Fun fact about me: I work at an Emergency Veterinary Clinic. We are the people that pet owners call when they have no where to turn. We are called when your pet is the sickest it has ever been, and your regular vet can no longer help. Our technicians and doctors either come in wearing capes and save your pet’s life and your heart, or we break it into a million pieces with the some of the worst news you have ever gotten. Either way, working at an emergency clinic, we experience a constant roller coaster of emotions throughout our shifts.
Most nights we have to stuff our emotions down and help out the next client with the next emergency. Last night, an emergency came in that not only shook the staff, but also the packed waiting room. A three-year-old dog, who was just seen this past week and got a complete clean bill of health, was rushed into the hospital barely hanging on due to a traumatic injury. The technicians and other support staff got the patient to the treatment room as quick as possible, but it was too late. This family got some of the worst news of their lives; their perfectly healthy young dog was longer with them. The family, very understandably, became incredibly emotional. As the doctor walked them to the treatment room so they could say goodbye to their four-legged family, the whole waiting room was still – something I personally have never felt in that clinic. For a minute EVERYONE paused, even the pets, as if they too could feel the emotion within the room. The phone did not ring, no printers were working, no one was typing, and not a soul said a word. The empathy that filled the room was one of the most powerful things I have ever felt. Everyone saw this dog quickly ushered to the back, and saw the owners collapse as the doctor delivered the news. Owners hugged their pets close and understood very well the moment of silence that was happening for this family’s loss.
The point of this is to always be at least sympathetic to others and their battles, one day that could be you, and enjoy the time you have with your four-legged family members, because you never know when it could be their last. Try not to be angry when they are excited that you have come home after a long day of work or when they are persistent for love. Give them that love. Try not to focus on the annoying qualities of their love, but spoil them with nothing but love. Pets can be annoying at times, but they are apart of the family, and most importantly, we are all they have. We are their whole lives. Pet’s depend on us for every little thing, so love them as you would a child. Pets are not our whole life (at least, for most of us), but they make our lives whole; enjoy every day of their unconditional love, nothing loves more than a pet to their owner.