The Vetpodcast - They never mentioned this at vet school!

This is a podcast I could have made a long time ago. Maybe I was in denial. I've been retired from clinical veterinary practice for six years now, but I have only just relinquished my practicing certificate. Why did it take so long? They never mentioned this at vet school.

It seemed so final, ticking that box on the veterinary council registration page that said Retired. I'd been doing enough vet-related work to keep my knowledge current — but why was I even doing that? Now that I've ticked the box, I think I can finally tell you why.

Identity. Pure and simple, identity. I was Bryan Gregor, the vet.

Times change, treatments change, and medications change. If you have been in an industry for a long time, at the start of your career you mix with colleagues who are at the end of theirs, so by the end of your veterinary career you have a direct line to methods and treatments that are perhaps 80 years old. Some of them have passed the test of time. Some of them perhaps not.

They never mentioned this at vet school. Life as a veterinarian is never boring. What happens when a dog is locked in a garage with a commercial volume of wine for the night?
Have a veterinary story you would like to share? Contact me at vetpodcast@gmail.com

As a veterinarian, it is not uncommon for a pet to be presented to me on behalf of a frail older person by a friend or family member and having the forceful if not somewhat chilling statement made to me “this wee dog is all that is keeping mum alive. If the dog dies, mum will have nothing to live for, and she will probably die”. Unfortunately, and quite soberingly, on more than one occasion, not long after an elderly client’s beloved pet has passed away their name will appear in the death notices. It would appear their pet was all that was keeping them alive. 
The animal/human bond is strong, but it appears to be even stronger in Senior Citizens. In this episode of The Vetpodcast, I have a closer look at the relationship between senior citizens and their pets.

I have always been of two minds about veterinary programs on television. In truth, the reason I took up this wonderful profession in the first place was my love of the James Herriot books and the original television adaptation of them. Without James Herriot, who knows what I would be doing now. On the flip side, I have found myself screaming at the television when a vet dazzled in the camera lights misses an obvious diagnosis or overcomplicates a simple procedure in one of the many reality veterinary shows screened now.

After a bit of thought while making this podcast I believe they are actually are a good thing for the profession.