Sarah Southard, DVM

Helping Pets Thrive through the Holidays

Every year I tell myself that I will begin Christmas shopping earlier, get the gift wrapping completed before Christmas Eve, and make a holiday food plan before I must actually start cooking. Every year I hope to move a little closer to thriving through this busy season rather than just (barely) surviving. I’ve had varying success with these particular ambitions. For all of us animal owners in the world, there are a few other considerations we must attend to for both our own and our animals’ thriving through the holidays. Interestingly, many of the things we should do ahead of time to prepare and help ensure that our pets thrive will also indirectly support the thriving of their veterinarians as well. It may sound odd, but let me try to explain. During the incredibly busy Christmas season, a bit of preplanning and self-control with regard to our pets and livestock will contribute greatly to our animals’ thriving. Ensure that you have plenty of any required medications on hand for your pets. Do not wait until you’ve given the last dose of a daily medication to secure more. Think ahead for any refills or appointments required and do not expect an “emergency response” due to poor planning. Also be sure to have plenty of your pet’s normal diet on hand, especially if he or she requires a specialty or prescription diet due to food allergies or a chronic disease. When you properly plan and prepare ahead of time, you are being a responsible owner and a considerate client, rather than adding additional stress and mental and physical strain for your already overworked veterinarian and their staff. Keep all pets and livestock on their normal, speciesappropriate rations. Avoid any temptations to serve a special holiday meal. And absolutely avoid giving treats of human foods. From toxic ingredients such as grapes, raisins, onions, and chocolate to foreign body risks like turkey bones to pancreatitis-inducing rich foods, the holiday human food risks for your pet are many and varied. These types of exposures create emergency situations that cannot wait until normal business hours. Likewise, holiday decorations, both live and artificial, can pose risks to pets. Carefully consider what you use to decorate and where items are placed in order to decrease risks as much as possible. When you do need medical help for your pet or livestock, help contribute to your veterinarian’s thriving by following some common business and personal courtesies that you would extend to members of other professions. Be patient, kind, considerate, encouraging, and appreciative with all of the staff you encounter during phone calls and visits. Be prepared to pay for all services rendered and supplies used prior to leaving the building with your animal. Having a veterinary expense savings account, pet insurance policy, or a third-party source of credit available and in place before you need it is critical for you and your veterinarian to be able to provide the goldstandard of care in any situation. Respect your veterinary clinic’s normal business hours. Do not expect exceptions to be made, and if you happen to be offered an exception, realize that it is just that: exceptional. Be very grateful for it and do not expect it to become the everyday way of business. Do not contact your veterinarian at their home, on their personal cell phone or through personal social media accounts concerning a professional matter about your animals. Respect their time away from work, realizing that they are human and need to step away from their job responsibilities the same as you and I. Also respect the guidelines for after-hours and emergency calls. If your veterinary clinic is one of the rare few which still see their own emergencies and have an after-hours on-call veterinarian, be sure that you have an emergency when you call. Do not expect to be able to make appointments or request refills after-hours. Do not berate your primary care veterinarian or their staff for referring you to a proper emergency facility when they feel that it offers your pet the most appropriate care. We do not refer because we do not care about you or your pet, nor because we are being lazy. We have the best interests of your pet in mind with every recommendation that we make.

Remember to include your pets and livestock in any holiday pre-planning you may be doing this season. Your animals will be better off for it and you can feel better about not having unnecessarily added to your veterinarian’s trials and tribulations this season. Enjoy your celebrations with family and friends. And remember your veterinarian and their staff in your prayers of thanksgiving and protection. Suicide rates among veterinary professionals of all types remain disproportionately high compared to the general population. In October of this year, another NC veterinarian, younger than I am, lost her battle with hopelessness. Thank you for doing whatever you can to encourage and help change the veterinary environment for the better!