Why are all the vet clinics toxic? 

Glad to see you back. I've enjoyed your videos in the past. So, I apologize in advance but this video hit a nerve. Wow. This is super victim blamey. With the veterinarian suicide rate being what it is, it's dishonest to pin all the blame on individual people. And it's not all about bad clients or student debt. It's about the culture of judgement and shame that has been cultivated in vet medicine, just like this video does. This is a pervasive problem throughout veterinary medicine, not just some isolated incidents at individual hospitals. Too often vet staff are given the "bootstraps" lecture instead of addressing the mental health of people who are exposed to trauma and high stress every day (with mediocre pay, might I add). I left veterinary to work with adults with severe mental illnesses. We would get verbally and physically assaulted on the job and yet I still felt better about that work because I had a supportive team who listened and understood. There was no shaming when something went wrong. There was no shaming when someone needed to take a break to care for their own mental health. I know there are great vet practices out there with caring and supportive teams. But you know what? They're rarely hiring because no one wants to leave, for good reason! Vet medicine needs to stop blaming clients or individual employees and take a good hard look at itself.

I do not work in the vet industry however as a recent cat owner/vet client, I very much concur that toxic vets ARE a thing. Maybe it has more to do with the people in particular towns? All of my local vets are absolutely terrible and I have a story to go with that claim, down below. My cat got sick 11 months ago and had stopped eating + had severe diarrhea. The first vet that I took her to: I showed up a little early to her scheduled & confirmed appointment, only for them to tell me that "there was no appointment record for her" and they charged me for an emergency fee because they themselves "lost" her appointment. I dont know how thats possible with digital records these days but somehow they insisted there was no appointment and that they needed to charge me an added $125 for emergency fee. They then insisted that she was "absolutely fine, nothing wrong with her, simply choosing to not eat, here is an appetite stimulant called Elura" (which I later found out was rarely prescribed to cats?). The Elura DID encourage her to eat again and she seemed somewhat fine after that but had what appeared to be IBS, mostly diarrhea until I changed her food to stop feeding her gums which did stop the diarrhea... but... Cut to 1 month ago and she got very sick again, stopped eating, and stopped defecating, this time constipation. I made an appointment with a different vet in my town because the first vet was clearly incorrect in their diagnosis of "perfectly healthy". The first available appointment with them was 3 weeks out and I was very worried about her. I used the website justanswer.com to talk to a vet sooner, who suggested that I give her 1/2 tsp of Miralax which actually worked within just 4 hours and my poor baby pooped out an entire 15 inches of well-formed but not entirely hard feces. The vet online did not give me any other advice that possibly would have saved her life if they had... This next vet appointment came around and while the vet techs began to examine her, the vet himself did not and barely asked me any questions. I volunteered all the information that I knew and he seemed annoyed with me for some reason. I attempted to change his energy with a joke made in reference to Monty Python's Holy Grail, which seemed to just annoy him even more. He seemed as if I was already wasting his time. I insisted on a radiograph which he did actually do but he asked me to leave the room for. The x-ray showed she had advanced megacolon and I was told that "all treatments for this diagnosis are pointless" and that I needed to "euthanize immediately, because I said so". He did not want to answer any of my questions and he did not ever shift out of his "because I said so" mentality and left the room with no other answers for me, as if she was just a number that meant nothing to me, nor him. I was devastated and knew that if the first vet had actually tried, maybe she could have had another chance at a few more years. I did as much research as possible on this condition and learned that there are indeed treatments and that this last vet simply just didn't want to subject himself to the stinky & difficult effort of saving her life.. I cannot for the life of me understand why his attitude was so awful. There are also Yelp reviews of him treating others this way, one of which said "If this guy is in such a bad mood then he should just stay home!" and that was even months before my own appointment for my cat. Idk what he must be going through but he really should not be the deciding factor on pet's lives if he is truly this uhhh, grumpy... The other vets in my town all have even worse reviews than the other two I had tried. One even is rumored to be faking x-rays from other animals in order to charge clients more money. Maybe my town is cursed, idk... My cat was still having lots of good days and she did not at all appear to be moribund, I could not give up so easily. I made an appointment with a cat hospital over an hour away from me and had to have my poor kitty sit through that long drive, just to get a legitimately caring & compassionate veterinarian who actually wanted to help animals. This third vet gave her a full exam and asked me lots of questions and was very patient while I explained our experience with her and had my own questions. He determined that her prognosis was indeed not good.. that she must have been in a lot of pain that she was hiding better than most do and that it wasn't my fault for not knowing sooner that something was so severely wrong. He was so saddened to hear about my prior vet experiences and he felt so badly for my precious feline. He complimented her on how well-behaved she was, and the calmest cat he had ever seen, despite everything she was now going through. But even then, he still wanted to try the only safe option available. He thoroughly answered every question I had and explained EVERYTHING to me: that her footlong defecation was only the begining and what was left inside her had turned into a brick that would not move on its own; that elura and miralax were both surprising to him as he never prescribes either of those for cats; that lactulose sooner could have prevented this if prior vets had done their job properly; every available treatment for megacolon and why those were currently unsafe at this point; why his only idea of attempting lactulose would be safer and why it was the only one he was willing to try for her (to prevent perforation); the low percentage of her chances of recovery; what he would do if this attempt did work; how much each option would cost; what to do and what not to do in the meantime; and that she was likely born with this issue and that it finally just caught up to her but she was too tough to let me know before it was too late that something was wrong; some facts about her breed and the likelihood that this was more likely to happen with her breed; and gently, compassionately prepared me for the tragic outcome. His office even gave me emergency vets in their area who would actually help me if things took a turn for the worst. This vet was absolutely worth the travel distance, even though my baby's outcome did not change, at least this vet was actually desiring to help her and to help me through this process and gave me closure on the entire matter. He called me regularly throughout the following day to keep tabs on how she was doing. Unfortunately and ironically, we believe that all the vet trips stressed her out to the point of her finally giving up... She began to vomit specs of old blood which this vet told me over the phone was a sign of a stomach ulcer from stress. She declined very rapidly over the next 24 hours and I was faced with no other choice but to end her pain with euthanasia. I cannot begin to describe my devastation, knowing that she COULD have been treated sooner if only my local vets actually have a single sh*t (pun slightly intended on account of my cat would be encouraging my jokes rn to try to keep my sanity). She was the most well-behaved/unspiteful cat I had ever heard of and more intelligent than most humans. I was blessed with merely one perfect year with her (she was only 2 years old) and cursed by my local vet's unattentive apathy which cost her years of more time with me. Moral of the story/TLDR; There are ABSOLUTELY terrible vets who are very toxic and do not actually care about their one task of saving animals. Maybe they got into the field for the wrong reasons (paycheck) instead of caring for animals and I very much did witness this to be a thing, which cost me my cat's life to end too soon. But good ones also do exist and it is even worth a long-distance trip if needed. Trust your gut if something feels off about any veterinarian, just because they have a degree doesn't mean that they have a heart - which IS required in the veterinarian field. For all we know, the person who asked this question could live in a town similar to mine where most people here hate everything and have grown to be toxic individuals. From what I know of South Carolina, most people there are good people and have a big heart. I traveled there once a long time ago and witnessed a massive difference in societal kindness, compared to the ones where I live in California. I can clearly see that you (Dr. Andy of Cone of Shame) are one of those compassionate individuals and I wish my town had someone like you that I could have taken my fur-baby to, from the start.. maybe things would have turned out differently for her if that had been the case. And on that note, I very much appreciate your channel and what you're doing here. Your video on "when to euthanize" has contributed to helping me through my recent grief and I appreciate that vets like you do exist.

We're a group of broken people who receive unconditional love from animals under a massive amount of stress and sadness, make very little money to have a life and it takes a complete toll on our mental health.

Im a vet and quit a clinic for very bad care for animals boarded. Dying in metal cold cages, maggots in food. Not giving meds. Just terrible and not acceptable care .

Before Covid, I accepted a job as a front desk CSR in an emergency vet hospital. My first ever experience in this industry. It was rife with bullying, toxicity, backstabbing, incompetence from both the techs and doctors. People who love animals and hate humans are just as toxic as the vice versa. On the flip side, I think that anyone who has an alternative lifestyle and wouldn’t be accepted in a corporate setting, this is the environment for them. It’s very lgbtq+ friendly. Pronouns, Green and purple hair welcomed. I left that industry 2 years later.

Hey Dr. R.....love all your podcasts.....I find that its not just vet clinics...its that ALL workplaces seem to have toxic elements these days...people don't get enough training to learn how to cope and how to communicate with co-workers and the boss.

Great career wisdom. Transferable to any career choice. And life choices.

I just quit my job at a vet clinic. Mouse infested kennels, horses knee deep in poo. Giving old 11+ old dog rabies shots to kill them without telling owners they just killed their dog... Angered toxic owners and the list goes on. I took photos, video, and quit

Got a two year degree in vet technology, worked in a few veterinary offices. All were toxic, it’s generally ran by immature people, most people you work with are too damn emotionally invested in animals (consistently dramatic), drama in general, favoritism, the list goes on. Ps: trashy coworkers are the worst. “If you have bad interactions at each place maybe it’s you” I knew that pitiful excuse was coming. It’s not always the case.

First time finding your channel, I have to say you have a wonderful personality sir! love from Northern Ireland, keep being you.

Some people's toxic dump is someone else's flower garden. This was very well said ❤️

Excellent!

I want to say that I had positive to mixed feelings on this video I saw a comment saying this was victim blaming, and I want to respond to that. If you are doing everything right, and you’ve got a good attitude, and you’re attempting to work well with others and you’re doing things correctly, and you’re still dealing with toxicity at the work place….this video might not be for you. This video seems targeted towards a niche population of people who think their environment is toxic, but it’s actually them. I actually appreciated this video because it really challenged me to take responsibility for my own well being. What are my burdens? Where can I perform better? What’s something I can do to ensure that I’m creating an environment where I can thrive? Just my two sense.

Best question ever !!

Being scammed by a vet right now. Paid for biopsy and for it to be sent, then I was yelled at saying I didn't pay them (literally yelled at by the vet) Then when they see I paid - they never acknowledged what happened to that biopsy but said I shouldn't be charged for sending it because they didn't, now they want me to do ANOTHER biopsy on my dog. Today's appointment was supposed to be for a follow up and biopsy results - then they wanted to do an eye exam they never told me about and never communicated, nor informed me why I'm being charged for services being incorrectly rendered. I just want to know why my coonhound is getting mange like hair loss - that's why I payed for the biopsy's. They only care about profit, and not the wellbeing or consideration for an animals health.

Wow this is very untrue. I don't work in medicine but my mom was a dental assistant for years. She bounced around from place to place because of how toxic dentistry is. There was one place she even had to quit on the spot without giving notice, something she's never done in her whole life, because the doctor was getting up in her face and cornering her. I'm sorry but you're just simply wrong. The medical field regardless of where you are: humans and animals, teeth, feet, heart, head, it doesn't matter. If you work in medicine, your workplace is probably toxic. And I know it's not my mom being the one this liked or making the workplaces toxic because she is well loved at all of her other jobs, she's the type of worker the boss's beg not to leave. She's incredibly hard-working.

I found it strange that most of the vets I worked under took pleasure out of shaming learning moments and then TURN AROUND WITH THE WIDEST FAKEASS SMILE TO GREET THE OWNERS

All the vet clinics in my area are using the pandemic as an excuse to continue to underpay workers, overwork them and not higher enough. I just lost another pet last night because even the emergency vets refused to see them. They said my emergency wasn't an emergency. My rat passed away so they were wrong.

Well that didn't answer a thing.

Well said🌿👍

How is this invaluable advice free? You are awesome!