TLC Pet Doctor - Union, NJ

04/20/2023

06/24/2022

“Every Time”

Every time you say vets are money grubbing or ‘too expensive’ or just in it for the money,

Every time you decline all diagnostics, yet demand to know “what’s wrong with my pet”,

Every time at a social function or other completely inappropriate place you find out that someone is a vet you ask them for free advice about your animal,

Every time you feel justified posting a s&^**y practice or vet review when everything was done according to the standard of care but your pet died anyway,

Every time YOUR lack of preventative care resulted in your pet’s early death, yet you blame the veterinarian,

Every time she gets in early and stays late and works an 80-hour week because your pet that had been ill for days suddenly becomes an emergency at 5pm on a Friday, and you demand to be seen, claiming these heartless vets won’t treat your baby,

Every time someone complains about the cost of veterinary care, comparing human medicine and insurance subsidies to pet ownership,

Every time someone doesn’t pay their bill and thinks they are entitled not to because pet ownership is their “right”,

Every time someone walks in to a clinic and threatens to “sue your ass if you make one mistake with my baby”,

Every time a graduate vet looks at the hundreds of thousands of dollars in crippling debt and listens to clients driving Mercedes and BMWs complain about the cost of a spay using good anesthetic care and adequate pain management,

Every time – You are part of the problem.

The problem is su***de in veterinarians. Most of us went to veterinary school because we care. We have a calling to care, but there is a dark and expensive cost to compassion.

Think before you act or speak.

05/09/2022

Taking care of an animal is a big responsibility. We have your work, friends, family, and hobbies, but our pets only have us. But we tend to forget that. We often don't spend enough time with them or mistreat them. We give them treats to make up for leaving them alone… The list is so long….But o...

03/25/2022

WRITTEN BY A VET:
“I have been writing this post in my head for nearly 3 years and until today I've never been brave enough to post it. But recently some people doing similar work and facing much the same reality have used social media to speak up about a topic that for so long has not been discussed. Their bravery has given me the courage to finally share my thoughts and experiences about something that I’ve needed to for so long.

Today I euthanized 5 dogs. This is not an uncommon task for a vet to perform and getting into the profession you are well aware of the fact that this is something you will have to do in your chosen career. However, the dogs I put down today were not sick, they were not injured, they were not old and they were not unhealthy in any way. They were not untamed and they were not aggressive. They were perfect, healthy and normal dogs. There was no reason for them to lose their lives today other than that they were failed by humans because of the current overpopulation crisis of domestic animals particularly dogs that so few people are prepared to accept and try to understand.

The euthanasia of healthy animals by animal welfare organisations and shelters across the world is something that we need to start talking about but it is not an easy topic for someone who is in this line of work to discuss. One, because how can you possibly put into words something that is so deeply personal and difficult to come to terms with in your own mind and two, how can you risk the possibility of losing such important funding that keeps welfare organisations and shelters alive by drawing attention to something that the public at large simply know very little about and so few people understand.

The dogs that I put down today were so excited to see me. How lucky they were to have someone in their kennel giving them attention and maybe just maybe they'd even be so lucky as to be taken out for a walk - their tails were wagging and everyone was jumping for joy. One of them was nervous and scared of me. This was a dog that had likely never had much in the way of attention or love from a human being. I have tried everything possible to make the task easier for myself and for those who assist me. I have tried doing it in their kennels, I’ve tried doing it on the grass outside so that the dogs can walk for a bit to experience one last bit of freedom and fresh air. I’ve fed them last meals, I’ve done it in the clinic and nothing makes it easier. The only thing that makes it bearable for me is to sedate them first so that they are sleeping when their lives end and not wagging their tails looking at me – I know this is a luxury that many other people doing this work do not have access to.

Today I chose to put them down in their kennels after I’d sedated them. Letting them leave on a bed and blanket that they have used for comfort for the past few weeks or sometimes even months. I take care to make sure that no other dog or animal is a witness but still the others around them must know. Usually the dogs bark endlessly at any small movement or sound but there is nothing more deafening than the silence of nearly one hundred dogs while ending the life of one of their neighbours or friends. They must know and I so often wonder if they are thinking if they are next or when their time will come.

In their final moments I tell each of them that I am sorry and for those who leave behind friends, puppies or siblings I promise them that I will take care of them and do my very best to find them homes or see that they are cared for properly. These are trivial words compared to what I should be saying to them but it’s hard to give them the apology they so deserve in the short time it takes for the life to leave their little bodies. What I should be saying to them is that I’m sorry you never got the opportunity to experience what it’s like to sleep on a couch and I’m sorry that those who did get to sleep on a couch once have ended up being unwanted and failed by the humans who took them into their homes in the first place. I’m so sorry that they were born into a world that didn’t have space for them and so many others. I’m sorry that they weren’t pretty enough or the right breed to be one of the chosen ones and I’m sorry that for months or for some of them nearly a year countless people walked past their cage and decided not to choose them or to leave and rather choose to buy a puppy somewhere else instead.

I have tried my best to cope with it as I know many others do too - by doing what I believe is everything humanly possible to find unwanted dogs and cats homes. I spend hours of my time holding them while they pose for photos, writing posts for Facebook, advertising them and putting their stories and personalities into words as best I can all in the hopes of someone deciding to choose them. I talk to people and encourage them to adopt but this does not always work. I have spayed until 10pm at night before because if I can just do one more spay it might help. Like so many others in this line of work, I have done hours of work behind the scenes and out of the public eye for no benefit other than hopefully having to euthanize one less healthy animal. I have done my fair share of adopting too having adopted 8 dogs and regularly contemplate whether I could take on another one or two despite my home already being near overrun.

But it is still not enough and the burden of this crisis and war that we are fighting against over population is not to be borne by only a small group of people across the world who are prepared to sacrifice so much because they are not ignorant to the reality of what is going on around them. It is something that everyone who has ever loved an animal has to accept as their fight too. Which is one of the reasons I am writing this post and have been trying to write it for so long.

Everyone has a way in which they can contribute to this fight and many are simple.
- Volunteer - spend time at a local animal shelter or organisation so you have a better understanding of what is happening out there. The animals in shelters love attention and walks even if it is only to make their time there more comfortable until it must come to an end.
- Donate if you can and especially towards sterilisation programs. We must stop these animals at their source – the more puppies and kittens we can prevent, the fewer healthy dogs need to be put down.
- Adopt if you are in a position to get a new pet. There is no reason to go out and buy a dog or cat when there are such perfect ones looking for homes. If everyone who could did choose to adopt, the world would be a much better place for it.

Thank you to those who continue to support me and my work especially through donations towards my sterilisation programs. Every donation that helps me do a spay gives me the strength to face another day and I have a lot of hope that we can change the world one spay at a time. I only wish to create more awareness about the crisis we are facing and I hope that those working in this line of work feel that my words here have done this important topic justice.

I do hope that in my lifetime I could live in a world where no healthy animal is euthanized due to lack of space, lack of homes or lack of resources available. I’m not sure if I will ever get to see that be a reality but I think we all know by now that I will never give up trying! “

📷 : Photo by Kate Jackson-Moss

The dog featured here was a dog I euthanased last year. I was very fond of him but sadly had to let him go. I still think of him often and wish things were different for him and so many others.

03/15/2022

DID YOU KNOW ...
Every town in NJ requires an Animal Control Officer and each town's ACOs are available to its residents 24/7/365.
Animal Control Officers are Emergency/First Responders for all incidents involving animals and humans.
ACOs are called to the scene to help secure/contain animals while other First Responders assist the humans in need, whether in the event of a car accident, a house fire, a domestic violence situation, an injury requiring hospitalization, or anything else...
Animal Control Officers are state certified and trained in animal handling, first aid and emergency response.
Next time you see one of your ACOs in action, say hi and thank them for their tireless work to keep their community's residents and animals safe.
Reach out to your local Health Department and give them feedback on your town's Animal Control Officer(s).
Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week is always the second full week in April.