Now Hear This!
Clients Speak Their Minds...

Clients Speak Their Minds - Part I
The Veterinarian/Client relationship is a unique one in the field of medicine. Not only does the pet owner need to trust and relate to the attending doctor, the pet does too!

Pet owners choose Veterinarians in a variety of ways -- the most common way being a personal recommendation from a friend, family member, or current client. Other people select a Veterinarian based on location, clinic facilities/equipment, hours of operation, boarding availability, cool phone book ad, and the like.

This purpose of this article (Part I), Part II, and others like it in the future is to open up line of communication between Veterinarians and clients to facilitate better understanding and increased awareness. This will hopefully lead to even better pet care, as clients know what to expect, how to better observe their animals, and Veterinarians know more of the client expectations and perceptions about their pet's care.

This week, Monique Tuffs shares what makes her Veterinarian stand out:

What makes your vet stand out above the rest?

Our vet never assumes that we do not understand. She always tells us what is going on and lets us know when we have reached her limit of knowledge on a subject - for eg. our dog had auto immune hemolytic anemia - she told us what she knew and she was open to information that we gathered from the internet and other sources.

Do you chose a vet based on referrals from friends, location, bedside manner, hospital facility, hours, or ?

When we first moved to our city (Calgary, Alberta) we asked our realtor, who happened to be a client at the vet clinic in the neighborhood that we moved into. We have stayed with our vet because of her beside manner and the services that she offers.

What has your vet done that was exceptional (or upsetting) to you?

When our dog died she made a donation in our beloved's name to the animal companion fund at the veterinary college (Western College of Vet. Med.- Canada) in another city - we had taken our girl there for part of her treatment. Our vet was very compassionate during and after we lost the battle after 6 months - this was deeply appreciated.

Thank you to Monique for letting me share her story.

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