Sherry’s Corner

A Tongue-in-Cheek Blog, with Important Points

 This is a tongue in cheek “Sherry’s Corner” –with important points. 

In the BLOG we give veterinarians faces and bodies–and focus on the people who help our pets.  Too often we are so much into the pet problem we do not see beyond the white coat.  Under the white coat is a heart.       

My puppy Ben taught me this lesson.  He is clothes-conscious.  He knows when I am dressed for bed and when I am dressed to go out.  Red is his favorite color unless another color squeaks!  And, Ben is most interested in clothing worn below the waist–pants, shoes, and socks.  That is Ben’s main source of  information.  And so when he is at the vet’s office he sniffs the vet’s pants, shoes and socks.  And, at one time when his surgeon Dr. McBrien even appeared shoe-less in the reception area (having a vet sit down in the reception part of the hospital seems less threatening), Ben was thrilled (he is extraordinarily fond of shoes).  On this visit, the doctor had a spot of blood on his one shoe and so took it off–Ben found the socks much more informative! I have also had veterinarians sit on the floor beside my dog.  Again, they were putting the information on the pet’s level. It is more than what the dog (and owner) sees– it is really all about perception–how one processes what is seen. This influences what one hears, too.

I once observed a female veterinarian wear very high heels–this must have also been an interesting source of information as she knelt next to her clients on the floor in the reception area.  (She was more Julia Roberts than Oprah and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had a mini skirt under her white coat.)  Most women veterinarians wear flat practical shoes.  I once had a Brad Pitt look-alike veterinarian whose practice was laboratory animals.  He loved to argue with his clients–I am sure the rats and rabbits adored him.  He was very protective of their welfare.  All vets need to be compassionate patient advocates as well as human whisperers!

An important triangle  defines the bond among veterinarian, owner and pet.  Communication is a vital part of this perception–the triangle with the dog at the top-most point!  Today, face-to-face is best, but many vets also use e-mail and phone calls. One of the more interesting things I have learned from the veterinarians I have met is that they usually eat soup.  I think it is because they need to be ready for the next emergency!  Facing a bloody cat on an empty stomach must be hard to do.

Anyway, Ben’s surgeon was almost as good-looking and charming as George Clooney and truly cared about what both Ben and I thought.  After he finished taking apart Ben’s leg and nailing, screwing and bolting the bones back together, Ben has some reservations about whether he liked him.  He likes his acupuncturist and talks to her openly when he is not trying to remove the pins.  Yes, she too is more Julia than Oprah.  As for his main veterinarian–she is a definite Diane Sawyer and he trusts her.  We don’t have a Lady GaGa on the team yet but I think Ben would like one.  The human Tony Bennett has said of Lady Ga Ga–”she is America’s Picasso of music.” Since Ben is now limping through rehabilitation he would like a Lady GaGa to give him his MSM and Baytril–not me.