Thursday, April 5, 2012

Biting My Tongue


In case you don't know me, I work in a busy veterinary hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. The Capital of Canada, this is a government town with what is supposed to be a highly intelligent, educated populace. And for this reason I think that we are probably doomed to failure in attempts to get rid of puppy mills and substandard dog breeders.

I often find myself biting my tongue at work as a well-groomed, well-spoken owner comes in proudly presenting their new "doodle". These pups are very cute and cuddly. They wiggle their way around the waiting room winning new admirers from the clients waiting their turns to see the doctor or pay an invoice. What is winning these people over? Not the temperament of the pup, it might be quivering in it's owners arms, peeing on the carpet or biting fingers. Or it might be a friendly bouncy pup. But none of that matters. What matters is the fluffy coat and the little puppy eyes.

No one questions what is the temperament of the "breed". No one asks about what health concerns the breed might have, how big they might get, what special training or socialization might be required. Not that the owner of this cute little bundle of fluff would be able to answer those questions.

These pups have usually been purchased from an ad on the internet or from a pet store. They have no guarantee that is worth any more than the paper it is written on. They might have had their first vaccinations far before those vaccines would do them any good. They have probably been dewormed multiple times, and they often have diarrhea, or a runny nose, or weepy eyes.

These pups have been picked up in a parking lot where the "breeder" kindly agreed to meet the new owner half-way. Or picked out of a pen with pups from several different litters. Or bought on impulse in the shopping mall after being spotted in the pet store window.

Often we hear people talking about the great deal they got on their pup as it had been marked down now that it is 4 months old and not as cute anymore. One lady bragged about how the pup she bought was $600 when she first saw it on the website, but that several weeks later she was able to pick it up for the bargain price of $250. Of course, now she is paying far more than the $350 in veterinary costs to try to make the pup healthy.

I have had people tell me stories that would curl your toenails about conversations with breeders and why their pup has diarrhea, or a runny nose, or is limping. And yet still they purchased the pup even knowing this.

Because of my position as receptionist I get to hear many such stories but am limited in how much education I can provide. Insulting peoples choices doesn't tend to keep clients.

Every once in a while though, a rather more savvy shopper will enter our door asking for advice on how to go about purchasing a new puppy. Oh how I love to talk to these people. Unfortunately they are a very small minority.

I wish I didn't have to bite my tongue so much. Unfortunately I don't know how to go about getting people to understand the choices they are making. The information on how to pick a puppy and a breeder is certainly available. How do we go about getting people to do their research before going to look at the cute fuzzy faces that will turn anyones brain to mush.