt to be prepared to handle the situation in the best way possible, before you get here.
An appointment may be something as simple as having the right vaccines on hand, or as complex as saving an animal that has swallowed poison or had a heart attack. The average appointment consists of checking in the client and gathering as much information as possible, so the technician can relay accurate information to the vet. We make every attempt to get you in (and out) in a timely manner. Sometimes this isn’t possible because of an emergency, a feisty animal, being short staffed or an unforeseen complication with a procedure. Most appointments will start with questions on eating, drinking and elimination habits of your pet, what kinds of foods the pet eats, vaccine history, illness history, concerns and behaviors the animal is exhibiting. We will take the temperature, heart and respiratory rates, capillary return rate and body condition of your pet. We assess your pet’s weight (usually) by looking at them and feeling their ribs and hips. There is a “body condition system” chart in each room so that our clients can see what we grade their weight on. The condition of your pet’s weight, teeth and mouth is very important to your pet’s health and often we will talk to you about their weight and their teeth before we tell the veterinarian what we have discerned from talking to you. All of this is done in front of you. No mystery, right? Hopefully not.
After the technician has acquired as much information as possible, it is time to relay this information to the vet. More often than not, we have already looked at your record, if you have been to see us previously. The helps us ask the right questions if your pet has had previous illnesses or injuries, what medications the pet is on and what might be transpiring as a result of these factors. The veterinarians also look at the records to formulate a plan to make the appointment go smoothly. Believe it or not, we often come in early to look over the appointments for the day and determine a plan of how the day will go, based on the information we have in the records and to make sure the rooms are stocked with the right supplies.
After the technician and the veterinarian have spoken to you and explained the treatment plan they would like to perform, we explain the charges for the immediate plan, so that you can know in advance what the initial charges will be. Many times on wellness visits, this is easy to do. For animals who are sick or injured, this often isn’t possible until we have determined what is ailing your pet. To determine this, we usually have to take them behind that “closed door”. We aren’t closing the door to create a mystery, though. It is usually closed because the animals will get much more boisterous when they see the front area and sometime try to get back out there. There is always a technician or veterinarian back there. Your pet is never left alone. If they are to be unattended, we put them in a kennel or secure spot, so they won’t get hurt or hurt others until we can get to them. We aren’t ignoring them, though. At Happy Pets we have excellent teamwork as most animals will require two or more people to perform a procedure. If one person needs help, another will secure her patient before assisting the other. Blood draws, anal gland expressions, many vaccinations, ear cleanings, x-rays and other things often require someone to help secure the animal for the person performing the procedure. Some unruly or very large animals need more than two people to keep them (and the techs and vets) safe. Sometimes you may hear cries coming from behind that mysterious door. Usually it is an animal waking from anesthetic (they don’t know they are crying) or the animal might just be an alarmist. Believe it or not, there are many dogs that cry like babies at the anticipation of something as simple as having their temperature taken. Rest assured, we are not intentionally hurting an animal. If we feel a procedure will be too painful, we will tell you and get permission from you to use medicines to prevent the animal from having undue stress and pain. Your pet’s safety and comfort is our first priority.
As you can imagine, things can get hectic, noisy and crowded behind the “closed door”. We prefer to do treatments in the area with people we know are trained to help or observe us. Our insurance provider requires that we require persons not trained to be there to wait where they can’t get hurt or injured. Having our patient’s owners in the back adds stress to us and overcrowds the room, which makes it more difficult for us to do our jobs. More often than not, your pet is more cooperative without you there. Often times there is more than one procedure being done and we need as much room as possible to work and move around to get supplies to do our job.
Our goal is not to creat a mystery behind the “closed door”. It is simply to get the treatment done as well as possible without hindrance. Since perfroming our jobs to the best of our abilities depends on our confidence in our fellow teammates, the “closed door” helps us creat the best working environment for us and your pet.
Hopefully this helped solve the mystery and any questions you have about what goes on behind closed doors. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And if you really want to see firsthand what goes on back there, please let us know that you would like to take a tour and we’ll set up a time to show you around. We’re very proud of our hospital and love to show it off. Not to mention that we believe that when our client’s are informed, they make for better pet owners, so come on by and visit us Behind the Closed Door.
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