More than just employees

One of our favourite vet office employees has resigned from her job to move out of state, and I miss her.  It’s an odd thing that staff members of a business can engender such attachment from me, but there’s something very special about many of the employees who work in that office.  Not all of them, of course—there are the people who remain so stiff and formal that they never seem like anything but automatons, and there are the occasional grumps who never crack a smile or develop a personality.  Those people are few and far between, though, and they usually vanish before very long because they just don’t fit in.  For the most part, the people who work at the vet’s office are funny, engaging, sympathetic, patient, and compassionate—they’re not just great staff, but great people as well.  I can call the office and just give my first name and they know who I am, and they never seem to mind when I call and give them complicated and tedious lists of prescription refill requests.  They let me go behind the desk to play with the orphaned kittens, they let me bring up interesting websites on their computers, and they’re always willing to share a joke or a horror story or some juicy gossip.  I remember who was working the day Sweet Pea died, and it meant so much to me to be in a place where I felt comfortable.  I wasn’t among strangers, I really felt like I was with people who cared as much about me as they did about my pet.

When one of the staff members leaves, it’s a lot like seeing a friend move away.  We’d gotten her all trained just the way we liked her and bam! off she goes to live amongst the potatoes in Idaho.  I always enjoyed our chats about this, that, and the other thing, and it’s sad to see her go.  I love the vets we see at the office (there are three of them), and I love the techs (I try to know all their names), but we spend the majority of our time with the people who sit behind the main desk and who answer the phones, and they’re the ones who solidify the concept of owners and vets being in a partnership.  It’s like we’ve all got the same goal—keeping the pets healthy—and it honestly feels like being part of a team, even if my role is just “pet owner”.  I hope the vets who run the practice realize how important their front-office staff is, and that they appreciate them as much as I do.

I don’t want to be a downer, but I did want to give this story a bit of a push, and this entry is probably the best place for it.  The Miami-Dade Animal Services Unit (the people made famous in the TV show, “Animal Cops: Miami"), mistakenly euthanized a Golden Retriever who was microchipped, and who had an owner coming to pick him up!  The dog escaped from the yard during a thunderstorm, was picked up on a Wednesday and the owner contacted, and then the dog was euthanized on the following day before the owner could come and get him.  Obviously a bureaucratic error, but there are so many horrible things about this story—the dog was microchipped, the dog had a collar, the dog was picked up just a block from his house, and the dog was of a friendly, desireable breed.  It seems logical to me that the dog should have been scanned for a chip immediately when he was picked up by the ACU, and then should have just been returned to his home then and there, but even if he did end up at the shelter, how on earth was he euthanized after just 48 hours?  It’s a horrible story, and just another example of the huge mess caused by pet over-population and shelter over-crowding, not to mention animal shelter apathy.  I don’t envy the people who work at the shelters, and I know that it must often be a difficult job, but there are lives at stake and the animals deserve better.  Hell, the taxpayers deserve better—you finally need to use the system you pay for and it rewards you by killing your dog.  Here’s the entire story, but you may need to register for the website to read it:  Wrongful euthanasia infuriates dog lovers.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/23 at 09:13 PM

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  1. Poor Cowboy.  downer

    That story broke my heart.  I just can not imagine what his parents are going through.  The situation is just so horrible. 

    People, spay and neuter your pets so that shelters are not so overcrowded and mistakes like this do not occur.  Shelter workers, check and double check your documents.  Lives are at stake.

    I am going to hug my kids a little harder tonight.

    Posted by Expat  on  08/24  at  03:05 PM

  2. I think I was really bothered by the story not just because the dog was mistakenly euthanized, but because the dog was a Golden Retriever.  It’s a beautiful, friendly breed, it’s one of the most popular breeds with families, and there are dozens of Golden rescue groups all over the country.  Not only did the shelter euthanize a dog with a microchip, they euthanized a highly adoptable dog as well.  The person who authorized the euthanasia was fired, but big whoop… that doesn’t really accomplish anything except to give someone else in the organization a promotion.

    Posted by Mudpuppy (aka Leigh-Ann)  on  08/24  at  07:58 PM

  3. You are absolutely correct Mudpuppy. 

    You know what really concerns me?  Within the past week or so you have posted twice about animals (Cowboy and Stewie) who were put down without even a chance at being adopted.  It really makes me wonder if this is more common than we think!

    Posted by Expat  on  08/25  at  02:44 PM
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