Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard cub (7 mos old) - Cape May County Zoo

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Why We Want Our Staff to Restrain Animals

Pet owners sometimes do not understand the myriad of reasons why us veterinarians want to have our staff hold your dog or cat. 


This is one reason: Cat Bites

Cat bites are potentially VERY serious. The bacteria in the mouth of the cat can cause a bad, even systemic, infection in a human. Severe cellulitis and sepsis can require IV antibiotics and hospitalization.


When you bring your pet in to see us, they are often scared. It's true, some are too scared to move or are happy to get the social outing (notably some dogs!). In general, though, at the time they are in the exam room, they don't care who YOU are.


It is far better for our staff to get bit than you. I've read numerous case reports from my liability carrier where a client SWORE they had to hold the animal and they got bit and guess what? They sued the vet. Yes. And you know what, it's OUR fault if we let you do it. We are trained in all ways to restrain and in some cases, we may need to use sedatives. Please understand for your safety and OURS, we will have our staff restrain.  







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