That’s a terribly narrow definition of a great vet. One can’t turn on and off the tear spigot in order to demonstrate this emotional response and therefore earn this label of great vet. They have many days that suck out loud, dealing with trauma and death, and you require tears, too?
You really might consider sitting with that a minute and reconsider this definition
I am thankful that my small animal vet shows great compassion when she has euthanized my pets over the decades. I have never noticed if she cries or not. She does it (the whole euthanasia process) in a manner that she is almost invisible except her caring and sincere condolences and then she slips out of the room leaving us time to say our good byes.
I can not imagine having to do that (though I consider it a gift) to animals a vet has cared for during their entire life. Vets are far stronger than I will ever be.
I would certainly never judge a vet on crying or not crying.
Several years ago (pre-COVID) I switched from the large vet practice I’d been using for years because it kept getting harder to book an appointment, and even when you had one, you still ended up sitting in the lobby for an hour or two past your appointment time before being seen. Instead I went to the small clinic my dad uses where there are NO appointments—it’s all walk-in, first come, first served (although if an emergency comes in, they’ll be seen first, of course).
I love it! Not only are their rates much lower than I was paying before, it’s a calmer and more friendly environment. For non-urgent visits I avoid Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays because they tend to be crowded, but if I arrive about 1:00 on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, I’ve rarely had to wait more than 30 minutes to be seen. They very quickly learned me and my pets, and once you have a relationship with them, you can even call from home as you’re leaving, and they’ll go ahead and check you in.
The only downside is they don’t treat “exotics”, so I have to take my cage birds to another, vastly more expensive vet in town, but thankfully they don’t need vet care very often.
@chestnutmarebeware, if they do not schedule appointments how do you get the vet you want versus some other vet in the practice?
Whoa @Anne and @Djones, stand down please. I’m sorry if you misinterpreted my post. The underlying meaning was that the good and great vets care about their patients deeply. Their tears aren’t performative in any way.
A dear friend who is a superb vet ran a home euthanasia service for a while. She is about as stoic as can be imagined, but would tear up once she’d left the client because of the emotional toll.
I’ve had my very excellent large animal vets tear up when discussing a terminal diagnosis. They are feeling for the horse, not for me. Are they incapacitated by their brimming eyes? No. Do I judge vets who don’t cry? No.
And I have a dear friend who is an exceptional equine vet who appears stoic yet kind when dealing with a catastrophe. She sometimes needs to talk later to vent her emotions.
I don’t judge vets for displaying or not displaying emotions. I was saying they care deeply, and not to assume your vet isn’t good if they show emotions on occasion. Sorry if that wasn’t clear the first time around.
Review the suicide rate in my profession compared to the general population before you make comments like these. I can’t even with you. Your post was extremely judgmental.
Once I’d been there a time or two, they started automatically putting me in with whichever doctor had been seeing that particular animal previously whenever possible. But I will say that my late cocker, Monkey, saw one of the vets throughout her battle with bladder cancer, while Syd Vicious (terrier/Chihuahua mix) who has dealt with terrible allergies and kidney failure that we were able to reverse, and Peach, my cat who injured her spinal cord by jumping (landing) badly off the kitchen counter, are seen by another doc. So each animal has their “own” vet, but as a client, I don’t, if that makes sense.
There are only three vets in the practice, and I’ve used all three and like all three, so I’m actually fine with whoever I end up with on a given day. The records are excellent and I’m fine with filling in background information or reminding them of a previous issue or treatment.
ETA: I can also request a specific vet at check-in if I want, but it might just mean a little longer wait.
This only works if that vet happens to be working that day.
In my case, the vet practice I use has like five vets. I will happily use four of them. One of those four is my favorite. I prefer to not see #5, ever.
I like that I can schedule with my vet of choice for 99% of my visits. When we have an emergency we take whatever vet can get us in, and I am thankful they do this.
They have to manage their full range of emotions, though. They also have to manage their fury with neglect and those who wait too long and bitch about them being in it for the money. The dude who pulls a nail out of a hoof and slaps furacin on it and calls weeks later. Too little too late…and the vet has to eat that energy.
Don’t neglect that in your equation
One thing that was “better” in the days before cell phones was that I would spend the time on my way either to or from these situations howling in the truck so that I was semi-rational by the time I had to go face to face with another human again.
Agreed Djones and I share their rage and frustration at that abuse. I share their reaction to clients who abuse them. That they persevere is a tribute to their determination to serve the animals. I certainly never meant that that was the only criterion for a veterinary professional.
Never. And I think it was in response to someone saying that vets only care about the money.
My comment was simply to say how deeply the vets I know care about their patients.
I’m terribly sorry I offended @Anne and you. I will exit this topic now, not in a huff, but in penitence.
Some recommended reading
I was being sarcastic. 
Reading these posts, no wonder there is a veterinarian shortage .
I hope your dog heals okay! Responding to you in specific because I had something very similar happen recently and it involved the practice[s] you mentioned. I came home from work and one of the cats was NQR. My normal vet was closed (it was 7pm, they close at 5). The ER down the street (Westford ER) was at capacity and rerouted me to Angell Boston. Both Angell facilities were rerouting and they rerouted me back to the original ER. Many phone calls later I got rerouted to a vet clinic over an hour away in a different state! And I am right outside of Boston, a major city with vet presence.
My wait time was three hours as well, and for a moment it seemed a very real possibility that we wouldn’t be seen by a vet at all. I am grateful she got seen - it was not easy to find an ER that had room and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Glad your kitty got help! My girl is doing good thanks, has a recheck Thurs for an x-ray to make sure her leg is healing correctly.
It is really scary trying to get emergency care here now. The staffing shortages are very real. I wish my regular vet could do more, but being mobile, more diagnostics don’t make sense for her business.
I hate BluePearl. They bought the two closest 24 hour emergency vet clinics and cut the hours back. No nights, no weekends. Our local vet office (husband and wife team) is now staying open later and is open on holidays because, well, things happen on holidays. The husband worked shifts at the one ER until BluePearl took over - BP eliminated holiday pay, among other things. They also fired two vets right off the bat because those vets had quit another BP facility and they hold professional grudges.
Well, the good side is that with the vet shortage they should have no problem finding a new job at some other clinic not owned by this company.
Blue Pearl was one of the places Boston West told us to try. When I called Sat am, saying that BW told us Fri night that we had to have her seen at an ER in the next 24hr, she told us to go back to the surgeon that did the TPLO, and was rather rude about it. They did not suggest we try any other ERs, or offer any other options. Needless to say, I did not form a very good opinion of them, and hope never to need to bring a dog there.
When Chelly blew up like a little doggy balloon the day after his oral surgery, it was a weekday but it was lunch/surgery hours. Fortunately they had no scheduled surgery and the vet answered his cell phone and met us at the door. It turned out to not be bloat, just a bad case of gas, but I shudder to imagine a similar scenario with no vet options available.
Even if euthanasia is the only option, for humane or even financial reasons, it sucks that a horse/dog/cat and the owner might have to endure until office hours. Or do the unthinkable themselves.
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