What I Need To Know: I’ve grown up around animals, especially horses. It has always fascinated me how we manage to communicate despite the obvious language boundary. I was that typical “horse crazy” girl who had read countless books on how horses communicate, and by the time I was about 15, I could watch a horse for about a minute and tell you what it was trying to communicate based on its body language. Ears back, tail swishing? The horse is irritated. Wide eyes, ears swiveling, nostrils flared? Scared. Ears forward, eyes alert but no whites showing, breathing deeply? Interested in something in the distance. However, this internship pushed me outside my comfort zone of exclusively horses and into a new field dominated by mostly dogs and cats, which I have had as pets but never spent nearly as much time studying. Then there were also the humans that owned those animals, who needed to have explained to them in “common” speak what was wrong with their animal and what the next steps in their pet’s treatment would be. The first day of my internship was definitely a shock as I watched the vets behind the scenes go over complicated diagnoses overflowing with medical terms then turn around and explain the diagnoses to the owners in “normal person” speech. This led to me ask the question: How can veterinarians explain to regular people scientific diagnoses that they spent years learning in vet school in simple terms that anybody could understand? I decided that the focus of my research would be not just on how vets and pets interact but also on how vets communicate with their human clients.
What I Know or Assume: Going into my internship, I knew very little about how dogs and cats interacted. I knew that dogs growled when they were upset and cats hissed. I also knew that dogs’ tails wagged when they were happy and cats’ tails swished when they were annoyed. However, that was about the extent of my small-animal knowledge. As far as vet to client communication, I knew that vets had to put their diagnoses in simple terms but I had no clue how that was accomplished, only that it occurred. I assumed that dogs and cats would be somewhat similar to horses, which I did have experience working with. I also guessed that working with cats would be much harder than working with dogs because cats are notorious for being ill-natured and easy to upset. Also, while these stereotypes exist, I understood that every animal is unique and there is no “typical” way to communicate with them. The same thing applied to their owners. Some of the owners had done extensive research before buying a pet and knew a lot about their animal’s health and medical needs, while others would come in without a clue in the world what their animals were in for. Lastly, I knew that, just as with anything, the vets I was witnessing interact had years of practice to perfect the art of patient-client communication, and I couldn’t expect to grasp the concept in its entirety in the span of a school year.
The Search for My Information: In my search for information, I started with simple observation in my internship. I would watch how the vets interacted with the animals and owners in the room. I also interviewed a veterinarian that I ran into at a local barn to get the perspective of a veterinarian outside of my internship. Lastly, I looked at data from reliable websites (mostly the Galileo database) to find more concrete facts to support my observational findings. Three of the research articles I used for my research can be reviewed in the “Annotated Bibliographies” tab of this website. Through my research, I also discovered that there is no black-and-white answer as to how to communicate with animals and their owners. Each case is unique and requires a specialized communication method.
Here is my interview: 1) How do you know when it is time to euthanize an animal? Response: When making the decision to euthanize an animal, we look at several criteria.1) Is the animal still eating? 2) Are they in pain? 3) Are they having more good days than bad? Each animal is unique, and in the end, it is the owner’s call as they now their pet the best. Reflection: Euthanasia is never taken lightly. Unfortunately, there is no black and white answer for making decisions like this. On one hand, an animal could potentially live months after it was euthanized. On the other hand, they may have been in too much pain to enjoy life in those last months had they stayed alive. Thus, there is no “right” or “wrong” time. 2) What is your favorite part of being a veterinarian? Response: I like knowing I relieved an animal’s pain and made a difference in their life. There aren’t many careers that you know you have made an impact with your life. Reflection: Everyone always thinks that veterinarians want to become vets because the salary. In reality though, the long hours and emotional toil veterinarians go through wouldn’t be worth the money if they didn’t truly love their job. The veterinarians I intern with truly don’t care about the money. They just really love the animals. 3) What is your least favorite part of being a veterinarian? Response: It is hard to euthanize animals, especially if they have been at your practice since they were a small puppy or kitten. Reflection: Even though their patients aren’t human, veterinarians do truly care for the well-being of the animals they see. It is tough for everyone involved when a pet is put to sleep. The owners are grieving, and even if the veterinarian doesn’t show it, they are grieving too. They are just very good at putting up a strong front and reminding themselves that the animal is no longer enjoying life and this is the best option. 4) Name 3 qualities you think are the most important for a vet to have. Response: Critical thinking, patience, passion Reflection: Because animals can’t tell the veterinarians what is wrong with them, it is imperative that veterinarians are able to think critically to come up with possible causes of the animals’ ailments. Also, the animals don’t always understand what the veterinarians want. Unlike a human, vets can’t tell their patients to sit still and explain to them what is happening. Animals are often very frightened at the vet’s office as they don’t understand why they are there or what is happening, so vets must be patient when dealing with them. As for passion, every career is better if you truly love what you are doing and the end result is better as well for the animals. 5) Has anything surprised you over the course of your career? Response: A lot of people don’t understand basic animal care and never did any research before buying a pet. They think that they can treat an animal like a tiny person and fail to realize the responsibility that comes with owning an animal. They aren’t bad people, but I wish people did more research before buying themselves a pet. Reflection: I completely agree with this. Pet owners often come in with an animal that is in pain and ask if they can give them an aspirin, but animals don’t process aspirin like human do and aspirin can actually do a great deal of harm to a pet. There are also cases where people didn’t research the dog breed before they bought one, like when people bring in German Shepherds and are surprised by their protective nature and aggression or when people living in apartments are upset by their herding dog’s hyperactivity. 6) Have you ever made a mistake? Response: Every single vet has made a mistake at some point in their career. The important thing is to minimize them and to learn from them. I’m fortunate to have an excellent team of vets and techs that I work with and we all serve to check one another and minimize those mistakes. Reflection: One of my biggest fears about becoming a veterinarian is that I will mess up and accidentally harm someone’s animal. It is reassuring to know that every vet has made a mistake at some point in their career. While I have seen small blunders, the veterinarians and technicians that I have observed both at the place of my internship and at other practices that I have observed have done an excellent job of checking one another and I’m yet to see an animal come out with more harm than good done to them, which is reassuring. 7) How do you communicate with your patients? Response: Obviously, animals don’t talk to me. But, they have non-verbal cues, like wagging their tails or bearing their teeth that give me an idea of their mental state. They also whimper when in pain or avoid pressure on sensitive areas, which can help me locate a specific area causing them discomfort. It is also important to be gentle and calm when handling the animals to help reassure them that they are safe in your company. Reflection: I really like how my interviewee answered from both the vet’s and animal’s perspective. Communication is always a two-way street. Just as vets need to be able to understand what the animals are trying to communicate, the animals also need to know that they are safe in the vet’s presence, which will make the entire process easier for everyone involved. They also never look dogs directly in the eye, as that is a sign of aggression. 8) How do you stay up to date on current veterinary medicine? Response: There are always conventions and books I can buy. I also work with a team of vets with varying ages and experience, which provides a range of different perspectives for each case. Reflection: I never thought about using people as a resource to stay current on information. Of course new textbooks can be bought and there are constantly presentations on new veterinary technology. However, I had never previously considered that simply working with other coworkers can help vets stay up to date. Younger veterinarians are constantly asking for advice and recommendations, and I appreciate that they also keep their older mentors up to date in the process of working with them. 9) If you could go back, would you still become a vet? Response: No career is perfect, but I absolutely would. I love my job. Reflection: The veterinarians that I have had an opportunity to work with have all expressed this sentiment. Most of them wanted to be a vet from a young age and couldn’t imagine themselves as anything else. Beyond that, they are supportive of me and encourage me to follow my dreams too. 10) Have you ever had a client that wasn’t happy with their animal’s treatment? If so, what did you do? Response: Of course, I have had clients that weren’t happy with one of my diagnoses or didn’t agree with my plan of action for their pet. I understand this, and if a client is unhappy with my work or wants another opinion, I am glad to refer them to a specialist or another clinic. I just want everyone to remember that I am human, not a miracle worker. Try as I might, I can’t cure cancer or bring back the dead. I can only do my best. Response: The only people I have seen that were unhappy with the vets were those who had unrealistic expectations for their animals. They expect the vets to be able to perform costly surgeries for free or want the vets to tell them that their dying animal is okay when it clearly is not.
Research and Final Conclusion: How Dogs Communicate: On my very first day at my internship, I was surprised to find that you shouldn’t look dogs in the eyes as they see it as a threat. With human communication, eye contact is considered a sign of confidence and trust, but apparently that rule doesn’t apply to dogs. Like humans though, when dogs are afraid, their pupils will dilate and you’ll be able to see the whites of their eyes. Their ears are kind of similar to horses and will go back to show submission or be raised if they are relaxed/listening. Dogs also will cower and tuck their tails when they are intimidated. When threatened, they may growl or bare their teeth, and dogs will also lick their lips/yawn to communicate fear. Some of their other communication methods are pretty straightforward. Many shake when they are scared and cry when they are in pain, just like a human would.
How Cats Communicate: Cat communication is harder to decipher because they change their behavior very quick with little to no forewarning. For example, some cats will roll on to their backs with their bellies in the air while playing. For some cats, this is a sign they are relaxed and content. Given they are in a vet office, this is improbable but not impossible. It is more likely that the cat feels like it can’t escape and is taking a defensive position. Cats will also blink slowly to communicate their affection and that they are relaxed. Even cat tails can be used to assess their mental state. A tail held high indicates confidence, and a tail tucked between the legs indicates insecurity or anxiousness. Threatened cats will have a straight-out, bushy tail, expanded pupils, and unsheathed claws. Cats will also twitch their tails when they are irritated. Cats audio clues include purring to signal contentment or comfort, growling/hissing to say “stay away”, or they may chirp to indicate friendliness.
Owner communication: Generally, owners want a diagnosis and reassurance. With animals, a diagnosis is rarely definite unless the ailment is something life threatening, like cancer. Furthermore, the diagnosing of animals is hindered by the animals not being able to speak to answer basic questions like how bad the pain is, what the symptoms are, etc. As a result, many owners get short-tempered when dealing with the vets and demand answers. The vets at the clinic I interned aimed at this point to calm the owner and explain the gray area of the field to them. They would agree with them, then proceed to list the possibilities and good areas to future testing.
As one can imagine, the hardest news to break to any pet owner is that their pet needs to be put down. This is the area that really distinguished the vets at the practice I shadowed at from those I had seen in the past, and I highly commend the place that I shadowed at for how they managed to be simultaneously professional and caring during this difficult time for pet owners. They cared about their clients on a personal level. The animals weren’t just walking bills but were actually living, breathing beings with souls and individual value. If an animal had a terminal diagnosis, the vets would explain what was wrong, give a rough estimate of the expected time left, and then continue to console the owners. The best advice I heard them tell a client was that their animals days may be numbered, but that doesn’t mean they count any less. The vets really do care. There are rumors that they grow numb as they continue to practice, but just because they learn to accept something, doesn’t mean their passion and love for animals isn’t still there.
Lastly, vets make sure that their diagnosis and instructions are understandable for the common man who hasn’t gone through years of rigorous vet school. They may relate their diagnoses to a human equivalent to give the owner an idea of what kind of pain an animal is in, and they will give the scientific diagnosis with the correct medical terminology then proceed to define the word and explain it in easy-to-understand terms. They also facilitate the treatment process by typing out the diagnosis and step-by-step treatment to give to owners for them to reference at home as needed. As I’ve stated before, there is no “typical” case in the vet world and communication is an art that improves with time and experience but can never be 100% mastered. Going into school next year, I am going to bare this in mind and consider taking some management or speaking courses to enhance my communication skills. Prior to my research, I really did believe that the vets would treat every patient with a sort of…indifference. After all, this is their job. However, I have been truly blown away by the personal commitment and dedication all the vets and the techs at the practice I shadowed at exhibited. Communication can’t excite passion, but it is the foundation for a successful practice and for a healthy vet/owner/animal dynamic.