Respect your Veterinarian's Time!

I have never worked for a veterinarian nor am I related to one; however, I do have good friends that have worked for one and I have read books written by veterinarians.  One thing that is VERY important to any vet is 'time'.  They kind of remind me of OB doctors.  They need you to run on time and yet, when they are late, they need your "understanding".  My OB doctor over the years was very punctual.  Yes, he had a military back ground.  Out of 12 years of seeing him through 6 pregnancies, he was only late to ONE of my appointments!  That is amazing!  And that one time, he was VERY late.  No, I was not upset in the least because I knew that when my babies came, he would be there for me too!

So back to the vet...and farm calls.  Farm calls are when the vet comes to YOU instead of you going to the vet.  When I first had the vet come out to my home 16 years ago, I did not bother having my horse caught and 'ready' to go.   I knew my horse and she was an easy catch.  But the reality is even though she was easy, it still took 'time'.  Maybe only 5 minutes, but it was a waste of the vet's time. 

This came very clear the last time the vet came out to the farm about five years ago.  We had sheep, cows and horses that were being seen.  Lots of blood work was being drawn to verify that the animals were all disease free.  I will blog on that topic on another date.  We had several Angus cows and steers that needed checking before we blended them with our herd.  They were VERY difficult to deal with even though we had a head catch.  The visit was taking 'time'.  To the point that the vet was taking care of the horse and sheep while we switched cows around.  That night was a late night and I was embarrassed by the difficulties that presented. 

This past Thursday we needed blood work drawn on our Jerseys, a lump checked on a horse and a goat with a bad ear.  We 'thought' about this a good deal and decided to deal with the most difficult animals first:  The Jerseys.  We were ready to go and when we saw the vet pull through the gate we brought in Laurie Belle.  We tied her up, put up the butt bar and grabbed the feed to keep her happy.  The vet came over and gave the TB test and then pulled blood.  We put Laurie Belle back and next came Jasmine.  We put her in the shoot, she had her TB test and then the blood was drawn.  Next was Max with a quick neck exam and then the goat.  Even though the appointment took about an hour, there was no time 'wasted'.  There was an animal ready for the vet as soon as one animal was finished.  It made me feel good to understand the importance of really being ready for your vet and for us to be prepared.  I'm glad that I read, "I Make Horse Calls" by Dr. Thibeault DVM so that I could learn the importance of respecting your veterinarian's time!  Maybe 'my' vet is too!