The REAL Labor Day!

I don't know how it is for those in other medical fields - you know, all those "real" doctors/specialists out there - but in veterinary medicine, the day after a 3 day weekend is often insanely busy!  It doesn't even seem to matter what the holiday is - though that sometimes dictates the type of cases one sees:
after Christmas and Thanksgiving - a lot of gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, and foreign bodies, Fourth of July - all sorts of injuries among many other issues.


What often happens is that people wait until the weekend is over - if they think they can "make it" until their regular vet opens - so they can avoid paying for an emergency hospital visit, which IS (understandably) more expensive.


The problem is that sometimes, clients wait and they shouldn't and sometimes they could wait and they don't. But it's better to err on the side of caution. 


Today was no exception to the "Tuesday is really gonna feel like a Monday" rule. We started the day off with a walk-in ear/skin problem and a twitching cat that the owner had applied an oft-maligned-by-vets OTC flea product (this is why we hate it!).  


The dog *I* saw - and though the owner stated he had had this problem a short while, a physical exam and my years of experience told me that it was clearly a very chronic issue. So either the client has no idea or he thinks he can get one by me. The exam findings do not lie.  The cat was seen by a colleague and started on standard treatment for this type of toxicity. The cat should be fine but note this: anyone looking to save a small amount of money on a flea product from WalMart needs to think about the hundreds they might spend on treatment for the cat or the flea problem that still will exist. We have excellent veterinary products that are safe AND effective, which is why we recommend them!


From there the day continued on with routine visits and sick pets too, right through lunch with no stopping but fortunately ended on time! At least I was prepared mentally. AND since today it rained and rained and rained all day, I didn't mind being stuck inside so much!