Whenever I go for an appointment at the vet, the first person my dogs and I are greeted by is the veterinary technician. She is like a warm friendly maitre d’ at a nice restaurant – making sure we feel welcome and getting everything set up for us.
I think it’s easy to forget to appreciate how important the veterinary technician’s job is: to put our dogs and us at our ease, and to make our veterinarian’s job that much easier, freeing her to focus on the main reason for our visit.
We are all a bit on edge at the vet, so it’s understandable that we might take the vet tech for granted and not take a moment to fully appreciate her commitment to our pet’s wellness and her genuine love of animals. I think it’s important to acknowledge the veterinary technician’s care for our pets and recognize their hard work and dedication.
At my small veterinary clinic there are actually more than 10 different vet techs and they rotate their hours – and even which of the 4 vets they assist on any given day – yet each and every one of them goes out of her way to greet my dogs by name every time, remember some detail of their personality or physical issues, and give them sincere pats and welcome their slobbery licks.
A vet tech is the first interpreter of our concerns and feedback about our pet’s wellness or illness – she asks why we are there, gets the pet’s temperature, and essentially lines everything up for the veterinarian to give us the best of the time allotted for an appointment.
Recently had a special opportunity to celebrate the vet techs at West Mountain Animal Hospital in my town of Bennington, Vermont. As an “ambassador” for the brand, Halo had given me the privilege of handing out to friends or family a dozen coupons for a free small bag of cat or dog food to introduce them to the delights of Halo’s all natural food.
The first two friends I asked pointed out that they didn’t really need an introductory coupon since they already were feeding Halo on my recommendation – which was a delightful irony. But it got me to thinking what a nice little surprise it would be for all those vet techs to have the chance to offer some tasty Halo to their own cats or dogs at home.
And so I got to be Santa Clause on Memorial Day, spreading a token of gratitude to my vet techs and offering them the chance to show their own pets a gift of delicious food made from fine ingredients. Try to think of something nice you can do for your own vet tech the next time you’re at the vet- even if it’s no more than a heartfelt thanks for their devotion.
Tracie Hotchner is the author of THE DOG BIBLE: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know and THE CAT BIBLE: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know.
She is also a renowned pet radio host and producer, having spent 7 years on the Martha Stewart Channel of Sirius/XM with CAT CHAT® and even longer with her award-winning NPR radio show DOG TALK® (and Kitties, Too!) that continues to broadcast in the Hamptons and the Berkshires. Her most recent accomplishment is the pet talk radio network she has created on the Internet called The Radio Pet Lady Network.