Today we want to discuss some ways to keep your pet safe while at your pet’s doctor’s office.
Safe? What harm could come to my pet while at his veterinarian’s office?
Just this morning I observed two sick pets checking each other out nose to nose. It’s bad enough that each was already ill. If they were both ill with different things, then they might now each have two diseases!
We quickly advised the owners to separate them.
Keep your pets away from other pets you don’t know the medical history of. There is a nationwide dog food/pet supply store that encourages people to have their pets accompany them while shopping. While the name implies “smart”, the practice is anything but.
Pets come nose-to-nose, pets walk where other dogs have urinated and defecated, pets’ airborne diseases are wafting around the building. There are thousands of opportunities for illness there.
At your veterinarian’s office there are pets present for preventive care who probably are healthy, and the pets who have injuries are probably not contagious. Those who are sick, however, may be parasitized or carrying communicable diseases that could endanger your pet.
Every veterinarian’s waiting area includes a sign that says, “Keep pets on leash or held in arms.”
Not only will this admonition help keep your pet free from disease, it will make him less likely to be susceptible to injury, too.
Pets not under complete control of the owner may do almost anything. If your dog is running around loose in the waiting room and another dog comes in there may be a fight. Just because your dog wouldn’t start a fight doesn’t mean he won’t finish one. Such injuries are much more common than you might think.
If a fight should occur you will have a better chance of pulling your dog out of the fight if you have a leash on him.
Our hospital is located 150 yards from the street, but some clinics are in busy shopping centers or may be much closer to a high-traffic street. A pet off-leash might dart into the street and be injured. Or escape and become lost.
We’ve actually observed pet owners who allow their cats to run around our waiting room loose. The next person to enter the front door may provide a portal to the great outdoors for that kitty!
A kitty in a waxed-cardboard or plastic airline carrier stands a much better chance of getting home from his doctor visit safely.
Be safe, not sorry and I’ll…
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
