A Lesson in Education by Tami George
©
Well, yesterday was an eye opener. Not to say that I was completely
surprised. I think this opens up a good topic for discussion to
be added to our site. Vet clinics that are rat friendly and those
that are not.
It started off by taking our boy Magnum (Cat) to be neutered. RnR
Pogo (my chocolate dumbo rattie) of course came along for moral
support. She is well traveled and loves to meet new people and I
figured it would be a perfect place for some Rattie PR :)
As soon as we walk in, one of the women behind the counter says,
Eww! You are here for THAT are you???!! We do not treat THOSE! Hmm,
strike one...
Later, we are greeted by another assistant who asks, do you raise
them? I proudly said, yes, I do. She said great! I raise snakes,
do you sell them for feeders? Uggg! Strike two! Then she came back
a little while later and proceeds to tell me how she runs to Chicago
every few weeks for rats and it is expensive, would I be interested
if she purchased a breeding pair and all equipment, food, etc in
raising some for her,,, for food! Strike Three!!! Oh there is more...another
girl (There are several employees) also assisting wants to hold
Pogo. Does she bite? Will she let me hold her? Of course not, go
ahead. She holds her and pets her then takes her off to use her
to scare one of the other techs! Geesh! What is wrong with these
people!? These are supposed to be professional, compassionate people
who are in the business of caring for and loving animals! I am happy
to say that the vet herself was very kind, and complimentary toward
Pogo (Who never flinched through it all and seemed perfectly thrilled
to be there just the same).
The Vet performed the surgery in the room with us so my Daughter
(Who wants to be a vet) could watch and explained everything very
patiently, while assuring her through it all that Magnum would be
just fine.
Sooooooooo, after all is said and done, we collect our animals and
proceed to the counter to pay our bill. Another girl there says
EWWWW!!! Yuck!! Directed to Pogo again. At this point I lost it.
I said "Listen. Do you have a pet?" She replied, "yes,
a dog." I then asked her if she loved the dog and got an indignant,
"of course!" Then I asked, how would it make you feel
if people automatically assumed that your dog was gross, hideous
and "how could you ever think of having THAT for a pet??? Polo
may not be YOUR perfect choice for a pet but I love her every bit
as much as you love your dog and you had best think twice about
passing judgment on someone just because their choice of pet differs."
She was rightfully embarrassed and hopefully it will give her (And
the others listening in) something to think about in the future.
